Rachel stars in Jerusalem debut

Fifteen year-old pianist Rachel Cheung Wai-ching was invited to Jerusalem, Israel, last week to make her debut performance with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra at the Jerusalem Performing Arts Centre.

'It was an eye-opening experience. A professional there took care of me and gave me a lot of advice. He taught me how to analysis a piece of music. And it was great to work with local musicians there,' Rachel recalled.

Rachel, who is now studying at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA), first showed her talent when she touched the keyboard at the age of four.

She has won various international awards, including the Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Scholarship last year.

She also won first prize at the 2002 Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod, Wales and took first place at the 2003 Fifth Biennial International Competition for Young Pianists (Junior Group) in Memory of Vladimir Horowitz.

She has even been invited to perform at the Chopin International Piano Festival, Duszniki, Poland, for the next five years {minus} the first and the only pianist to have received this honour.

Rachel was introduced to the piano by her parents. 'As I kept practising, I discovered the greatness of music - every piece of music work reflects the composers' ways to communicate with people.'