Hong Kong percussionist strikes the right note in Germany
Talented percussionist and former Diocesan Girls' School student Sabrina Ma Suk-wai has much to celebrate. The 28-year-old finished her master's degree and promptly won a prestigious music competition in Germany. Ma was one of four winners and the only one in the percussion category.
Talented percussionist and former Diocesan Girls' School student Sabrina Ma Suk-wai has much to celebrate.
The 28-year-old finished her master's degree and promptly won a prestigious music competition in Germany. Ma was one of four winners and the only one in the percussion category.
About 200 soloists and ensembles battled it out at the Deutsche Musikwettbewerb (German Music Competition) in Stuttgart in March, performing in front of 1,800 spectators over the course of a fortnight. Competitors had to make it through four tough rounds, with the winners securing enough points from a 30-member panel of judges.
I no longer felt like a student … but like a professional musician. I felt liberated, confident, and free to play the music I like in the way I liked
For Ma, her win marked the start of a new chapter after finishing a master's in music at the University of Music in Karlsruhe, Germany. "[It] coincided with the end of my studies and so it marked the end of one phase and the beginning of another," she said. "I no longer felt like a student … but like a professional musician. I felt liberated, confident, and free to play the music I like in the way I liked." Ma was born in Britain and moved to Hong Kong with her family as a baby. She did primary and secondary school here, then studied music in the US at the University of Michigan.
She started learning the piano and violin at a young age, but it was percussion - including the snare drum, marimba and timpani - that struck the strongest chord with her. "I have a natural love for the melodic percussion instruments such as the marimba and the vibraphone. I really feel at home with these instruments," she said. "As percussionists we love playing on unconventional instruments, such as stones, tin cans, tree branches, even our own bodies - the possibilities are endless."
Ma's percussion teacher for 12 years was Sophia Woo of the Academy of Performing Arts. "She is such a talented woman and she's very tough on herself," Woo said.
It was the first time Ma had entered the German competition, following in the footsteps of percussionists she admires who have won before and benefited greatly. "What is great about this competition is that they provide a lot of support for winners and scholarship holders," she said. "[The winners] get the concert engagements, CD production and other services that all professional musicians dream of."