Music prevails where spoken words fail. It expresses beauty, melancholy, passion, awe, and even anger. Its constant pulse and rhythm can calm us down or evoke strong emotion. Playing music can be a refuge from daily chores or life problems; and with the right camaraderie could provide tremendous enjoyment.

Getting into Penn State gives me the opportunity I've never thought of before. I wander around into music department (more often than not) and met my wonderful piano teacher, Prof. Marylène Dosse, whom I adore. I accompany a remarkable array of aspiring young musicians: choir, singer, violinist, violist, cellist, fluttist, bassoonist, tuba & euphonium players, and percussionists (the last one can play all sort of instuments I can't even name!). Together we create some magical moments that I really cherish. Though not as good as live performances, here are some recollection of them....

• Franz Liszt’s Concert Etudes No. 3 ‘Un Sospiro’ (recorded March 2007)
  
  
• Gabriel Faure’s Violin and Piano Sonata in A Major (performed with Sarah Hamm, March 2007)
  • 1^st movement : Allegro molto (mp3 file, 8 Mb)
  • 2^nd movement : Andante (mp3 file, 7.2 Mb)
    
    
• Beethoven's Cello and Piano Sonata No. 3 in A Major: 3^rd and 4^th movements (performed with Ryan Hoffman, March 2007) {mp3 file, 8.7 Mb}
  
  
• Samuel Barber's St. Ita's Vision from Hermit Song (performed with Aniyia Williams, March 2007)
  
  
• Sergei Rachmaninoff's Vocalise arranged for euphonium (performed with Gretchen Renshaw, February 2007) {mp3 file, 3.7 Mb}
  
  
• Philip Sparke's Pantomime, a sparky, joyful 'little' piece for euphonium (performed with Gretchen Renshaw, February 2007) {mp3 file, 8.5 Mb}
  

 

Enchanting melody and harmony is the best thing in the world to soothe a troubled soul (well… some walnut brownies with chocolate milk would be a nice addition…).  For piano which can’t sustain and sing long notes, a good arrangement is a must.  My favorite arranger is Dan Coates, below are all his charming arrangements for piano (recorded July 2007, wma files):

• The Prayer (2 Mb)

music & lyrics by Carole Bayer Sager and David Foster

• Over the Rainbow (1.6 Mb)

from the movie "Wizard of Oz"
music by Harold Arlen
lyrics by E. Y. Harburg

• A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes (1.3 Mb)

from the movie “Cinderella”
music & lyrics by Mack David, Al Hoffman, and Jerry Livingston

• One Moment in Time (2.6 Mb)

music & lyrics by Albert Hammond & John Bettis

• Misty (2.4 Mb)

music by Erroll Garner
lyrics by Johnny Burke

• As Time Goes By (1.8 Mb)

from the movie “Casablanca”
music & lyrics by Herman Hupfeld

• Beauty and the Beast (1.6 Mb)
  

from the movie “Beauty and the Beast”
music by Alan Menken
lyrics by Howard Ashman

• Sunrise, Sunset (2.1 Mb)

from the musical “Fiddler on the Roof”
music by Jerry Bock
lyrics by Sheldon Harnick