Suzuki Music Academy of Hong Kong

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

Reflections from the Performers: Viola! Book 2 ~ Yeh Joon, Linnaea and Aslan

By

Linnaea, Aslan and Yeh Joon worked together to prepare their Book 2 recital, starting from the beginning of the Fall Term. All of their efforts culminated in their performance on Saturday. Here are the performers’ reflections on the experience:

from Aslan

Over the course of the past few months i have been preparing for my book 2 recital and thought it went better than i thought as i didn’t mess up as much as i thought i would, I put a lot of effort into bochorreni minute as i couldn’t get the slurs to be fast enough or long enough and in the recital i executed it quite well. With the help of Linnea and Yeah Joon we got to play chorus from Judas maccabaeus in harmony which in my opinion sounded quite nice plus we also got to play musette as a harmony too. My three solo pieces are quite nice as i didn’t mess up as much as i did before and i remembered the trigger notes of D,D,B,B in Bourree. In the two grenadiers i thought i had great dynamics and showed the different moods of the piece. Although in witches dance i messed up a bit but i still kept on beat and continued playing the song. Twinkles were great. 🙂

from Yeh Joon

In this book2 recital, I felt more nervous than book 1 recital because they are harder pieces. One thing I enjoyed the most about this book recital was how we as a group collaborated well with one another. In my Gavotte from Mignon, I rushed the piece and my best piece was Long Long Ago. I learned that I should prepare more to make me feel better when preforming. Will remember this for next time.  

from Linnaea

HK meets NZ with NZ Suzuki Connect!

By

New Zealand Connect Virtual Concert Hall

Recently, Lincoln had the chance to participate in a NZ Suzuki Connect Concert organised by the New Zealand Suzuki Institute. Here is his reflection on the experience:

One sunny day, I participated in an online concert hosted by New Zealand Suzuki Institute. 

My mom told me that it is a meaningful event because New Zealand is under a lockdown and people there need to stay at home, so it is good that we can cheer people up by sharing music!

I was practising the performance piece hard to prepare for the performance. 

There were 21 performers and 17 audiences. As New Zealand is turning to spring, we were required to wear spring clothes. Most people there were from Auckland, New Zealand and only me is from Hong Kong! They played piano, violin, cello and guitar. Most people played either Book 1 or 2. I believe I played my piece wonderfully, the host there said that I am “Well Done” and a student there said “Wow” after my performance. 

The audiences and performers who aren’t playing clapped in amazement for every performer that played their instrument. At the end of the concert, we took a funny group photo with virtual audience seats. It is a wonderful event and I enjoyed it very much!

Thank you very much for Ms Diane introducing this event to me.

Reflection from the Performers: Hugo, Gwen-Sofia and Chloe

By

Chloe, Gwen-Sofia and Hugo gave their first recital on Saturday, 24 April. It was wonderful to hear their performances as they “looked back” at the Book 1 pieces from their perspectives as Book 2 students! For both cello and piano, Minuet 2 is the piece for Graduation Level 1. Hugo graduated from Level 1 in 2020; Gwen-Sofia and Chloe will graduate from Level 1 in May, 2021.

Please enjoy Gwen-Sofia, Hugo, and Chloe’s reflections on their experience:

from Hugo

Before the recital I felt very nervous I thought everyone would hate my performance.  After the recital I felt very proud of myself of finally finishing book 1. During the recital I took deep breaths to calm myself down.  I would tell other kids that are going to have recitals to not look at the audience and focus on playing.  I liked my perpetual motion the most.

from Chloe

Hi my name is Chloe Chung and on Saturday April 24, 2021 3pm, I had my first cello recital in Hong Kong. 

Let’s start. I felt very worried and I had butterflies in my tummy. I don’t like it. First song I played was Long Long Ago. It was a beautiful song and I loved it.  There were Hugo my cello classmate and Gwen Sofia the piano student too. We played Allegro and Twinkle variations together.  Later, I felt less and less worried and I started to enjoy my playing. My parents said it was really good. 

After we left school, my mom said she would buy me a new toy on Sunday but I was so tired, I took a day off school today.  I think I worked hard with my mom and I felt proud of myself. It is an amazing feeling.  Maybe next time I will spend more time practicing even more slowly, and I will listen to the CD more.  But I think the graduation went well and I really loved it because I feel more confident starting Book 2 now.

Thank you Miss Sandra, Ms Sonomi and Miss Lan for your help, and Dad, mom and Caleb for helping me and listening to my pretend recitals this month. I love my cellito very much and I am calling her ‘Harmony’ now cos I can play some harmonies now too! 

  • Hugo and family
  • Gwen-Sofia and family
  • Chloe and family
  • Performers and teachers
  • performers
  • Trio

Reflections from the Performers: Alice and Ayden

By

Our last Book Recital of 2020-2021 was a Book 3 violin recital performed by Ayden and Alice. Please enjoy their reflections on the experience.

from Ayden

It was a very fun and exciting experience being able to perform in front of friends and family. I felt proud that I was able to do duets with people. Most pieces that I played were very exciting and I couldn’t wait to play them all. Even though I played a few wrong notes, I shrugged it off and continued to perform with confident. This was the best recital I have ever done!


from Alice

  • Ayden and family
  • Alice and parents
  • The performers with Ms Sonomi and Ms Diane
  • Alice and Ayden with Ms Diane
  • Ayden and Alice
  • greeting their zoom audience
  • performing one of the duets
  • waiting for the recital to begin

Reflection from the Performer: Julian Mak

By

One of the positive and exciting things that has come about as a result of the pandemic is the realisation by teachers worldwide that technology allows us to do things together no matter where in the world we might be!

Recently, SMAHK student Julian Mak had the opportunity to play for an international concert organised by the American Suzuki Institute as part of the lead-up to its (delayed) 50th Anniversary Celebration. Performers based in the ASI’s home of Stevens Point, Wisconsin played in person, while other students joined on zoom from around the world. Julian was the only performer from Asia, so the recital began at midnight Hong Kong time!

Here are his thoughts about the experience:

Last Saturday, I was invited to perform in a virtual studio recital which was based in Wisconsin.
Obviously, waking up at 7am and staying up until midnight is not the most promising sleep schedule for playing well in a concert, so I took a nap for around 4 hours, just in time to eat dinner. Dad also made a setup for the recital, which looked ridiculous. 
Overall, the concert was a very fun and new experience for me. I certainly never have had to stay up until midnight to perform in a concert, let alone a virtual one!   

Suzuki Music Academy of Hong Kong believes:

Follow us on Facebook