胡淑徽 Sophia Woo Shuk-fai
Sophia Woo is a percussionist with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra as well as a percussion instructor at the Hong Kong Academy for the Performing Arts, Hong Kong Baptist University and the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Sophia Woo started her music studies at the HKAPA, majoring in percussion with Mr. Lung Heung-wing. After graduating with distinction in 1990, she was awarded The Bernard Van Zuiden Music Fund Scholarship for advanced studies at London – Guildhall School of Music and Drama with David Corkhill (Principal Percussion, Philharmonia Orchestra), Michael Skinner (Principal Percussion, Royal Opera House) and Terry Emery (Percussion, BBC Symphony Orchestra).
In England, she was selected as a member of the Guildhall New Music Ensemble, giving various performances and touring overseas to her hometown of Hong Kong in May 1991. In the summer of the same year, she performed Xenakis’ “Rebounds” for the “Young Musician of the Year– Percussion Master Class, 1991” for a BBC-TV broadcast.
Before starting with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra in 1992, she had been freelancing with the orchestra for five years and served as Principal Percussion with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta and the Macau Chamber Orchestra.
Sophia Woo is involved with many chamber music and solo works. She performed at the ISCM-ACL World Music Days Festival, and represented the HKPO at the Asian Friendly Concert in Fukuoka, Japan in 1994. In December of the same year, she performed the Berlioz Requiem with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, with Seiji Ozawa conducting.
One of the founders of Jenga — The Hong Kong Percussion Quartet, set up in 1998, she has also performed with the Hong Kong Percussion Group. In 1999, the HKPG gave a series of concerts at the Culture of Europe Festival, in Weimar, Germany.
In addition to her busy performance and teaching schedule, Sophia has also given lessons in Macau before 2004 as a volunteer and workshops at the Macau Youth Music Festival in 2001 and 2002, a programme of the Cultural Institute of the Macau S.A.R. Government.
Sophia is very enthusiastic about the music education in Hong Kong. She has been invited to give masterclasses and workshops presented by the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra since 2004 and was invited to be a juror of the Hong Kong Young Musician of the Year 2008 and 2010.
Apart from performing in the concert hall, Sophia gives a lot of ensemble visits to the primary schools, secondary schools, special needs schools and universities in Hong Kong under the Young Audience Scheme by the HKPO. As a volunteer, Sophia also hosted a drum circle class as a music therapy for the Beacon Hill School in 2011 and 2012.
胡淑徽現為香港管弦樂團敲擊樂手，並任教於香港演藝學院、香港浸會大學及香港中文大學。
胡淑徽早年在香港演藝學院接受音樂訓練，主修敲擊樂，師承龍向榮先生。 1990 年以優異成績畢業後再贏得萬瑞庭獎學金，前往英國著名學府市政廳音樂及戲劇學院深造，跟隨愛樂管弦樂團敲擊樂首席葛堯、皇家歌劇院管弦樂團敲擊樂首席施堅拿及英國BBC交響樂團敲擊樂手艾美利等學習。
在英就讀期間，胡淑徽更被挑選加入學院的現代音樂樂團，參與多次重要演出，包括於 1991 年 5 月從英國到香港演出。同年夏季，她又再被邀請參與由英國BBC製作、在全英各地電視廣播之「青年音樂家年獎」大師班節目演出，演奏史拿加斯的《Rebounds》。
在正式加入香港管弦樂團之前的五年，胡淑徽一直以非合約團員身份與港樂合作，直至1992年加入樂團。在此之前，她又曾任香港小交響樂團及澳門室樂團的首席敲擊樂手。
胡淑徽經常參加室樂及獨奏演出，包括於「 ISCM-ACL 世界音樂節」亮相，以及於 1994 年代表香港管弦樂團出席在日本福岡市舉行之「亞洲友好音樂節」。同年 12 月，她又應邀與美國波士頓交響樂團及小澤征二合作，演奏白遼士的安魂曲。
此外，胡淑徽亦是在 1998 年成立的「 Jenga 香港敲擊樂四重奏」創辦人之一，並曾與香港敲擊樂團合作。 1999 年夏季，她應邀聯同香港敲擊樂團前往德國威瑪市演出，亮相「歐洲文化節」的一系列音樂會。
在香港繁忙的演出及教學工作之餘，胡淑徽又於2001及2002年應澳門政府文化局邀請，為澳門青年音樂節舉辦工作坊，及於2004年義務於澳門教授敲擊樂，致力栽培新一代的敲擊樂人才。
胡淑徽對香港的音樂教育充滿熱誠，自2004年開始經常應邀教授由香港管弦樂團舉辦的大師班及工作坊，並於2008及2010年為香港傑出青少年音樂家大獎擔任評判。
除了演出音樂會外，胡淑徽經常與香港管弦樂團「青少年聽眾」計劃的音樂小組探訪小學、中學、特殊學校及香港各大專院校。此外，她又於2011及2012年義務為畢架山小學組織集體鼓樂(drum circle)音樂治療小組。
