Student Musician Performances

Novellette in F major, Op. 21 No. 1 - Robert Schumann

“Schumann’s first novellette stood out to me because of how marked and bold it is. Having studied Schumann’s personal life, it was evident that this piece was written straight from his heart at a time where his desire towards Clara, his future spouse, was growing. Because of this, his first novellette was able to truly escape any formalities and structural absolutes. Being able to play something with so much freedom offered me the ability to lose myself in Schumann’s feelings at a stressful time in my life.” - Melissa Lee, Davis Senior High School

Violin Concerto in D Major 1st Movement - Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

“I wanted to play this piece as I've known for the longest time it was at the epitome of classical music, and I knew that if I performed the piece it would make me stand out as a violin player. Also, the many melodies that Tchaikovsky wrote are all so unique that I feel like everyone needs to experience them.” - Corey Sy, San Marino High School

Unravel - Toru Kitajima

“Tokyo Ghoul’s Unravel by Toru Kitajama is a classic. The deep themes of the anime resonate with many people worldwide. With the clear blue sky of everyday life cracking to reveal the mirror hiding the main character’s inner self, we can take a peek at his lurking persona: a Ghoul. Projecting a different self in the outer, and being completely different inside, are the Ghouls inside all of us camouflaging themselves to be human.” - Gavin Huang, Davis Senior High School

French Suite No.5 in G major, BWV 816 - Johann Sebastian Bach

“I decided to play this because my teacher loved it and recommended it to me. I mostly like how nice it sounds because it is very pretty and elegant. I hope it helps people to forget their hard situations.” - Sophia Lee, Dougherty Valley High School

Viola Concerto (1st Movement) - Paul Hindemith, and Cello Suite No. 3, Prelude - Johann Sebastian Bach

“They make us feel our emotions. The brain's emotion-producing functions can't tell the difference between an emotion felt while being entertained and one felt due to a real life circumstance. Therefore, playing music is like being an actor. We're creating drama in music for others to feel.” - Dennis Rui, San Marino High School

Summer - Joe Hisaishi

“I choose this music is because Joe Hisaishi is my favorite music composer, he composed a lot of absolute music and light music. Compare with hip hop music, his music are more quiet and relax. ‘Summer’ is the first music I play in orchestra in elementary school. It is the first song that I feel the charm of music.” - Xin Chen, Walnut High School

Prelude and Fugue in C-sharp minor, BWV 849 - Johann Sebastian Bach

“The Bach is a prelude and fugue: the prelude is a beautiful introductory piece and the fugue is a piece that is made up of three repeated musical subjects and five different voices, I like to think if the fugue as a string quintet or a choral quintet. Very fun to bring out the individual voices.” - Adrian Zaragoza, Davis Senior High School

Faded - Alan Walker

“I decided to play this not only because of its beautiful melody, but also it represents peace and calmness. This piece can help students de stress, especially when listening to the piano version.” - Charlotte Law, Dougherty Valley High School

Violin Concerto No. 1 - Max Bruch

“Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in G Minor, which was written in the late Romantic era, is renowned for its rich and passionate melodies all throughout the three movements: Prelude, Adagio, and Finale. However, the short cadenza that opens up Prelude particularly stood out to me due to its emotional intensity as well its shifts in tone. I resonate with the cadenza in this manner because at the time of this recording, which was fairly recent, I was apprehensive for the start of a new school year. However, practicing this cadenza helped me ease my apprehension in addition to being a huge plus for my mental health because of the exhilaration I felt whenever playing this piece.” - Kaylynn Yune, Valencia High School

Moon In One’s Cup - Yu-Peng Chen

“Close your eyes. Imagine a world where you had no worries. No school, no extracurriculars, no stress. Now let us run through a perfect day for you. Relaxation, doing your favourite activity, and listening to this relaxing music. Wait. Quick trip to Chinatown. Can you hear the themes present in legendary composer Yu-Peng Chen’s soundtrack? Listen as an Eastern fantasy is brought to life.” - Gavin Huang, Davis Senior High School

Por una Cabeza - Carlos Gardel

“This song is supposed to encapsulate a Spanish dance, meaning that its unique swing style is unlike what traditional classical music has to offer. Playing this song makes me happy as I know I can interpret the music and play it in my own way.” - Corey Sy, San Marino High School

One Summer’s Day - Joe Hisaishi

“I decided to play One Summer’s Day because it’s a unique song in that the individual chords and notes sometimes don’t sound right, but when it’s all put together, it produces a strangely calming and nostalgic melody.” - Grace Hahn, Dougherty Valley High School

Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2 - Frédéric Chopin

“Chopin's Nocturne op. 9 no. 2 has made its way into so many movies and TV shows that us piano players inherently cringe when we hear it, similar to Fur Elise by Beethoven or Stairway to Heaven for guitar. At its best, this nocturne radiates a certain coolness and detachment. It's crisp, clear, and just gets you, similar to that sharp, intellectual world traveler friend who always has useful insight on you life. At its worse, this nocturne is sloppy and overly sentimental. It’s like that drunk friend who is trying to explain their feelings, but mainly saying, “I love you so muuuuuuch” a bunch of times. Depending on the pianist, the piece can have two completely different effects.” - Gavin Huang, Davis Senior High School

Daisies Op. 38 No. 3 - Sergei Rachmaninoff

“The Rachmaninoff is a transcription of a piece he wrote for vocal soprano and piano. Daisies, in its original form, uses text from the Russian poem, Daisies by Igor Severyanin. The poem is about the beauty of daisies and the beauty of nature. The soprano sings the verses of this poem in Daisies. When I play the daisies transcription for solo piano (which is a combination of the soprano and piano part) I imagine the text of the poetry in my mind. To me this piece has carried on extra meaning as it reminds me of how beautiful the world is in its natural form, and how there is so much beauty in the simplicities of life, such as the simplicity of a daisy. During the lockdown I gained a new sense of appreciation for everything and everyone, and daisies is a piece that helped me express that appreciation.” - Adrian Zaragoza, Davis Senior High School

Gaelic Castle - Soon Hee Newbold

“I chose to play [this song] because I’ve always tried to play pieces in different styles and cultures, and this is one of my favorite Irish pieces!” - Angela Du, Archbishop Mitty High School

Violin Partita No.3 in E major, BWV 1006 - Johann Sebastian Bach

“Bach is my favorite composer so I just chose something from a piece I like that I thought might sound nice. I thought this one in particular was very cheerful and melodious.” - Joseph Lee, Monta Vista High School

Catenaires - Elliott Carter

“The Carter piece titled Catenaires, is a modern work composed in 2006 when the composer was 97 years old. Catenaires translates to “chains” or “power lines” or “cables” and it is a continuous chain of notes that doesn’t stop until it stops. There is no key signiature, meaning that this piece is atonal. At first it may sound strange, but it is important to remember that the lives we live are so atonal, for example, there is little tonality in the sound of car horns and birds chirping and busses and people and radios and alarms… (the sounds of life) but just because there si no tonality doesn’t mean that there is no music. I feel that the lack of pattern and tonality leaves much room for abstract expression.” - Adrian Zaragoza, Davis Senior High School

Grand Escape - Radwimps

“In [this song], it is brought to question if it is possible to let two different worlds overlap. Be it the sky and earth, the summer and fall, are they not allowed to coexist? Love tells the story of a simple opportunity, and to not let the horizon, or this society, be the last destination. That we may be fearful or will have to take detours… but we have to ‘go.’” - Gavin Huang, Davis Senior High School

Secrets - OneRepublic

“My favorite Youtuber is the ‘The Piano Guys’ [and] they made the cover of this song. It’s very amazing. I listen to their version of the ‘Secrets’ every time something bothers me. It's very healing.” - Xin Chen, Walnut High School

Étude in C-sharp minor, Op.10 No. 4 - Frédéric Chopin

“The chopin is a faster piece written as a part of his first set of 12 etudes, an Etude is a piece that functions as an exercise, but the etudes of chopin, aside from being exercises, are musical masterpieces that are heard in concert all over the world, unlike the hanon exercises for example. This piece has been nicknamed ‘the torrent’ or ‘the tornado’ by different publishers (not by the composer himself) and I can definitely picture that. I like to imagine a call and response between both hands.” - Adrian Zaragoza, Davis Senior High School