Suzuki Music Academy of Hong Kong

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

Reflections from the Performers: Lincoln & Miles ~ Book 2 Violin Recital

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Miles and Lincoln were excited to welcome the largest in person audience to a Book Recital since before COVID! They have some thoughts to share about their experience together:

~from Lincoln

I believe that the recital was quite successful. One of the reasons is that there were no major mistakes and I firmly believe both me and Miles played beautiful music that allowed the massive audience to clap loudly. In Twinkle, I think I should have paid a little more attention to Miles as I was completely focused on myself. I would like to thank you for helping me develop my music and Ms Sonomi for being piano accompaniment. I think that I have prepared a lot for my recital in the 20 mins of time to practise. I think that I should have practised more pieces  rather than just a few. I believe my playing with Miles of Musette has significantly improved. We were together more and we played it better than the last time. I firmly believe that overall, the recital was a success, however had some flaws such as the twinkle where I accidentally played theme instead of harmony for a few seconds in variation E. 

~from Miles

My recital went well, and I am proud of how I did. I think I worked well with my partner and have done good ques for both Ms.Sonomi and my partner while leading. Overall I did much better than last time, and hope all future recitals are as good as this. The main concerns I had when I was told the recitals’s date was me forgetting the forms of the pieces, but after getting used to the pieces again, I found the forms not too difficult. The joint lessons also helped a lot as we focused a lot on ques and how to lead, which neither me or my teammate really did well before the joint lessons.

Reflections from the Performers: Amy and Hugo ~ Book 3 Cello Recital

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Amy and Hugo performed their Book 3 cello recital together. It was Amy’s first-ever Book Recital! The two students worked together with Ms Silvia to prepare their joint pieces, as well as working on their solo repertoire. Here is what they each have to say about the experience:

~from Amy

I heard this new was on January 25. That was so challenging and exciting for me because it is the first time I have to play so much music at once. 

Initially, I played most of my time for my recital while I was free. Sometimes I was not at home, and I could not bring my cello I would take the music with me, and once I was free, I could take a look on it and played on my mind. 

There were also some difficulties to solve before the recital. For example, I often mixed up how to play accompaniment of Allegro Moderato cause there are some alto clefs in the music, and I have already remembered the cello 1 of Allegro Moderato, they are quite similar. Thus, when I was playing with Hugo, I often forgot to play my part. The bowings of Twinkle are proper. Actually, it corrects some mistakes that have been affecting me for long times. I need to put my bow closer to the bridge and use the prescribed section of the bow. These can make my tone more resounding and stronger. Fortunately, these issues were resolved with the help of Ms. Silvia. Ms. Silvia carefully taught how to solve these problems and promptly reminded me whenever they occurred.

Before the recital started, I feel so much pressure because I afraid that I would screw up the concert and there were so many people rooting for me, so I pretended I was a professional cellist who has appeared in concert many times. That is so funny.

It was surprising that I gradually feel relaxed when I was performing. I tried to show the beautiful tone as best as I can. There was a voice in my heart to remind me and said, ‘you can do it’. I hope I can do better in the future concert than this time and let them unforgettable. For the whole concert, one thing I must change was I do not wait for Hugo before I started play Minuet in G. I feel deeply regretful after the recital, and I promise this sort of things won’t happened again.

Finally, thanks to all the audiences who came to see the recital and Hugo and all the teachers who helped me to finish the concert.

~from Hugo

This was a very difficult recital to prepare for as I was not able to play cello for a week as I fractured my ankle, this not only meant that I lost one week of practice but i also forgot a lot of things that we worked on and we had to start over, so I had to practice a lot more than I intended to, but i was able to persevere through and successfully complete my recital.  I really liked working with Amy as I can tell she is really dedicated which is something I lack.  If I could do this recital again I would practice more so I feel prepared and calm before the recital, I think I played quite well but I could definitely do much better as I was very nervous and was playing faster than we practiced and probably could have played better if I was more calm.

Reflections from the Performers: Ava & Lucia Book 1 Recital

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Ava and Lucia recently presented their Book 1 recital! Here are their reflections on their experience

~from Ava

What I really liked about the performance is that in the joint classes is that I got to make friends with Lucia and I was prepared for the recital and it was half good…BUT STILL really good. I made a few mistakes BUT I kept playing and I did it! So I was really happy about the recital. PS Food was AMAZING especially the cheetos

~from Lucia

Hi, I’m Lucia. I came to a Suzuki music school in Hong Kong last year. On April 20 I played in a special music show for finishing school. I practiced a lot to get ready. My friend Ava and I played music together. I played a big violin called a cello, and Ava played the piano. We did a great job and people clapped and cheered for us. We were so happy! I want to say thank you to my teachers, Ms Danil, Ms Silvia, Ms Sonomi and Ms Marie Ann. And thank you to Ava and my mom and dad. I will keep trying my best!

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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.

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