Representative Chamber Works
Flashbacks (2021)
for percussion trio
Flashbacks is a five-movement piece for percussion trio. I was inspired by several brief fragments of my childhood nightmares. Although these dreams are obscure in my mind, I occasionally recall vague scenes filled with depressing colors and sounds; while being unreal, they are unspeakably intriguing and fascinating. Thus, for this work, I intend to
reproduce these fragments to present my perception of those illusions.
Premiered by Talujon Percussion, Jun. 2023, Buffalo City, USA
Pendulum Waves (2022)
for mallet quartet
Pendulum Waves was composed in the context of the 2022 SandBox Percussion Composition Project, which was jointly organized by the UMKC Composition Department and the UMKC Percussion Studio. Three composers were selected to create new works for SandBox Percussion quartet and two for the student percussion quartets. I was selected to work directly with SandBox Percussion to create a new work for percussion quartet. SandBox and I achieved a meaningful collaboration, and I finished this piece under their coaching. Thus, I dedicate this piece to SandBox for their help and guidance.
Premiered by SandBox Percussion, Apr. 2022, Kansas City, USA
Premiered by Dai Wei, Sep. 2020, Kansas City, USA
Singing in the Frosted Wind (2019-2020)
for violin solo
I can still remember the earth being covered with ice and snow during the winters in Northern China's Shaanxi Province. Blowing on my face like thousand tiny knives, the roaring wind prevented me from hearing everything but the lingering songs from the frozen lakeshore's other side—that is, from the farmers. That was the image in my mind as I was composing the Singing in the Frosted Wind.
Taking the inspiration from those old and rough folk songs from Shaanxi province, I used various melodic materials to compose this solo piece for violin. This work captures my understanding of how contemporary Western compositional techniques have altered Chinese folk music.
Three Bagatelles for Wind Quintet (2018)
Inspired by György Ligeti's Six Bagatelles for Wind Quintet, I composed three untitled movements for the wind quintet that explore the potential of combining timbres, lyrical melodies, and dynamics of this ensemble.
The three movements are independent of each other and have their unique themes. For example, the first movement emphasizes the linear texture of the wind quintet, and the third movement features the development of a small motif.
Recorded by the Wind Quintet from Guangzhou Orchestra Symphony, Aug. 2018, Guangzhou, China
Premiered by Wang Jie-Yu, Mar. 2015, Guangzhou, China
Slight Touch (2015)
for flute Solo
Slight Touch is not only the first piece that I composed after beginning my undergraduate education at the Xinghai Conservatory of Music, but also my first piece performed on stage.
The Chinese-language name of the work derives from a poem by Bai Ju-Yi, a famous poet in the Tang Dynasty. The specific stanza inspiring the piece's name draws a picture of a superb pipa performer who was presenting a cadenza. From the stanza, I selected a term that describes the slight, rapid, and nimble technique of the pipa performance to represent the main idea of this work.