MUSIC
Music compositions of orchestral pieces, chamber pieces, and songs
KINGDOM OF ELBERKHAN
for wind orchestra
This is the theme music I wrote for my novel, Legend of Elberkhan.
I had the honor to conduct and perform with the Sydney University Wind Orchestra (SUWO) at their concert GAME ON! on October 30th, 2022, at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.
Orchestra: Sydney University Wind Orchestra
Conductor (guest): Yuxiao Chen
Orchestra director: Cathy Chan
Video credit: Joshua Winestock
A SHOOTING STAR - in honor of Stephen W Hawking
for voice and piano (ft. classical guitar)
14 March 2018, on the day Stephen Hawking died, I wrote a poem, which then turned into the lyrics of this song.
This is dedicated to Hawking, who made me realize as a little girl how fascinating and infinite the universe is, and how short and insignificant a single human life is in the length of time, but most of all, how lucky we are to be in this world and have the chance to glance at the beauty of it. What is the meaning of life if not appreciating the world that we were born in?
Voice: Yuxiao Chen
Piano: Yuxiao Chen
Classical guitar: James Love
Recording credit: James Love
MISTY LAKE
for string quartet
This is a piece I wrote on piano first then changed to brass quintet and string quartet. Here is the string version which I think suits the feeling the most. The piece is in F minor with a melancholy and lyrical theme and a fast but still sentimental trio.
The audio demo is a computer generated midi.
CHINESE ANCIENT POEMS
for acapella quartet
I composed music for several ancient Chinese poems. My middle school Chinese teacher said that the Chinese ancient poems of Song Dynasty (Song Ci) used to be songs. They were written into several fixed melodies and the words rhymed. But because the melodies were only passed on by singing, they gradually became lost throughout the ages, which I think is a real pity. Today, only the written words remain for us to see.
So I tried to put these words back into music again, hoping to get some of the feeling back. I used the acapella format because it requires nothing but the natural human voice, which is the most primitive and ancient instrument we ever had.
I had the honor of performing the songs in an SSAA acapella group at the World Concert at the University of Sydney International House on 22 September 2019 with 3 other friends.
Voice: Sarah Choong, Seren Liu, Meredith Zhang, Yuxiao Chen
江城子·密州出猎 (JIANGCHENGZI MIZHOUCHULIE)
In this poem, the poet was on a hunting trip with horse and bow, very dashing and unrestrained. He was expressing himself full of strength and courage, ready to go to battle and fight for his country.
钗头凤·红酥手 (CHAITOUFENG HONGSUSHOU)
This poem is about a sad love story. There was a young man and a young woman, both very talented poets and artists, who were deeply in love with each other. However, due to the discordance and strong power of their parents, they were forced to be apart (yes, that's what happens in ancient China). They were really devastated, and could only reminisce about the wonderful moments they spent together in the past which they knew would never happen again. So the man wrote this poem, about the lover that he could not reach and the sadness in his heart.
WHITE CHRISTMAS (Arrangement)
for trumpet duet
This was my first music arrangement: a little trumpet duet of the song White Christmas. I arranged it as a Christmas present to the trumpet section of our band. Demo recorded by myself.