Suzuki Music Academy of Hong Kong

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

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 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!

Reflections from the Performers: Alice & Ayden Book 6 violin recital

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Alice and Ayden recently performed their Book 6 violin recital in front of a large audience of friends and family. It was their last time of performing a recital with a peer partner, as well as the first time they had complete responsibility of preparing their joint pieces without input from a teacher. Here are their reflections on the experience.

~from Ayden

After completing my book 6 recital, I felt satisfied with our performance. Before the recital, I didn’t feel very nervous. Instead, I felt comfortable, which helped my performance in sounding more confident.

In the few weeks before the recital, Alice and I had to make time to practice joint pieces, and book a room at Suzuki with Ms Marie Ann. Although we had chances to experience this during the Book 4 and 5 recital, this time we didn’t get joint lessons to work on them. This meant that we were fully responsible for rehearsing until we felt confident, and working on details such as dynamics, articulation and cues. I felt like we were usually ready to practice every time, and we collaborated efficiently, continuing on where we left off in the previous rehearsal.

For the solo pieces, this recital was also a new experience. This was the first time I played an entire Sonata in a recital. Most notable was the Handel Sonata, since it is a long piece; around 18 minutes, and develops throughout its 4 movements as a story. Moreover, this was the first time I have performed with both Ms Sonomi and Ms Diane. During the performance, I felt that our parts synchronized well, and that we were able to effectively change the mood and dynamics throughout the movements. 

Additionally, I learnt a new piece for the recital; Adoration. During the piece, I felt that I was able to change the colors of each section of the piece fairly well. I also focused on bringing out the vibrato and maintaining arm and elbow energy, especially in the climax (fortississimo).

For our joint pieces, I felt that we collaborated well. When Alice was leading, I was able to follow her bow divisions, articulation and dynamics, and we mostly played with the details that we practiced in our rehearsals. 

Lastly, the most remarkable joint piece we played was La Folia. During our practices, we dedicated lots of time to solely practicing La Folia, as there are many different tempo, dynamic and articulation changes throughout the piece. I felt that our performance was expressive. For me, I was able to effectively cue to both Ms Sonomi and Alice, to change the tempo and dynamics of each phrase. At the end, we were able to slowly progress through various phrases and colors to reach the last variation. We maintained the high energy up to the last chord of the piece.

Overall, this recital was a very memorable experience for me. Whether it was practicing with Alice on rehearsals, performing the Handel Sonata, or La Folia, it was an enjoyable experience.

~ from Alice

The book 6 recital is the last recital I get to perform with a partner, so I’m happy it turned out the way it did. The preparation process was a new experience for me because Ayden and I did all the work independently, with no guidance from Ms. Diane until the dress rehearsal one week before the recital. We scheduled all the times ourselves and had to book the rooms with Ms. Marie Ann independently, which I quite enjoyed, because I felt more comfortable at the sessions to work on what we needed to. The amount of agency and responsibility that we got in the preparation of this recital actually made me feel less stressed and more in control, even though I expected the opposite. 

My previous book recital was with Stacey, who I’m friends with. We also both talk a lot and have lots of energy. Ayden and I aren’t as close, and he usually doesn’t have as much energy as I do, so coming into the preparation process, I thought it would be challenging. However, it actually turned out that Ayden and I were very productive and worked on all the pieces well. We discussed dynamics, bow divisions, and many other musical elements that made the piece genuinely enjoyable to play. We had to work on leading and following, but I also think that I improved a lot, and I was satisfied with it during the book recital. One interesting aspect of the shared pieces is that we encountered problems with an unexpected piece: Twinkle. Both of us thought that the twinkles would be easy and smooth, so we only went over them a few times and didn’t spend much time working on them. In the dress rehearsal, we learned that a seemingly simple piece like Twinkle Theme actually required a lot of communication, coordination, and tone to play well, which we neglected due to underestimating the need to practice a piece that seemed so simple compared to La Folia or the Vivaldi. We spent some more time working on the piece and were eventually able to match our tone and playing. Still, the fact that “simple and easy pieces” like Twinkle actually proved to be a challenge and required effort and skill was a very insightful takeaway.

In my own individual preparation, I didn’t do as well. I wasn’t practicing efficiently initially, and my solo pieces still needed much more work. After guidance from Ms. Diane at a private lesson and some more practicing, I could play my solo pieces better, and at the recital, I really enjoyed playing my Handel Sonata’s first movement. I played this piece with both Ms. Sonomi and Ms. Diane, and I really liked having that option because it added so much more to the music. I also used some of the skills from the book 4 & 5 recital, such as transitioning between movements and the bariolage, demonstrating that every skill is meaningful and valuable in many different pieces, and that learning carries on through different books.

Overall, the book 6 recital was a meaningful and inspiring experience that helped me learn a lot about my playing and collaboration, and I’m generally happy with how it went.

p.s. This is kind of unrelated, but Ayden’s mom brought the most delicious box of tarts to the reception, so that was another highlight from this recital.

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.

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