Suzuki Music Academy of Hong Kong

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

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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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!

Reflections from the Performers: Book 4&5 Recital – Hermione and Isabel

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Hermione and Isabel

The preparation for this recital specifically was a little stressful because I had to manage my time with practising the many pieces while also being able to study for school exams. Despite all the crazy emotions I felt during the past month preparing for the recital, I was mostly super excited to play all of the pieces in front of some people who have watched me play the violin since day 1 and people who’ve barely seen me play. I was still a bit nervous as the most challenging parts such as managing time, playing the harder pieces (e.g. Vivaldi g minor) and trying to get all of the pieces to my expectation got me on a emotional roller coaster. But overall, I am extremely thankful because I got an opportunity to show my skills that have developed over the years and had enough support to get me through this challenge. 

~by Hermione

Thinking back to my book 4/5 recital, I think that it was relatively well done. I feel like a worked really hard on it, practicing a lot both individually and with my partner Hermione. Now that it’s over, I am kind of glad, because the week leading up to it was extremely nerve-wracking. During the recital, I was even more nervous-if that was even possible, but after a few pieces, I started to gain more confidence and it became more enjoyable. I would like to thank Ms Diane, Ms Susan, and Ms Sonomi for helping both me and Hermione on this book 4/5 recital, because without them, it wouldn’t have been possible.

~by Isabel

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