Suzuki Music Academy of Hong Kong

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

Reflection from the Performer: Cecilia’s Book 7 Recital

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~by Cecilia Hao

Since I was performing on my own for the first time, my violin recital for book 7 was considerably different from my recital for book 6 in the past. I had to independently schedule rehearsal times with Ms. Sonomi and during the rehearsals, we had to communicate clearly so that the violin and piano parts would fit well together. I was able to improve my communication abilities and gain more confidence as a result of multiple practice sessions I had with Ms Sonomi. In addition, compared to the many rehearsals I’ve had, I felt more comfortable voicing my ideas this time. Because the success of this recital depended on how much I had prepared and how secure I was in myself, it encouraged me to be much more responsible. Despite some bumps in the road during the performance, I have to admit that I am very pleased with myself for such an outstanding achievement. Being able to balance the violin on top of school work more successfully than normal also made me feel more mature. There is still room for improvement in terms of interacting with the piano and having more strong opinions. I am beyond grateful for all the support I received from my parents, teachers and friends, and I eagerly anticipate my next recital.

Reflections of the Performers: Andrew, Miko and Tejbir

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Miko, Andrew and Tejbir performed their Book 1 Recital on 29 April 2023. Here are their thoughts about the experience:

~from Miko

At first, I was really nervous when I heard that I had to do a book 1 recital. I don’t really like being in the spotlight in front of crowds, but at least it wasn’t a solo recital. This recital was going to be different, because we’re not only playing one piece, but we’re playing about 4 pieces each. 

I felt comfortable that we were going to have a few joint lessons and recital practices, to get warmed up and get the idea of how the recital will run. I was a bit nervous when I saw that my solo was first, but it would also mean that I could get my solo’s done quicker. 


When practicing at home, I try to stay with the recording and with the beat, and I think at the recital, I stayed with the beat on the solo’s too. 

I think the recital went really well, but of course we made little mistakes. I think the tone sounded really well, and I think we did the echos well too. I especially think we did the twinkles well, and that we stayed with each other. We played Govotte perfectly, and i think we didn’t slow down throughout the piece. I am sure that part of this happended because we practiced a lot, preparing for this recital.

~from Andrew

My book 1 recital was very fun.

what I liked the most was all the preparation. I had to practice a lot of pieces I already knew how to play, but I had to polish them even more. I enjoyed the recital very much and it was a lot of fun! I hope the book 2 recital will go well too!

~from Tejbir

On Saturday, I had my Book 1 recital. My partners were Andrew and Miko. First we chose what solos we wanted to play. And then we practised the Twinkles and Gavotte. Then we had the dress rehearsal. Finally we had the Book 1 recital. I was nervous. We had a little warm-up before the recital. After the recital we ate some snacks. I was happy and nervous before the recital but after the recital I felt happy and tired.

2022 Fall Solo Recitals

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SMAHK’s Fall, 2022 Solo Recitals were held on Saturday, 26 November. It was wonderful to hear so many of the students share their music with one another. Thanks to the more relaxed restrictions, we enjoyed having full families including grandparents as part of the audience! Staff and parents alike have commented about how smoothly the recitals went, with one parent commenting about being able to notice the growth from the last Solo Recitals until now.

Please enjoy some of the photos from the event!

International Live Virtual Concert!

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Several SMAHK students participated in the 22nd International Live Virtual Concert. This is the third time we have been fortunate to have students participate in this global event. The organisers are in Ireland and Spain. We are so grateful that our students are able to have this opportunity to connect with other young musicians from around the world.

For this concert, there was a special guest artist who was a young professional guitarist, also from Spain. In addition to Hong Kong, performers who played at this concert were from India, Indonesia, Ireland, Iran, Japan, Macau, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey. We were lucky to be able to have our SMAHK students perform at our school, so they had both the joy of playing in front of an in person audience, as well as the chance to interact with others from around the world.

Here are what the students have to say about the experience:

~Andrew

I have greatly enjoyed this afternoon, as it has allowed me to share my music with people from all around the world. Despite the technical difficulties, music was able to connect all of us, the concert providing a platform for different people at different stages of learning to share their music.

~Stacey

Having an opportunity to play in the international live concert was simply unimaginable for me. During the concert, I got the opportunity to listen to everyone across the world and learn the style of their playing with different instruments. For example the flute, the trombone, the guitar and many more. To me performing isn’t just performing. It’s like sharing part of my soul to others even though I might not be there. I enjoyed the experience very very much after that concert. I’ve reflected on my performance by reviewing the live stream after. In the future, I might want to add more dynamics to my piece to enhance the emotions of this song.

~Isabel

The full concert is available to view on YouTube: https://youtu.be/kDXW54-k0wk. Please enjoy all of the performances!

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