Music at Maritime
The soft chatter of musicians alike echoed on the faces of the four walls where the night’s performance will be held. Jazz music was being played on speakers hung on the corners. Five sets of musical instruments were set in the middle of the room, surrounded by foldable, black chairs. Several spotlights glare at the centerpiece, displaying a glimmering drum set, a Yamaha wooden piano, two beat speakers with one attached to a recorder and sound manipulator, and a grand xylophone. On the other side of the room lay guitars and violins, with students fine-tuning their instruments.
This is the Music Scholarship Concert of 2014, held by RCHK to demonstrate the skills and talents of their students that obtained a Music Scholarship in the past few years. The event was held in the Hong Kong Maritime Museum, Hong Kong, on the 8th of September at 6:30 pm. The dress code for the performers was Semi-Formal, while there were no specifications to the guests. Twelve individual performers appeared on stage at different intervals of the concert, depending on their roles. It hadn’t taken long until the audience was able to hear and witness the genius of these scholarship students. The performers consisted of singer and flutist Misha Mah, bass guitarist Patrick Yau, violinist Angel Wong, pianist Cynthia Lam, pianist and violinist Tao Chen, pianist Jackie Tsoi, flutist Mina Lee, violinist Cordelia Poon, pianist Kendrick Ho, violinist Hazel Yeung, rock and blues guitarist Michael Ju, and percussionist James Koo.
Since the performers of the night are already given scholarships, there is definitely no need to describe the calibre of their performances. It was distinct that they did not show any nervousness as they played their piece of art, and that most mistakes went unnoticed. However, as most scholars will tell you, this excellence does not come easy. Pianist Scholar Jackie Chung Wing Tsoi of 11th grade was happy to inform me that she was able to overcome her worries of playing the wrong notes by taking her mind off of worrying about anything. Like the other musicians, she had to practice continuously. For that single piece by Frédéric François Chopin, Tsoi rehearsed the music piece for “2-3 weeks” in order to be able to “memorize the right score” and play out “music style and emotions that could be brought into the piece”. As a competent piano musician, Tsoi subjected some her time to assure that she can “…convey the hidden message in the piece and bring out the beautiful music.” With all these objectives in check, Tsoi ended up telling me that she was satisfied with her performance on that night.
The annual Music Scholarship Concert is undoubtedly a wonderful way to show and inspire other potential musicians to create art and make the world less bland. It is no wonder why school came up with such an idea in the first place.
By Jose Wong
