Suzuki Music Academy of Hong Kong

"Music Exists for the purpose of growing an admirable heart" ~Shinichi Suzuki

Reflections of the Performers: Sander Day and Ayden Siu Book 4 & 5 Violin Recital

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Ayden and Sander performed their Book 4 & 5 recital together. Quite an accomplishment, as the level of responsibility for this recital is quite a bit more than students have had previously! Please enjoy their reflections on the experience.

~from Ayden

This book 4 & 5 recital is very different from all my past recitals. It not only encompasses two Suzuki books, but also student-led responsibility. We are responsible for working on all joint pieces preparation and making plan independently without parent involvement. I had to organise multiple practice times together with Sander for our joint pieces before joint lessons. During this process, we encountered challenges, like how our schedules conflicted and how to make plans on individual practice for areas like tempo, dynamics changes etc. This is especially evident in Bach Double where we needed to pass the melody back and forth, and where we had to phrase different parts together which was difficult to work on.

Reflecting on the book recital, as I had dedicated extra time to commiting quality practice to my solo pieces according to Ms Diane’s comments from lessons. I felt the solo pieces, although at the start had a lot to work on, were not very challenging during the recital. One of my favourite moments during the book recital was having the opportunity to perform the entire Vivaldi Concerto. This became my most memorable solo piece. The Vivaldi Concerto starts from Allegro, to Largo back to Allegro. This big change in mood required me to spend enough time to change the atmosphere before starting. I thought I have done it smoothly during the book recital. Furthermore, I also thought that I had used vibrato and created dynamic contrast well throughout to help set the atmosphere. 

Overall, I enjoyed the process of collaborating with Sander as a new student-led experience and felt our work and dedication towards performing during the recital to be accomplishing and successful.

~from Sander

Looking back on the process as a whole, I have a few large takeaways, a few of which are positive, and a few of which are areas of improvement. 

Firstly, in terms of large ideas, I think that a positive of the recital was how well not only Ayden and I prepared (grew to the occasion to efficiently and effectively do so) and performed the pieces sounding in most cases together. In terms of a large area of improvement that I would note, I think that in many of the pieces, the parts that had previously come out as areas for improvements sounded generally good, however, parts that had not had as much attention seemingly may have had mistakes in them while playing them during the recital, even if they had not in previous practicing.

Moving on into individual piece feedback, going chronologically, I felt that Country Dance was good in terms of the energy that I was able to bring out and character. Overall it felt solid, except for the rhythm section where I kept going back and forth (I suppose that is simply because I was not confident enough with it at the time). 

Next, in terms of Seitz (5.3), the piece overall felt good. I had a special focus on dynamics and character at the beginning, and I felt the articulation of the double stops was sound, however, I did notice that the tempo was not always consistent (i.e. the tempo did not get back to a tempo). 

Further, on Vivaldi (all movements), (similar to what we discussed in lesson) the parts of the piece that we focused on for significant amounts of time no matter if they were challenging or not, seemed to go well. This may have been slightly due to tempo shifts (similar to Seitz). As well, I knew immediately when I started the third movement that I had forgotten to leave the breath in between, even though it had been something we and myself had practiced and tried to internalize. 

Lastly, for German Dance my only notable comment on the piece was that it felt it was going well until I started to, I will say, overthink the fingering, and then it led to the piece sounding partially sloppy and incoherent.

Reflections of the Performers: Isabel & Chloe Book 2 Recital

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Chloe and Isabel gave their Book 2 Recital on the last Saturday of our Spring Term! Here are their reflections on the experience:

~from Chloe

    I was really excited when I heard my partner was Isabel, since we did our Book 1 Recital together too!
        Isabel and I were both really nervous in the beginning, since there were 5 guests who came to watch, and it was a lot more people than in the dress rehearsal. Consequently, during the first piece—Happy Farmer, Isabel forgot that I was leading, and led the bow, and gave the cue. So of course I was really confused, and messed up the beginning. Fortunately, we somehow managed to start again, with me giving the cue, and the rest of the piece went really well. 
        Our other two joint pieces—Twinkles and Musette was really good. In Twinkles, we both remembered to have eye contact after every section. In Musette, we didn’t forget to do the dynamics and phrasing we were working on the last few weeks. The only thing I think we could have done was a bigger retard and diminuendo in the end.
        I think part of why the joint pieces were really great, is because we practiced them over and over during all the joint lessons, dress rehearsal, and our practice-playdate. Yup! On June 10, Isabel went over to my place and we practiced all our joint pieces with our concert dress on! After 45 minutes of practice, we decided that we were fine, and started to play games! She even stayed for lunch! 
        Anyways, back to the recital. Slowly but surely, I got more confident throughout the performance. I think my best piece that day was Two Grenadiers, since I used my whole bow, did the crescendo, and used my elbow for the up bows, to create a grand forte sound. I also really liked Chorus from “Judas Maccabaeus”, because I used my thumb and elbow together to create beautiful tone. In Boccherini Minuet, I did a lot of dynamics in the C, D, and E sections, but I could definitely make the trills sound clearer. In Hunters Chorus and Gossec Gavotte, my eighth and sixteenth notes were kind of mushed together. I really liked Gavotte from Mignon’s pizzicato ending as well. I did elbow circles, and pulled the strings sideways. 
        After the recital, we had a lot of snacks, drinks, and candy, at the reception. Everyone was just chatting, laughing, and eating. 
        Lastly, I want to thank all the people who have helped me make this recital happen. Ms. Diane, for teaching me all the pieces I performed. Ms. Marie Ann, for organizing everything. My family, for supporting me along. Ms. Sonomi, for collaborating with me. Isabel, for being a great friend and partner. And Isabel’s parents, for bringing the amazing food!
        All in all, the whole recital was a fun and enjoyable experience, and I look forward to my future Book 3 Recital too!

~from Isabel

I think that my book recital with Chloe was successful because we worked well and we could identify what problems there were in our joint pieces and we practised this more when Chloe invited me over to her house and we mostly practised Musette because we needed to practise being in sync. After that, we played with Chloe’s little sister and ate lunch. I think this was a very fun experience and I would like to do another recital with Chloe.

Reflections from the performers: Emma & Andrew Book 2 violin recital

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~ from Andrew

This recital did not go well in the preparation. I had trouble getting my violin ready in time for the practice before the recital; I even forgot to wear the formal clothes and had to re-wear them after I still wore my bright-colored shirt inside my recital uniform. I should have thought about how the clothes would be visible and distract the audience and show that I did not care about the recital, instead just wanting to get over with it.

         Then there was the group practice before the recital. We started great by reviewing the joint pieces together and after playing through the first two pieces, we poorly decided to practice our solos, which was not an instruction you gave us. I really should have listened because later on in the recital I had some trouble paying attention to the tone and listening to my partner.

         Lastly, there is the recital. I think our performance improved as the recital went on. I enjoyed how I listened to my sound to improve my tone. But for me there were some choke points in a few pieces; Ignored ones led to some problems later on as the same section repeated. Sometimes during the joint lessons, we could not remember the practice assignments and we had to review them again, which took a long time.

         The dress rehearsal was troubling for us to play with a good tone. So then I spent lots of time at home practicing tone and correct position so then the recital could go well.  Next recital I should prepare more as the pieces got more advanced as well and mistakes get harder to avoid.

~from Emma

I want to say thankyou to Ms. Diane, my violin teacher, for helping me through this recital.

I liked how I got to play harmony in Musette. Over all the years I have played the violin, the only time I had formally played harmony was for twinkle, so I was really happy when I found out I got to play harmony in Musutte. 

2 months to prepare for a recital seems like a lot at first, that’s what I thought at first. I made a big mistake, I didn’t practice because I had around 2 months to prepare, and pushed everything till the last minute. The few days before my recital, I had to sleep very late just to make up for the time I had lost.

During the recital I felt really nervous, I had spent enough time for people to think it is an average recital. But deep down, I know I could’ve done much better.

This was the busiest time of my life, I had to juggle practicing the violin, school work and practicing the piano for the last few weeks. It was supposed to be less busy, but I didn’t use my time well, and suffered greatly from it. But from this recital I learned a great lesson to never waste your time as you can never relive a moment of your life.

“Time is free, but it is priceless. You can’t own it, but you can spend it. You can’t keep it, but you can spend it. Once you’ve lost it, you can never get it back.” – Harvey MacKay

When I have my book 3 recital, I should plan out my time better, so I can have more time to rest, and still have enough time to practice my violin.

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MusiCares visits the Home of Loving Faithfulness

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13 members of SMAHK’s MusiCares secondary student community service outreach team had the opportunity to visit the Home of Loving Faithfulness (HOLF).

HOLF is a home for the physically and developmentally disabled. Started in 1965 by two women who were missionaries from the UK, HOLF residents are often found as abandoned children.

HOLF provides a home and lifelong care for its children, having currently 15 residents and a waiting list that they cannot admit due to lack of staffing. Because of the severity of each person’s condition, it takes an average of two full-time staff to care for one HOLF resident. Care is provided 24/7.

Although direct interaction was limited due to HOLF concerns about germs, it was obvious that the residents appreciated and enjoyed the MusiCares students’ music. In addition to performing for the residents, HOLF treated MusiCares to a tour of the grounds, including their dormitory and a sensory garden.

In spite of their own financial struggles, HOLF also provided sandwiches, drinks, and treats for the MusiCares team after the tour.

They were especially grateful that students brought individual donations of Ensure to go along with what SMAHK provided as a donation by the school.

This was a very meaningful and eye opening experience for our students. Here are their reflections on the experience:

“This was a new experience for me. Even though the people there were struggling to communicate, I could tell they enjoyed our playing. Perhaps they were empowered to learn how to play music, and I think playing music is a brilliant way for them to communicate. Hopefully there will be an opportunity for them to do so.”

“Through this opportunity, I was able to learn more about the lifestyle that some disabled people have in Hong Kong. This experience has taught me to be grateful about having a loving family. I hope that this experience brought hope showed students awareness regarding the less privileged people among our community.”

“I think that this was an incredibly enlightening experience that allowed us to learn more about the treatment of disabled people, and I also think that it was very impressive for two people to start a home for the disabled that has lasted for almost 59 years despite being understaffed in recent years, and it would be very beneficial to them if we would try to raise more awareness for them and disabled people in Hong Kong as well.”

“To me, the experience to be able to visit and perform in a home for disabled was a great opportunity. Not only did I enjoy performing, but I also was able to observe the residents and the HOFL, and helped me get a better understanding of disabled people’s living conditions and the history of the HOLF. As it was one of my first times I was seeing much different living conditions than I originally thought.”

“It was a very new and unique experience for me because it was one of the first times I had to do something in front of people with disorders that I remember.”

“I think it’s wonderful that two people started this amazing organisation for disabled people.”

“Overall it was a highly enriching and rewarding experience. It was great that coming from a point of privilege, we were able to bring hope and joy to those who are not as fortunate as we are.”

“Thank you so much for doing what you are doing it is helping a lot of people. I hope more people decide to volunteer for this cause.”

“The people there are getting cared and loved, which is what they should all deserve. Hope we can come again soon!”

“I think we should help raise more awareness for this issue. As mentioned in the tour, HOLF suffers from a lack of man power. If we were to do more or host fundraising we could help more people.”

“I think the fact that these people were abandoned as children very worrying, and I know as much as this foundation does, many more of the disabled will continue to be mistreated.”

“Despite the short performance, I think we were able to bring joy to the residents of HOLF. Seeing the residents and their living situation was eye-opening, making me realise how small actions, like performing or volunteering can make a big difference.”

“We don’t often have opportunities to see or experience what people with disabilities do. It is near impossible for us to know what others have been through. Before coming to HOLF, I did not think much of what others may have been through as I had other work to worry about. But after learning more about the hardships with having a disability and how much people are required to take care of just one disabled person it causes my heart to ache. Only have emotions won’t help others. If we have more opportunities to help others through donation and sharing music, it could quickly brighten up some else’s day. Not only donating can help others, it is also really important to help raise awareness so others can receive more help. As a student, I can help by joining initiatives for these causes as well as continue doing my part as a responsible and open-minded resident that can continue sharing music and donating goods.”

Reflections of the Performer: Eric and Wesley, Book 3 Violin Recital

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~by Eric

First, I want to thank all the people who helped throughout this process. I want to thank Ms.Diane, Wesley, Ms.Mary Ann, Ms.Susan, and both me and Wesley’s parents. Without the help of all these people supporting me, I would never have been able to complete this recital. 

Out of all the recitals I have gone through, I think this one is my favorite one yet. The reason why is that it was the first recital me and Wesley had the responsibility of preparing some of the pieces. It gave us an opportunity to work together without the influence of teachers or parents, and it allowed us to showcase our progress. Furthermore, the quantity of the pieces in Book 3 is less than the pieces in Books 1 and 2, so it makes it easier to really polish our pieces and shine in our solos. Finally, I think the joint practices helped me and Wesley put together our combined pieces. Since playing our duets required great collaboration (Martini Gavotte’s duet trailed behind the melody, while Bach Minuet’s duet had plenty of moving notes), I think the joint practices helped us perfect our playing. 

~by Wesley

 I would say this book recital is the most successful one i’ve had over the years, i was feeling more confident this time, although i still had a few mistakes throughout the recital.

This is my first time working with eric with some pieces, we would practise the dynamics at home and use it during our practise sessions. i also think we both communicated well wit each other, we were able to figure out who plays gossic gavotte and who plays bach bouree. I personally think i lead gavotte better than bach bouree, and eric is good at leading bach bouree, we made a perfect choice.

For further improvements, i would like to be more confident when i play in front of people, while remembering the things i’ve learned and practised. Especially my dynamics of some pieces.

Reflections of the Performer: Isabel Zeng, Book 6 Violin Recital

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~by Isabel Zeng

In hindsight of my book 6 recital, I am satisfied with my performance despite some of its errors. My book 6 recital was composed of 8 pieces, one of which being a sonata with 4 movements, and it was also my first solo recital, meaning that I had more freedom with the order of the pieces, but I also didn’t have the support of a friend doing the same thing with me, nor did I get a longer break in between pieces. 

One of the challenges that I faced during the performance were the more technical aspects, such as fingerings. This was especially prominent in pieces such as the 2nd and 4th movements of Handel Sonata in D major, the runs in La Folia, etc where there are multiple shifts combined with (personally) awkward fingerings, in which I need to press on two strings. This was a large challenge, since when I was playing a fast piece and I messed up a few notes, it stayed in my head and made me nervous about the next section which I know to be difficult as well, which then causes my hand to tense up and makes it even more difficult to correctly play. During the recital, there were some things that I knew were going to be issues with, whilst there were others that were completely unexpected.

Another challenge was my posture, since I have a tendency to slouch after a period of time, and that impacts my contact point on the strings and overall tone. I tried to improve this by practicing with my scroll level with a fixed point, and whenever I realised that it was too low, I would reset my violin and continue playing, trying to fix my posture before it was too late. During the recital, I did the same, except without the option of putting my violin back on my shoulder.

Something that I am proud of is my Rameau Gavotte, which I personally think was my best played piece. However, during the middle of Gavotte II, I made a mistake which really shook up my previous confidence, but since I got back on track quickly, I was able to move on. In spite of this, I feel good with my vibrato and tone in Rameau Gavotte.

I feel that my performance of the Handel Sonata in D major was the worst, despite me focusing on it the most. In the 1st movement, there was an issue with counting that although I had made the error before, it hadn’t happened in the week or so beforehand, and the 2nd and 4th movements both had areas where I got off track, but thankfully remembered where I was in the music. The 3rd movement was mostly fine.

In order to prepare for the recital, I practiced often and focused on the aspects that needed improving, whether it was more technical or musical things, or listening to the piano recording to understand how my part fitted with Ms Sonomi’s. On the day of the recital, I focused on each piece and its sections, then ran through all of the pieces how I would in the recitall, including sitting and bowing. Afterwards, I didn’t practice, instead opting to listen to the recordings in order for me to relax a bit. I think that this helped me prepare for the recital because if I made a mistake during my practice, I would teach myself how to get back on track quickly and solve the problem, and also because being tense was one of my biggest issues and also caused (and causes) most of my mistakes.

For my book 7 recital, I hope to improve my organisation and planning skills in order to schedule rehearsals with Ms Sonomi, and to better allocate time to each piece so as to anticipate and deflect problems.

To Ms Sonomi, my collaborative pianist, thank you very much for taking time out of your daily life to rehearse with me for this, as well as helping me take my mind off worrying before the recital, and in general just being amazing! Thank you to Ms Diane for all her years of tutelage and helping me gain confidence in my playing, telling me what I need to improve on and how, and complimenting me when I do something well. You make my musical journey both fun and educational, and I truly wouldn’t be where I am now without you, both as a person and as a musician! 🙂 Finally, thank you to those who watched my performance, whether it be online or in person.

Reflections of the performer: ANDREW ZENG, Book 7 Violin Recital

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To begin with, my Book 7 Recital was my first solo recital, which meant that I was faced with the challenge of polishing up and putting together a much greater number of pieces with the piano. Playing through a total of 11 pieces (22 movements in total) over a period of ~1.5 hours was also quite demanding in terms of endurance. I relied on and was able to further develop my organisational and time management skills when scheduling rehearsals with Ms Sonomi and balancing my academic commitments with practice for the rehearsal. In terms of the pieces themselves, I found it uniquely rewarding to revisit pieces which I had learnt in the past and to rediscover and reinterpret them, making use of new technique, musical ideas and perspectives that I have since learnt and gained. In the new pieces that I had learnt, I was able to further polish up my technique and refine my interpretation. It was also interesting to listen to recordings made by others to open myself up to new interpretations to take inspiration from. I found decision making much more straightforward. It also gave me the freedom to pursue my own ideas.

Looking at the recital as a whole, there were some mistakes which occurred and countless things that I could have done better. Some pieces also left me feeling unsatisfied with the fact that I was unable to fully express all of my musical ideas as a result of not having practiced enough (In particular, the seemingly ‘easier’ pieces that I had neglected to practice as much). However, overall, my experience was a positive one. In a live performance, not everything can always go the way you practiced or had hoped for. As with anything, things can go wrong and it takes resilience to deal with mistakes or failures and carry on. In between pieces, I was able to move past those mistakes and re-energise and motivate myself to focus on the sole objective of playing what comes next to the best of my ability. I am extremely pleased with the end result and found this entire process hugely enjoyable and rewarding. I was able to apply myself to play with expression and share the results of my violin journey which began 9 years ago with others. Looking ahead, by the time my next recital comes around, I hope to become a more expressive player who takes more liberties and is more imaginative with musical ideas. Music is an immensely beautiful language which allows us to express emotions, certain ideas, or aspects of the human experience that we otherwise could not with language. That is the reason for its tremendous appeal and ability to transcend time, people and cultures among many other things. Therefore I feel extremely privileged to have an understanding of this language and to have the ability to share it with others.

I would like to give a great thanks to the brilliant Ms Sonomi for spending so much time rehearsing with me, supporting me and helping me gain confidence in my playing. I would also like to thank Ms Diane for all her years of teaching and guidance. Finally, I would like to thank those who joined us for my recital.

A Happy Halloween!

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What a joy to be back at Stanley – almost two years after our last public performance! While we have been fortunate to have some “in person” performances – these have been limited to very small audiences comprised of immediate family members. It was so exciting to share our music and our costumes with an audience that included people we didn’t know at all.

There were lots of opportunities for the audience to join in the performance as well: singing, dancing, clapping…sometimes it seemed that the spooky sounds were happening in “surround sound”.

We are all excited to have more chances like this in the future.

Please enjoy some of the sights of our performance!

  • lower strings
  • pianists watching carefully
  • Two Grenadiers!
  • Everyone joined in Witches Dance
  • Pianists playing Gabby Ghost
  • French Folk Song
  • Ms Sonomi had a great costume!
  • Ms Susan’s first play-in in Hong Kong!
  • waiting…
  • SMAHK staff dressed for Halloween

Reflections from San Francisco

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Ayden, Camy, Emma W, Hanson and Linnea all had the opportunity to participate in the North American SAA/ASTA collocated Conference in San Francisco. After submitting an audition early in the fall term, Camy, Emma, Hanson and Linnea were selected to participate in the Early Music Ensemble. Ayden was selected to perform in the violin ensemble.

The Early Music Ensemble included string players, singers, and recorder players. Altogether, there were around 20-25 students who participated. They had a session with an expert on the baroque bow, as well as rehearsing their pieces for performance, having the opportunity to attend other sessions, and culminating in their own performance at the Friday morning keynote. One thing the host talked about at the Friday morning session was that this was likely the only place in the world where a performance by an Early Music Ensemble would be the “opening act” for a speaker who was an expert in AI and how it will impact musicians in the future.

Ayden’s successful audition allowed him to be part of a 30 member group of students who worked together to prepare to play the 3rd mvt. of Kabalevsky Concerto. His group also had several rehearsals together as well as the opportunity to attend other sessions before their performance on the Friday evening Keynote.

Here are some reflections of the students about their experiences:

~Ayden

This was an exciting opportunity to play in a music ensemble. First, an interesting musical aspect was how the group worked on playing the piece as telling a story, such as a gradual crescendo in a 16th note section leading to the climax of the piece, imagining trills as “sharks” or working on making the cadenza sound like a conversation. Next, I also enjoyed listening to other groups’ performances during the event. Lastly, I learnt how to play together as a large ensemble. For example, we worked on ending trills at the same time, and use bow divisions, dynamics and articulation to fit different sections of the piece. Outside of the conference, I enjoyed watching an NBA basketball game in person.

~ Camy

I think the most interesting musical aspect of the SAA conference was learning more about the baroque style in the Early Music Ensemble and getting to experiment with the baroque bows.

The best non-musical part was seeing everyone from HK again and exploring San Francisco.

Something I learned from this experience was how to use a baroque bow. I also learned more about working in a chamber group from a chamber masterclass.

Emma

In my opinion, the most interesting musical aspect of the experience was the masterclasses. It was very interesting to see kids around my age play and improve with the help of the masterclass teacher. The things discussed there were also applicable for me, which made the class not only educational for the students but also for me. 

The best non-musical part of the experience was being able to see my relatives who also came to the concert. 

Something I learnt was that violin strings actually used to be made out of pig intestines.

~ Hanson

The best musical aspect of this experience was using the baroque bows and playing in a baroque style. The way you held the bows and where you played in the bow were really different, and also generated a way more articulated sound. In terms of the playing, we played in a more flowy instead of articulated style, for example in the Bach double, we played the 8th notes more legato and musical, opposed to the articulated way we usually play it. I was also really amazed at how many different orchestras and students from around the world came together to form orchestras and chamber groups, as well as the many suzuki teachers that came to the conference. In this experience, I learnt a lot about music back in the baroque period and about the different instrument they used, such as the harpsichord and the recorder, and how they played those instruments. Outside of the conference, I enjoyed going on the zipline in Las Vegas.

~Linnea

I think the most interesting musical aspect of the experience was getting to learn more about the baroque style of music and also listening in on a chamber music masterclass.

The best non-musical aspect of this experience was becoming friends with my stand partner and exploring San Francisco.

Something I learned from this experience was how to use a baroque bow and different bowing styles.

Reflections of the Performers: Lucia and Tejbir Book 2 Recital

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Lucia and Tejbir prepared and performed their Book 2 recital recently. Here are their reflections on their exprience

~from Tejbir

I think it went well, expect when I got lost during Walt’s and played the 1st ending every time. I feel like my tone was nice and I like how Lucia was very confident about her pieces. I want to play with the piano recording more often so I won’t get lost when playing with the piano.

My favourite part was when me and Lucia played together, it helps us build our teamwork and makes it easier to work as a team instead of alone.I hope my upcoming recitals will be more successful then this one.

~from Lucia

After a long year and a half of study, I finally attended the graduation ceremony for Suzuki Cello Book 2. During the practice process, there were times when I really wanted to give up, but my teacher always encouraged me to persist to the end. I practiced every single day and felt the charm of music deeply. Before the performance, I was both nervous and excited. I was afraid of making mistakes, yet eager to showcase the pieces I’d practiced for so long well. Although I made a mistake while playing, hearing everyone’s encouraging applause made me realise it was just a small thing.

I want to thank ms Silvia who taught me how to play the cello and always encouraged me to keep going Thank you to Ms Diane – she asked me questions in every class, and her guidance helped me apply what I’ve learned. I also want to thank Ms Sonomi, who filled my music with vitality. Next I’m going to embark on my journey with Book 3!

Reflections from the Performer: Hugo’s Book 4 Cello Recital

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Hugo gave a Book 4 recital that included a heartfelt dedication to those impacted by the Tai Po fire. Please enjoy his reflections on his Book 4 recital experience:

This recital was very stressful, tiring and nerve-racking. However, it was also fun, heartwarming, and something I am proud of.  In the weeks preceding the recital, I had to not only juggle the workload of my various end-of-term assessments but also practise for the solo recital and upcoming friendship concert in addition to my book 4 recital.  So naturally, I procrastinated.

I did not seriously practise for my recital until 2 weeks before, which is also 1 week before the final rehearsal. Uh oh.  I wasn’t even able to play through the entire book without the music.  In these 2 weeks, I also had an above-average amount of homework, meaning I had little to no time to do other things.  I would go home, do my homework, and practise when my dad returned from work before going to sleep.  

I was stressed and tired and exhausted for the entire 2 weeks.  But in the end, I think it was all worth it.  So many people came to watch me play, from my close family to my fellow Suzuki friends.  This, while heartwarming. Also had a small, teeny side effect.  Making me perhaps the most nervous I had been the whole year, I was sweating and internally freaking out. The pressure of performing in front of so many people, and the fact that I had worked so hard during the past 2 weeks, made me lose focus, mess up, and stutter my words before playing Chanson Triste. I honestly am a bit mad at myself for messing up my speech; I had a wonderful opportunity to give my heart and condolences to those affected by the fire.  And at the moment, I just couldn’t do that. I really hope I can do better in the friendship concert.

For the minuet, I felt like I did fairly well; I had good tone and vibrato and only rushed a little bit at the end of the second minuet.

For the Breval sonata, I feel like I did decently well. I did vibrato for the majority of the piece and had good intonation, except for the double stops at the end of the first phrase.

I feel the most proud of chanson triste. I had good tone and vibrato and had good dynamics.

Finally, for the Marcello sonata, it is the piece I feel I could improve the most on. I rushed a lot on the second movement and got a lot of wrong notes and got stuck on multiple spots; however, the first movement went fine.

Reflections of the Performers: Ana, Caitlin & Fashan’s Book 1 violin recital

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Fashan, Caitlin and Ana have been preparing their Book 1 Violin recital. Here are their reflections on their first-ever Book Recital experience!

~from Ana

The experience was ok. Sometimes it was hard to practice or it was ok.

I liked the joint lessons. They felt fast though.

It was interesting to see the others perform, and to perform.

It was fun and interesting.

~from Caitlin

 I’m very proud and happy about what I did in today’s recital. Me, Fashan and Ana collaborated well with each other, as we looked at the leader, we didn’t blame each other because of playing the wrong note, and most importantly we played very neatly and the whole recital went as predicted.

   I think I did pretty well in all the pieces. But most importantly, I think I did the best at: keep going when I played a note wrong and quickly fixing the mistake. For example, in Variation B, I played the harmony wrong and I stopped and after five notes, I kept going with the others. Also, I think I did the best in Minuete 1, because I have good dynamics and the tone was good.

   Next time, I would want to improve my que, because in two pieces, I think my que wasn’t very strong and it didn’t show Ms. Sonomi the pace I want, and also how loud I want to whole piece to be. Plus, I will also want to improve my Variation D. I think I played a little slower than the normal pace, and because I was the leader my companions have to follow my pace. In addition, I always get mixed up by Variation D and Variation E.

~from Fashan

Overall I think that my effort for the recital was really good.

I practiced (almost all) or (all) every day and i really worked hard on my gavotte cues (even though i
missed one), and my gavotte fingers and everything i’m supposed to practice.

In the end, at the book recital, I am 10000% confident that my hard work payed off. Even though i was
tired i still practiced until i got it right. (૭ ｡•̀ ᵕ •́｡ )૭

I really liked everything that happened on that day, and even to this day i still feel the feeling of being
proud of myself to what came on that day.

I hope this same feeling will continue to boost me forward so i can complete this long LONG journey
ahead.

Reflections of the Performers: Chloe and Lincoln Book 3 violin recital

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After a lot of two continent joint lessons and much juggling of schedules, Chloe and Lincoln were finally able to perform their Book 3 Violin Recital in person together! Here are their reflections on the experience.

~from Lincoln

Although the concert itself went quite well, I believe that the preparation process could have went more smoothly in many more ways than one. 

Firstly, I believe the Acapella video production should have went better. While I was in the UK, I was quite incompetent in my production of the videos that Chloé required. I was unable to create the video for Gossec Gavotte and Bach Minuet in time. I had made many videos for Bach Minuet however they were all rejected because they weren’t good enough. The video of Gossec Gavotte was not sent because it was made too late. 

Secondly, I was unable to make sufficient progression for practise on some pieces while in the UK, most predominantly Bach Minuet and Gavotte in D Major. For Bach Minuet I was unable to improve on the required things like not adding extra beats. For Gavotte in D Major, I had completely forgotten the structure and other things. 

However, in the past 2 weeks or so I have improved significantly. Ever since coming back to HK, I have managed to fix everything and get everything together. 

For Bach Bourree, I believe I was able to follow Chloé quite well. I adapted to her playing and managed to follow it fully. However, there were some times where I accidentally used the wrong bowing or dynamics. For the bowings, I was able to correct it most of the time. Overall I believe Bach Bourree was a success and ended quite well.

For Gavotte in G Minor, I believe that the piece went very smoothly. The dynamics were most likely on-point and all the notes were correct. When starting the piece, I was quite worried since I had forgotten whether to start the piece up bow or down bow which made it basically a 50/50 gamble. I decided to start up bow and I am still unsure if it was correct or not. Additionally, I may have been pressing too hard on the bow. Overall, I believe the piece went quite well however there were a few places to improve upon. 

For Bach Minuet, I believe that the piece did not go well and that the piece went well at the same time. While playing it, I felt anxious that I was playing everything wrong, even though most of everything was right. I had played all the notes correctly and most of the bowings. I had also made each phrase had a longer bow at the end. However, I still felt like I was getting this wrong while playing it for some very unknown reason. 

For Gossec Gavotte, I believe that the piece went relatively well. The bowings were mostly correct and the notes were all correct. However, I got some things wrong. Firstly, the articulation. Most of the time when it was supposed to be stacatto, I had played it lagatto, and when it was supposed to be lagatto, I had played it stacatto. Secondly and finally, in the D section I accidentally added a hook in the place where there wasn’t a hook. Not only that I had corrected it mid-piece. Overall I believe Gossec Gavotte went relatively well. 

For Martini Gavotte, I believe it went extremely well. Not only was I able to perfectly follow Chloé all of the time, I never caught up to her and I didn’t mess up by starting at the same time as her. However there were times that I was just blindly playing on “auto mode” and not paying attention to Chloé’s dynamics. Overall, I believe this went well. 

For Gavotte in D Major, I believe it went quite well. I got the structure right and was able to remember the start of the piece. I coordinated well with Ms Sonomi. However I missed a few cues and I believe i got a few wrong bowings. Overall, I believe it went fine.

For Twinkle, there isn’t much to say. Twinkle is Twinkle, and it went well. However, I accidentally started playing the harmony part instead of the melody part for one or two notes in one of the variations. 

~from Chloe

A few days ago, Lincoln and I gave our Book 3 Violin Recital, and it was definitely a challenging, fun, and unforgettable experience for the both of us.

First of all, the preparation process was quite difficult, since at the beginning, Lincoln was in the UK, while I was in HK, which made collaborating much harder than my previous two recitals. On top of that, Lincoln and I didn’t know each other as well before, unlike how Isabel (my Book 1 and 2 Recital partner) and I were already quite close. Luckily, it was unexpectedly easy bonding with Lincoln, when he arrived in Hong Kong, only just two weeks before the recital!

As for the recital, it actually went quite smoothly, and we both played much better than during the dress rehearsal. There were only a few small slip ups here and there, and no major issues as there had been during joint lessons and the dress rehearsal. (For example, me missing an entire section, Lincoln forgetting how his solo started, and us not listening to each other during joint duets!) 

In all, this recital had been very enjoyable, and undoubtedly a memorable process! Lastly, I would like to thank everyone that had made this recital possible. Ms. Diane for taking so much time and effort to help us prepare for all the pieces. Ms. Sonomi, for rehearsing with us over and over, to make sure every thing went fluently. Ms. Marie Ann, for making all the arrangements and organizing logistics (especially since Lincoln and I were in different continents at first). My parents, for supporting me throughout the process. Lincoln for being a great partner and working effectively with me. And his parents, for bringing the amazing snacks at the reception!

Suzuki Music Academy of Hong Kong believes:

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