O r c h e s t r a

In Search of seasons      13 MINS
for orchestra
instrumentation and notes

In four sections that flow into one another:
Winter - Spring - Summer - Autumn

2 Flute (1st doubling Piccolo)
2 Oboe
2 Clarinet in Bb
2 Bassoon
2 Horn in F
2 Trumpet in C
2 Trombone
Tuba
Timpani
3 Percussionists 
Harp Piano/Celesta
Strings
______________
Composer's note
As we grow older, we start to associate seasons with people that we once knew, events in the past, and most of all, memories.

As time goes by, we start to lose track of the seasons passing by us, and we forget the magic of seasonal changes, how ravishing it was to experience the first warm fragrance of spring from a deep, contemplative winter, the pulsating liveliness of summer, the soft caress of southern tropical winds on our bare skin, the resistance of autumn's arrival in summer's presence, and the dance of golden and scarlet leaves in November, its wind replete with memories of the past... 

Seasonal changes mark the passing of time. To witness the majesty of seasons on our own is not enough, we have a need to share it with someone, to witness together the beauty and glory in each other's life.

Have you found your favorite season yet?

​Awakening from a disappearing garden      25 min
​for solo cello and orchestra
INSTRUMENTATION & NOTES

Chapter I -  13 min
Chapter II - 12 min
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2 Flute (1st doubling Piccolo)
2 Oboe
2 Clarinet in Bb (2nd doubling Bass Clarinet)
2 Bassoon
2 Horn in F
2 Trumpet in C
2 Trombone
Tuba
Timpani
3 Percussionists 
Piano/Celesta Harp
Strings
_____________
Composer's note
I.
This first movement’s beautiful cello melody was inspired by the singing and lyrical quality of Yo-Yo Ma on cello. I went on Yo-Yo’s Silk Road Ensemble world tours while writing a different piece for his ensemble. That was when I witnessed the beauty of his playing method. When he asked me to write an orchestral piece for him, I fully incorporated the range of dynamism and intensity the singing cello is capable of.
This commission came from Carnegie Hall for a festival titled “Ancient Paths, Modern Voices.” Melodically, I was looking inwardly to a past that was deeply felt and unforgettable. When I was little, about 7 or 8 years old, I had this strange, extraordinary feeling that I was a 50-something-year-old woman living in Shanghai during the war. That feeling was so strong that I felt out of place as a child living in late 20th-century modern Hong Kong. The only thing that would give me solace was decorating my room in early 20th-century decor! Every day I go to school, I feel disoriented, like I have jumped the timeline at least a half a century ahead. It was an overwhelming feeling, full of longing and nostalgia. I wanted to return to that wartime, to a specific place and time...To a family, a friend, a lover...
II.
The second movement is modern-day me trying to find this “past.” I traveled to mainland China and chronicled the fascinating, sometimes whimsical, and confrontational feeling, of a place that feels ancient and modern all at the same time. It opens with a grand orchestral overture of a Beijing opera, followed by a Shanghai teahouse-cabaret, and then being invited to the grand Jade Palace nightclub in the capital. The nightclub stood 10 stories tall like an ancient palace—you are being treated like a guest of the emperor! The new China is not the old China I thought I knew. It is like a sleeping dragon, tossing and turning in an agitated sleep, waiting to be awakened. When it awakes, the world will be a very different place.​

please let there be a paradise...       10 min.
​for orchestra
INSTRUMENTATION & NOTES

2 Flutes
1 Alto flute
2 Oboe
2 Clarinet in Bb
2 Bassoon
2 Horns in F
2 Trumpets
2 Trombones
Tuba
3 Percussionists
Harp
Piano
Strings
___________
Composer’s note
Back in 2021, during the height of the pandemic and a prolonged travel lockdown and quarantine in Asia, my father passed away alone in Hong Kong. I haven't seen him in years. The summer before the pandemic started, a multi-month-long city-wide protest in Hong Kong had shut down their international airport, suspending all travel.
​
My father was my muse. He grew up in a city where children were encouraged to pursue careers in finance, medicine, and law, which ensure status and wealth, yet he supported me in pursuing something different. He told me not to be afraid to walk a path that no one travels.
​
That January of 2021, my father left the world suddenly and unexpectedly. The circumstances of his death were a mystery. I live 8000 miles away, and I wasn’t able to travel to investigate his death. Living in agony in the many months following his death, I had vivid dreams of myself going to a dark, windy place, traveling down a black river looking for him. And once I finally saw him, he popped up in front of me in his younger self, like how I remembered him in his prime during my teenage years. We hailed a red taxi, and he talked excitedly about all those things he had loved in his lifetime: astronomies, history, the arts… And then, he disappeared again, without saying goodbye.

What had happened to you? Are you okay? Where are you? Are you happy?

This piece depicts the landscape and journey to the underworld, full of deeply felt melodies...the anger, yearning, longing, and the desire to heal. Please let there be a paradise…I hope there is where you are now.

Empty mountain, spirit rain      14 min
for solo shakuhachi and chamber orchestra
INSTRUMENTATION & NOTES

1 Flute / Piccolo
​1 Oboe
1 Clarinet in Bb
1 Bassoon
1 Horns in F
3 Percussionists
Harp
Piano
Strings
_______________
Composer's note
This piece, Empty Mountain, Spirit Rain, is inspired by the sound of the shakuhachi. It’s nothing like any other instrument I have ever heard. It’s haunting, other-worldly, and it is like a spirit. The sound of this instrument brought me back to my childhood town, a place surrounded by lush mountains and tall trees with long shadows, and there was an ancient temple surrounded by modern buildings.

The shakuhachi also brought back memories of an incident from childhood.
My grandmother had promised to pick me up from my kindergarten everyday. But one day, she was very late...

It was another humid summer day. The aggressive sun slowed down my time but activated the scenery before me. Trees moved in the heat like monsters stretching their palms...pedestrians were dragged down by their long, bony shadows.

I felt raindrops on my face. Suddenly, it rained. I was afraid. I decided to run home. I was five years old. I sprinted down the mountain into dangerous traffic. My teachers shouted after me like low-pitched murmurings of ancient emperors. The sound of horns screamed sharply with long mystic tails...A big truck is about to hit me. A distant temple bell drummed. This is when I saw Grandma—her peaceful smile and an air of gracefulness that is memorable to this day. She seemed bigger and floating. She stopped the big truck, and then the traffic. I was blinded by the afternoon sky...rain suddenly stopped, and grandma disappeared into the core of the afternoon sun.

When I got home, everybody was crying. But I did not cry. They told me Grandma had passed away that afternoon. But I knew she had promised to come pick me up from school. And she did.

This piece is dedicated to this memory, and the beautiful sound of the shakuhachi.

her thousand years dance   13 min.
for solo cello, shakuhachi or Alto flute, strings and percussion
INSTRUMENTATION 

Solo shakuhachi (or alto flute, or a non-western flute)
Solo cello
Strings
Perc. 1: Sleighbells (or Indian bells), Slapstick, Temple bowl (large)
Perc. 2: Bass drum, Chinese drum (low pitch), Crotales
Perc. 3: Temple blocks, Tuned gongs, Tubular bells (D, A)

Color of the mind     14 min
​for symphonic band and short film
INSTRUMENTATION & NOTES

1 Piccolo
2 Flute (2nd doubles Alto Flute)
1 Oboe
1 English Horn
2 Clarinet in Bb (1st doubles Clarinet in Eb) 1 Bass Clarinet
2 Bassoon
1 Contrabassoon
1 Soprano Sax (doubles Tenor Sax)
1 Alto Sax
1 Baritone Sax
2 Trumpet in Bb
2 Horn in F
1 Trombone
1 Bass Trombone
1 Tuba
Timpani
3 Percussion
Harp 
Piano
________________
​Composer's note
In my creative process, I often draw from actual events and personal experiences. I'm influenced by the literary works of Yasunari Kawabata (1899–1972) and deeply moved by his honest and sincere narrative style. Seeing the beautiful natural landscape of northern Michigan, I thought of a childhood event.

I fell in love with Vincent van Gogh's paintings the summer I turned seven. That passion and sincerity for life! I wanted to paint like an impressionist painter. I began my pursuit of impressionist painting lessons. I took classes all over town with various teachers. But, I was not satisfied. Eventually, my family moved to a different city, and I found an old painter willing to teach me the essence of impressionist paintings.

The old painter was very poor and lived in an old shack. However, the lessons were expensive. I sometimes bargained, even requested discounts. Later, I found out that I was his only student, and only years later did I understand the significance of his lessons.

When I decided to write a new piece for Dr. Matthew Schlomer directing the Interlochen symphonic band, I wanted to create something original and fun, suitable to the multi-disciplinary artistic environment at Interlochen. Matthew asked if I could include other creative media in this project. I thought of the tall, bare branches of northern Michigan's winter, the colors of its fall, and the lush blueness of its lakes... Strangely, I cannot remember my painting teacher's face. It had become blurry over the years, like the thick strokes of an impressionist painter's brush.

I showed Matthew a short story that I had written about my painting teacher. We decided to create a piece for music and film. I was introduced to a very talented filmmaker at Interlochen, Mida Chu, who will collaborate on the project. Matthew and Mida then spent many days scouting for filming locations during the beautiful fall season in Michigan and even made an extended road trip down to the Detroit Institute of Arts in search of the original paintings by Vincent van Gogh. The result was an intense two months of filming and music composing on a 15-minute work for a symphonic band.

One of the musical melodies in this composition was created during childhood when I was taking painting lessons. In this piece, I use musical notes to draw a new painting for my old teacher. I hope he will be happy to see this...if he has eyes from heaven.​

C h a m b e r   w o r k s

The Heart is Deeper than Ocean…
for pipa, cello and piano    22 min
INSTRUMENTATION & NOTES

1. Water ghost
II. Heart
III. Heaven
IV. Night
​_____________
The pipa sounds like a poignant flowing stream, a pensive snowy night, or an intense battlefield with the complex emotions of a warrior holding onto his loved one, surrounded by his pressing enemies…

Legend says that the heart knows everything. If we listen quietly, it knows the world’s sorrows. It knows every kind of pain and torture, and it has all the world’s love, compassionate as deep as the sea.
​
Every shade of emotion is recorded in the heart. We don’t know it all the time, but we can hear it.

Our life is a celebration of joys and sorrows. Perhaps, we are not human beings struggling to be spiritual, but we are spiritual beings struggling to be human…

Once upon a time, a village in the southern sea
FOR Clarinet, VIOLIN, viola, CELLO, and PIANO     14 MIN.
​INSTRUMENTATION & NOTES

I.   Ancient sea
II.  Mouth of the river
III. Hong Kong’s Manhattan, my childhood 
IV. Phoenix’s dreams and nostalgia
______________
Using the imagery of river, mountains and sea, this piece is inspired by the geography of Hong Kong and my personal sentiments, both as a child growing up in Hong Kong and as a young adult living in Hong Kong during times of great change and development. I created four distinct movements to describe my imagination toward a quiet, fishing village in the far-southern sea becoming one of the most important cosmopolitan cities of the world.
The first movement begins with the ancient sea, and a quiet village on the shore of the remote, vast, far-southern ocean. This fishing village by the sea is known for its agarwood incense and spices.
In the second movement, I used Hong Kong’s location at the mouth of the Pearl River as its imagery. Musical materials include the rise and fall of the Cantonese recitation of the Tang dynasty poem "􏰀􏰁􏰂􏰃􏰄􏰅􏰆􏰇􏰈􏰉􏰊􏰋􏰌􏰍􏰎􏰏􏰐􏰅􏰑􏰒􏰓􏰔􏰕" set to tones, as ingredient for a melodic idea. The poem describes the poet that after seeing a setting sun and a river running east in the distance, he wishes to climb higher, up another flight of stairs at the pagoda to broaden his horizon. The image and emotion are fitting to the vision of Hong Kong, particularly its unique skyscraper development, filling every inch of its soil with high-rises at the height of its development.
In the third movement, I pictured the Hong Kong that I grew up in—a city rising to become the golden child of Asia. A jazzy, choral and melodic cityscape emerged.
In the last movement, having traveled and lived in many different cities of the world and away from home for many years, I reflected upon the beauty and unusual wealth of this city. In a dream, I envision the Phoenix appearing over Hong Kong...The Phoenix is the Chinese mythological bird symbolizing female charm and beauty. Legend said that the Phoenix only appears to us during times of great peace and prosperity. I imagine the Phoenix appearing over Hong Kong, guarding its peaceful territory to ensure prolonged prosperity and good life. It is rare to see such extended periods of societal wellbeing and wealth in history. In this movement, a dream-like, nostalgic and cosmopolitan soundscape envelops the atmosphere. The future is still in the making for this fiery city of lights.

L i s t   of   C h a m b e r   w o r k s

SECRETS AND ICE GARDEN
FOR PIANO QUINTET     8 MIN
    ​

Fragrance of the Sea
for clarinet, violin, cello and piano     14 min.
​

Chrysanthemum's vow
for shakuhachi, koto, vocal and cello      13 min
​

Of Days and Nights
for violin (or er-hu), gu-zheng, harp, double bass and piano     15 min
​

Through the Interwoven Growth 
for woodwind quintet    12 min
​

   I. Forest of the bare branches
  II. First snow upon the evergreen growth
 III. Valley stream's fragrance of the green green woodlands

Mist of Scented Harbour
for solo violin     9 min
​

June
for solo violin    3 min
​

June Lovers
for violin, cello, harp, double bass, piano and percussion     5 min
​

First Wind of May
for solo cello    4 min
​

Eight Thousand Women Ghosts
for cello ensemble and piano      12 min
​

Avalokiteshvara's Hand 
for three percussionists using marimba, vibraphone, crotales, tuned gongs and temple bowls     8 min
​

Sun, Moon, and Star 
for two soprano, violin, cello, double bass, percussion and piano     14 min
​

Midnight Run 
for choreography, music, and visual projections     8 min
​

Empty Mountain, Spirit Rain 
for shakuhachi, violin, cello, double bass, marimba and percussion    13 min
​

I. SILENT FIELD - 7 MIN
II. RAIN - 6 MIN
​

Silk Road, Silk Road
for harmonica quintet     9 min
​

I. Mirage, elevation 12,000 feet
II. Baby Camel Walk
III. Mirage on the train 

Empty Mountain, Spirit Rain II 
for guitar and marimba duo     8 min
for marimba solo     8 min
​

RED PEONY SKY IN MID-JUNE 
FOR FLUTE, CLARINET, VIOLIN, CELLO, AND TWO PERCUSSIONISTS     6 min

    I. SUNSET     5 MIN
   II. NIGHTFALL     4 MIN

    
For a New Millennium
for woodwind quintet    10 min

​

Imagery of Water 
for guitar, harp, vibraphone/ crotales and double bass     8 min

   I. Drops    
 II. Rain    
III. Icy

Love Memo 
duet for flute and piano    5 min

Fragrant harbour 
FOR harmonica, violin, CELLO, percussion, gu zheng and PIANO  
​14 MIN.

INSTRUMENTATION & NOTES
​I. Agarwood 沉香
II. Chrysanthemum 菊花園
​III. Metropolis  香城

RED PEONY SKY IN MID-JUNE 
FOR FLUTE, CLARINET, VIOLIN, CELLO, AND TWO PERCUSSIONISTS

INSTRUMENTATION & NOTES

T h e a t r i c a l    w o r k s

Lost Shanghai - a musical-opera, 2 hour
FOR six actors/ singers and small ensemble
DETAILS & 1 HOUR STAGED EXCERPT AT:
​ https://lostshanghai.weebly.com/

JUNE LOVERS - a musical-opera, 75 min.
FOR six actors/ singers and small ensemble
PREMIERED AT THE HONG KONG ARTS FESTIVAL

Musical excerpt above