Suzuki Music Academy of Hong Kong

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

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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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.

Reflection of the Performer: Ha Jin’s Book 4 Viola Recital

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~from Ha Jin

I think that in the end, my book 4 recital went better than I expected it too, despite the many setbacks I had while preparing for the recital. Originally my recital was scheduled to be in November, 2022, but after fracturing my wrist I wasn’t able to play for many weeks. It was a difficult time, as I had put a lot of effort into my playing prior to the injury and I was not able to perform. Even after getting my cast off, I almost had to relearn how to play my viola, and it was very challenging to get back to the level I had before I got injured. It took many more weeks to even get all of my fingers properly placed on the fingerboard. Then, I had to spend tremendous amounts of time to get other things back, such as my vibrato and my shifting. However, as I reflect back on my experience, I think that this delay of my book recital was for the better. It allowed me to slow down and focus more on the pieces. I practiced the pieces in ways I didn’t before my recital. Therefore, during the recital, I was able to play all of the pieces much more confidently. During the recital, I was anxious as I had been making mistakes in dress rehearsals and when I practiced. However, I told myself not to overthink anything and I was able to perform all of the pieces well. I was relieved to finally have performed. Overall, I think that my recital was very successful, and I learned a lot about myself and perseverance from this experience. I would like to thank everyone who made this book recital possible and those who have always encouraged me. 

  • Thank you, Ms Sonomi!
  • Mom, HaJin, Ms Sonomi and Ms Susan. Great efforts by all!
  • Celebrating with Ms Susan!
  • Congratulatory comments from the Zoom audience
  • Recorded Duet with Ms Susan for the Telemann Double!

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!

Reflections of the Performers: Eric, Hugo & Wesley Book 2 Recital

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Wesley, Hugo and Eric worked together to prepare and perform their Book 2 recital. Here are their reflections on the experience.

~from Eric

From this recital, I took away three things. 

Firstly, I noticed how important it is to listen to each other when playing our joint pieces. An example is when you mentioned the balance all three of us needed to achieve in Musette. I needed to listen to Wesley to balance with him and then look at Hugo’s bow so that I and Wesley can balance Hugo. This made me realize how important listening and adapting to each other is, in any group performance. 
Next, I noticed how a small pause is sometimes the most powerful way to start or end a piece. For example, when I ended Waltz, I wanted to pause after I finished the last note, to let the ringing tone sink in before I took a bow. I feel like this was a perfect ending touch to this piece. Silence is truly a part of music. 

Finally, I noticed how much work we put into this recital. We planned, practiced, and improved over and over again until we had it perfect. This made me realize how much effort is put into a performance, and not just in music. The amount of teamwork and dedication needed for any performance we see is probably a lot more than how much we think it is. To conclude, I want to thank Wesley and Hugo. They were amazing to work with and we collaborated together really well. Furthermore, I want to thank Ms.Diane, Ms.Sonomi, and Ms.Mary Ann because they work hard every day to help us. Ms.Diane works for many hours a day and doesn’t even have time for a proper lunch on Saturdays. Ms.Sonomi accompanies so many pieces, and without her, our performance would not have been possible. Ms.Mary Ann assists countless things and gets so many things done for us to keep our school running.

~ from Hugo

I am proud of myself for completing my book 2 recital, I spent a lot of time polishing and improving my pieces and I am relieved it is over.  

I think Eric, Wesley and I worked well together when we were practising our joint pieces.  This is a rare opportunity to be able to play a trio with them, I also learnt something from each of them, I think Eric is very dedicated and loves his music a lot, and Wesley is very hard working and takes practising seriously.  These are all good things I should follow.  

At first, our trios were not very good, but after some individual practice at home, we got better each time we played together.

I overall enjoyed the experience even though there was some pressure during the process, especially in the week before the recital.

~from Wesley

Saturday’s recital was very good, I had one mistake for every piece and I think it was because I’m nervous when I was playing the first piece of the recital, my legs were shaking but I felt better afterwards. I think I also need to add more emotions to the piece, like swinging my body while playing the song.

As a group playing with Eric and Hugo, I learnt that when playing at a recital I have to put more emotion to the song. And for the joint pieces I have to match both Eric and Hugo’s rhythm, for both pieces. I also think I did well on the special notes in Judas since I could really hear the sound loud and clear around the room. For Musette I think I did decent with the overlapping bows. I can do better by really bringing up the overlapping sound more. For Gavotte, I think I can do better because I don’t think I did very well with the sixteenth notes.

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