Talented young musician attends the Magnolia International Music Festival in Singapore

Victoria Luo ’27 plays the Erhu, a bowed Chinese instrument with two strings that has a very unique and expressive sound. Victoria had the fantastic opportunity to perform and compete at the Magnolia International Music Festival in Singapore at the start of October.

Victoria has been playing the Erhu since she was 4 years old. “At the time, I was living in China and I lived in China until Grade 3. Until then, I was learning the Erhu in person.” 

When she moved to Canada, she had a couple of online lessons before she transitioned to a new teacher, who accompanied her to Singapore. “My new teacher is from Shanghai and she just graduated with her Masters in Erhu.” 

Victoria has been playing the Erhu for a long time and has really enjoyed it as a creative hobby. Playing the Erhu has also allowed her to connect to her culture, “I always felt that since I’m living in Canada, I should have some ties to my culture.” 

The Magnolia International Music Festival is an annual music festival organized by the Magnolia International Music Festival and Magnolia Asia-Pacific Cultural Consortium, in Singapore. The Shanghai Academy of Visual Arts created this music festival for young musicians and was officially established in 2019. 

At the Festival, there are three rounds in total, with two preliminary rounds for qualification into the final round. In the first two rounds, participants could submit a video recording of their performance. “It was nice because I had more chances to redo my video and submit the best one.” Victoria earned a second place finish in the first round, and 1st place in the second round allowing her to qualify for the final round in Singapore. At the Festival, Victoria really enjoyed meeting like-minded people and sharing her love of music. “Since I’ve been living here in Canada for most of my life, it’s just nice to meet other people that play the same instrument.” 

The Magnolia Music Festival is the first big competition that Victoria has attended. “I’ve only really done exams before. I just completed my Grade 10 Shanghai Conservatory Exam last year.” 

She also provided her take on music exams and what drove her to participate in this competition, “It’s just an instructor giving you a mark. That’s not really too meaningful to me. So I was like, I have the chance now, so I might as well go out and do something more challenging. So then I decided to participate in the competition.”

When asked if she has plans for the future, Victoria’s response was very insightful, “I feel like if you do truly enjoy something, you can never really leave it in life. And yeah, I would definitely keep playing it.” 

She has decided to take a break from any competitions, focusing on her academics instead. But she still wishes to continue playing the Erhu, and perhaps learning the Pipa, also known as the Chinese lute, in the future, “Maybe when I start college or when my academics aren’t as big a priority.”

She had a wonderful and fun experience at the Magnolia International Music Festival, and her advice if you ever visit Singapore is “Go to the zoo if you have a chance!”