Ming Ming playing "the two grenadiers"

After a whole summer's hard work, Ming Ming's bow hand has greatly improved. Finally she is able to play with a straight bow and a more loose bow hold and arm movement. Big thanks to her teacher Miss Lucinda Ali-Landing.

Ming Ming playing violin for Han Han

Emile is very interested in listening to Ming Ming on the violin. Ming Ming's violin is maybe the most familiar sound for him and probably reminds him of the womb. The practice was the regular sound throughout  my pregnancy, and compare to the silence of the library where I spent most of my time, the violin must have sounded pretty good to him.

Ming Ming's Book 1 Recital

After almost two years since she started the violin (May 2014, first blog post here), Ming Ming finally graduated from Suzuki Book 1. This past Sunday we had her book 1 recital at home to mark and celebrate the event.

a program prepared by papa Antoine

the audience was ready

Introduction by Ming Ming's violin teacher Miss Hilary. Piano accompanist: Liz. Liz was most generous with her time. She rehearsed with Ming Ming twice before the recital. We could not have done the recital without her!

Ming Ming played really really well for the first half of the program (from Twinkle to Etude), the quality of her sound and her playing was much better than during practice. Unfortunately I did not record any of it (camera malfunction, I recorded the intervals instead with camera filming the floor). This is the first video that I did caught on camera - Bach's Minute 1.

Bach's Minute 2


Ming Ming messed up a little while playing Bach's Minute 3 and Schumann's The Happy Farmer, but was able to stay calm and keep going. This is the last and longest song of the recital - Gossec's Gavotte. And Ming Ming played it really well!

graduation certificate

I baked a chocolate cake with caramel decoration and icing (can you see that it is a violin) to celebrate.

and a bundt cake with a recipe from Anne

after cake, the kids had a serious dancing party! Sometimes helped by Liz's piano playing...

the guys helping with Mike's business proposal 

a card from Nourit

and one from Avi

Hyde Park Suzuki Winter Concert and Nutcrackers

the repertoire included suzuki songs and Christmas music. Ming Ming played the three Minutes by Bach and three Christmas songs. 

another home-made dress

my videos are pretty bad this time, so you only got images..

In the evening we headed to the Mandel Hall to watch The Nutcrackers which featured Lukas Ruby! thanks to Anne we got very good seats right at the front!

Lukas on right!

Suzuki Annual Honors Concert

Ming Ming playing Minute 1 by Bach at the Honors Concert at Logan Center

here is the official video taken by the school:

Ming Ming's first year on the Violin /明明奏琴----第一個年頭

I am planning to write something on the suzuki method of learning violin, as it created such amazing results but also becomes the hardest thing to do with Ming Ming every day.
We are pretty diligent students, practicing almost everyday. And Ming Ming's teacher Hilary probably sees Ming Ming as one of her best students. Still, it is hard to get a now six-year-old to practice everyday, sometimes I question if it is worth the fight. But before I come to the conclusion that it is not worth it, Ming Ming is still going to practice everyday, or almost.

Viola Violin Concert at the logan center

Hyde Park Suzuki's winter performance

Ming Ming in her recital dress that I just finished making the night before.

she is known as "Ming Ming Cadoux"

The school picked out three violinists for solo recitals, and Ming Ming was one of them. It was quite a honor. Though I think it was more a matter of luck than virtuosity for her case. The school probably picked among kids who had just finished a level, and Ming Ming got picked because she graduated from her twinkle variations this fall.

playing her solo piece

 playing "Lightly Row"

and then, while she was put in the middle, she did not know any of the rest of the songs, so she just stood there and smiled.

with Claire, after they got off stage

Xiao Hu was the third soloist.

watching the bigger kids perform

with her friends Claire and Mariposa

a Christmas concert by the Suzuki teachers and advanced students

with her teacher Miss Hilary

two halloween concerts

Halloween activities started early this year. A Suzuki Halloween concert scheduled this Saturday meant that I need to get Ming Ming's costumes ready a few days earlier. As to her costume choice, Ming Ming had been hesitating between that of a black cat, Mulan, and an American Indian. The commune kids had been planning to dress up as an American Indian tribe for Halloween since this summer, the parents, after some contemplation, finally decided that it would be politically incorrect. At the end I decided that I wanted to make a Mulan costume. Two evening at the sewing machine and here it is: Mulan's soldier uniform (看起來有點像個財主) with a belt, a hat marked with Mulan's family name "Hua" in Chinese, and a pair of shin guards. (well, I totally forgot about the weapon, but she has a violin here).
As all the materials are from the discount textile store ($2 per lb) and it is just a costume, I don't care if I sewed it wrong. It was actually quite enjoyable when I could be so carefree. Maybe I will continue to sew her costumes in the years to come. 

Ming Ming and her friend 

scary Oscar

in the beginning there were a lot of excitement. so many kids in costume made up quite a spectacular scene...

Oscar's turn

The halloween concert was a nice idea but did not quite work out. There were a lot of excitement before the concert and all the energy kind of died when the concert started. There were way too many performers (all the students!!), way too long (2 hrs!), and the beginners' piano recitals just did not work in this context (unlike the string instruments, piano recitals are all individual performances). 

a hall full of enthusiastic families and friends... and then ...
Antoine was bored to death, most of our friends fled... 

finally it was Ming Ming's turn. It was wise that they kept violin recitals at the end of the program, otherwise half of the hall would be empty by then.

in between Ming Ming's performance, I, with other parents, also played the most basic suzuki piece. I am glad that I don't have a record of it. As I stopped way before the others thinking that it was the end already while the other kept going on. 

dressed up again for an evening halloween concert "Dance of the Dead" by the university of Chicago symphony orchestra.
Lots of homemade costumes this year: Liz made Nourit's owl costume, and Anne made Lily's green fairy costume

mandel hall

you can't see it but some of the performers were very elaborately dressed.
The concert began with a"dance of the dead"... co-produced with the hyde park school of dance (Ming Ming's ballet school). Just as Anne and I were wondering if this lady in red leather jacket was a teacher at the dance school (she came in dancing as a half-dead Mick Jagger), she climbed up the stage and turned out to be the conductor!!

an enjoyable show! all the kids enjoyed it.