Members of East Young Pianists Club meet over Google Meet (Top row L to R: Katherine Young, Giselle Li, Ashley Lang, Benjamin Nelson; Bottom row L to R: Ariel Gao, Skyla Hong, Grace Koh, Arthur Davis (not pictured). Photo courtesy of Giselle Li.
Freshman Giselle Li has played piano worldwide, traveling around various continents from Europe to Asia, but last Wednesday she was seated at her home piano, performing the third of Franz Liszt’s notoriously difficult six Grandes études de Paganini with extraordinary ease over Zoom.
Like her performance setting, the size of Li’s audience was far more intimate than usual: Only members of her club, East’s Young Pianists, were in attendance for the club’s inaugural concert this year.
“I think the concert was a great way to get to know each other,” Li said. “It was definitely a unique experience.”
Another young pianist, freshman Arthur Davis, performed a sonata by Profokiev, which he had started preparing only a month earlier.
“I was so nervous, but I think it’s just because I wanted to do well,” Davis said. “It was a new experience, one of my first performances for people [since the pandemic hit].”
In addition to Li and Davis, several other club members performed solo pieces, including a nocturne by Liebermann, sonatas by Haydn and Mozart, as well as jazz melodies by various composers to diversify the mix.
For future concerts, Li plans to invite anyone at school—piano player or not—to come and listen. For now, though, the group of young players are “taking it slow” as they focus on inching back into the performing spirit after more than a year of isolated practice and sparse in-person concerts.
These days, the pianists are excited to simply have the opportunity to receive feedback from their fellow musicians, and to remember the range of unique sensations experienced only when performing before a crowd—whether across a virtual platform with intermittent audio connection or in a cavernous concert hall with dazzling resonance.
“Performing is all about sharing your passion for music, and for your instrument,” Li said. “It’s important to have the opportunity to practice beyond your own house, so that you can actually present your thoughts and your artistry through music to an audience.”
This is not to say that many East pianists don’t miss the exhilarating experiences of live performances, which include a certain irreplaceable element so key to music-making: human connection.
“When you’re performing live, it puts you in the zone. It makes you focus on the piano, and you can just forget about everything else,” Davis said. “It’s also nice to see people’s reactions to music. Online, there’s not much to express, especially when it comes to facial expressions.”
Though this year’s performance opportunities have been far more limited than Li’s hopes, she is nonetheless pleased with the new platform she has provided to budding pianists at East, and the ways in which the club continues to blossom.
“It’s really a space for pianists to share our love for music,” Li said. “I’ve been playing piano for most of my life, and so I have a really deep passion for piano, and I know that a lot of other students share my same interests.”
For Davis, having the opportunity to interact with other young pianists is a welcome new experience.
“In middle school, I was kind of isolated [from other pianists],” Davis said. “Being in a club, it’s really nice just to hear other students play.”
For many of East’s pianists, music has provided an emotional outlet, especially during this past year of remote learning, with its mixture of loneliness and a surplus of free time providing a perfect opportunity to reconnect with their instrument.
“The piano allows me to express my emotions—it’s definitely a way for me to relax or alleviate stress from everything that’s happening in everyday life,” said club member Grace Koh, a senior who has been playing piano for 14 years. “It’s really helped lift my spirits; before quarantine, I didn’t have much time to practice because of my hectic schedule, but now I can just play and relax.”
Reflecting the uniqueness of the group, East’s pianists boast virtuosity through a number of artistic and musical styles; besides classical music, the club members specialize in pop and jazz.
“It’s very interesting to see how each club member expresses their pieces in a very different manner,” Koh said. “I think it’s very clear that there are certain pieces that suit other people that may not suit me.”
The beginnings of East’s Young Pianists coincide with a new piano course offered by music teacher Desiree Davis-Omburo next year that embraces players of various technical levels, signalling the rise of a new piano culture at East.
Li, who already has plans to mentor students of the class next year through a tutoring program, expressed her enthusiasm for next year’s opportunities, when club activities will likely return to normal and the pianists can meet in person to collaborate and perform.
“I can’t wait to help out next year,” Li said. “I’m excited to see where we’ll go next.”
