Written by Felix Chang
Edited by Kate Vo
After 141 days of constant coordination and preparation, 9 groups and over 20 performers delivered a spectacular performance at the second annual Harmony Student Recital! Through a productive and fun-filled experience, comprising of feedback and boba at the Small Ensemble Sessions, challenging and intuitive Finale Rehearsals, and a successful concluding performance, students truly expressed colors with their music and had so much fun throughout the way, having a great time and making some unforgettable memories. With wonderful representations of masterpieces such as Edward Elgar’s Salut D’amour combined with some newly composed pieces like Jessie Spain’s Oboe Trios, all the Harmony members’ hard work was evident even in the high-tension setting of a concert, as countless hours of rehearsing and practicing did not fail the performers.
Along with the students’ hard work were the coaches’ simple and complex suggestions to further enhance their ability to put on their best performance. Almost every student group had a coach (or two) to give them specialized advice in their playing or expression of the music. For instance, during the rehearsal of Dimitri Shostakovich’s 5 Pieces for 2 Violins and Piano, coach Kate Vo gave the students advice on a variety of different topics such as phrasing, balance, and coordination. Many of these skills that coaches give students are essentials to playing chamber music, far different from playing solos. Through these rehearsals students also were given the opportunity to bond and have fun with playing through comedic events or simply expressing their own ideas on the music. Certain groups had some extreme fun with this, such as coach Vincent Tsai and the students playing Elgar’s Salut D’amour. The rehearsal and preparation process of every concert is always so colorful and eventful, creating a unique atmosphere for the musicians and enticing anticipation for the next rehearsal.
After our first Small Ensemble Session (commonly known as SES, learn more here), we had rehearsals, had fun, and guess what? Another SES. Our second SES was much like our first, however all the members could clearly see the effort the students had put into implementing their suggestions over two months before. Overall, the performances struck the members as more professional, allowing for more complex and detailed feedback towards the students and greatly showing off the development of each student group. Of course, after each group had performed and absorbed the suggestions and compliments from the other members, we just had to have boba and pizza. The second SES was overall more organized and planned out, creating a much smoother rehearsal and chow time, and much more fun. At the end of the SES, we had a great group photo, and then we had a comedic one… that’s going to be great… right? After two… wonderful, marvelous group photos, the musicians indulged in their boba and went home, excited to see how they could develop their pieces with the new ideas in mind.
Along with our Small Ensemble Sessions, Harmony has another event separate from the normal rehearsal schedule. The Finale Rehearsal is much like a normal rehearsal, and sometimes it is even combined with the SES for maximum efficiency. The Finale Rehearsal is our “big group rehearsal” where we all gather and rehearse our finale piece. Although we do not have many finale rehearsals, the musicians put their all into the short time we get, allowing us to piece together over 10 different parts. Even though we had some challenges such as a very resonant room and once, a half-broken piano, the members’ dedication and focus allowed us to pull the music together and create a uniformed piece.
Even during the performance, Harmony’s lighthearted yet professional experience still shines, best expressed by the backstage of the performance. Some musicians may be preparing for their turn, some listening to the group on stage, and some even be conducting along! While we missed the conducting part this time around, many students were attentively listening to the other students play their hearts out on stage while the Artist Circle sat in the back of the audience, also listening and thinking about their own performance later in the program. One of the Artist Circle members was even standing, as we had miscounted the number of chairs required at the beginning of the recital (whoops). Even through an intense moment of the season, the musicians could still find something to laugh about and create a great attitude towards performing, something thematically unique in Harmony’s community.
Overall, with the comedic and eventful Preludia 2024-2025 season, the students were able to experience a fun and spirited time, rehearsing and bonding with each other which, over time, would bring light to a masterful illustration of their respective pieces along with smiles on their faces as they went home.
Harmony Musicians present: Leo Baker, Adrien Boeuf, Blake Bowen, Maya Angela Cheng, Darwin Collins, Linda Liu, Maryam Mohsin, Arnav Pendse, Kieu-Vy Van-Dinh, Kai Bunger-Tang, Felix Chang, Samuel Chen, Tiffany Chou, Darwin Collins, Artin Irani, Jack Jiang, Michelle Fang, Matthew Hong, Eileen Lee, Lumi Lee, Hanting Liu, Jesse Spain, Vincent Tsai, Kate Vo, Tiffany Yiu, Taylor Zhen
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