TAPESTRIES: Piano Recital by Sophia Lim on 25th August 2024

On 25th August 2024, the Society of Performing Arts, KK (SPArKS) held a special event, namely, TAPESTRIES: Piano Recital by Sophia Lim at the Tun Hamdan Mini Theater, Yayasan Sabah.

Sophia Lim, who is a Sabahan solo pianist currently residing in London, conducted a 1-hour workshop attended by 30 piano students, teachers and music enthusiasts to share her experience on studying at the Royal College of Music, London as well as on life as a professional solo pianist who has performed in the United Kingdom, Spain and Malaysia. She also shared advice and tips on how to practice and deal with performance anxiety.

After the workshop, an audience of more than 100 people filled the theatre to watch Sophia perform pieces by various famous composers including Debussy, Godowsky and Schumann on the grand piano, including a piece by Schumann that was 30 minutes in length comprising 18 short movements which can be described as whimsical, eccentric and fiery.

Audience members feedback given include the following:

• Datin Phyllis Lo – “Home-grown Sophia Lim’s piano recital ‘Tapestries’ was a mesmerizing display of technical skill & emotional depth leaving the audience spellbound & proud!”
• So Youn Jung- “A rare chance to enjoy a truly beautiful performance by a talented artist from Sabah!”
• Grace Lee- “It was a great pleasure hearing some romantic music from such a talented pianist on a serene Sunday afternoon with my mum. We truly enjoyed it!”

We at SPArKS hope that this event inspired piano players and allowed the audience to bask in the wonderful piano performance by Sophia. It is events like these that help elevate performing arts in Sabah, and we hope we can continue to organise similar events more frequently in the future.

We wish to thank our wonderful sponsors who supported this event including Royal Holloway University of London, Sabah Tourism Board and Pang Piano.