A Devotion of Notes

NOTE: I know lots of the music links are now dead.
I will get to fixing them sooner or later.

This Saturday brings to an end, 12 years of piano lessons.

I have spent the last while putting together this album of 18 tracks, celebrating 18 years of life, living with the spirit of music.

I dedicate this CD to my piano teacher, Ms. Lili Imastounian - presenting her A Devotion of Notes; and to all of you that have supported me throughout this long journey (which, of course, has not ended, but has just begun!).

I present to you, A Devotion of Notes.

A Devotion of Notes

By: Austin Yan
Celebrating 18 Years of the Spirit of Music
Dedicated to: Lili Imastounian

1. A Devotion of Notes (3:54)

a narrated preface to this album; Composers: Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt;

For the 12 years sitting at the bench. For the endless hours of training and practice.

For the 18 years of the spirit of music. For the years to come.

For Ms. Lili Imastounian.

2. Variations on Jehovah’s Blessings (3:17)

Composer: Yu Chi-Teng; Arranged by: Austin Yan

“Jehovah’s Blessings Abound” was the first piece I played for the church service. My musicality grew and blossomed in the church– I devote this piece to the congregation who gave me the support, blessing, and training – to become the musician I am today.

3. You Raise Me Up (4:13)

Composer: Rolf Løvland

To my parents – mom and dad – I can’t say enough, play enough, record enough – to ever express how grateful I am for the never-ending encouragement, time, and effort to keep me playing and living in the music. Every note that sounds carries the years of “raising me up”; your endless support. – With lots of Love –

4. Golliwogg’s Cakewalk (3:09)

Composer: Claude Debussy

For my sister Janice – this was one of my most favourite pieces in Grade 9 Piano; Light and fun – but played ‘avec une grande émotion’ – great feeling. May you always keep music in your mind and heart; let the fingers dance!

5. Canon in Streamline (4:07)
Themes by: Newton, Pachelbel; Arranged by: Austin Yan
For Kysen and family; we grew up in church together, and from the moment we played lego as kids to playing our self-arranged baritone-cello duets, it’s been a wonderful experience – I present you with the song you stole from me =P. Just kidding.

6. Send in the Shads (4:15)
Composers: various; Arranged by: Austin Yan
Shad UNB ’08; there I met great musicians, great talent, and great people. This was cut&pasted together for coffeehouse – a lovely night; shout-outs to all the UNB Shads!

7. I Love Taiwan (2:27)
Composer: Tyzen Hsiao; Arranger: Ming Hsing Wang
To my relatives – to have support on the other side of the globe brings motivation to a whole new world. Special mention to the conductor of the Taiwanese Toronto Chamber Orchestra, bringing Taiwanese culture to the hands of us young musicians.

8. Wind Beneath My Wings (4:56)
Composers: Henley / Silbar
Jeffrey – through high school we’ve soared together, guided each other, and shared great times. Keep flying – birds will always meet up together. And keep the music flying too – violin, piano, choir – whatever suits the breeze. This song is for you.

9. Largo, New World Symphony (4:47)
Composer: Antonín Dvořák
To Grace – my first piano teacher. You helped bring me into this world of music, definitely a New World for any young student – setting the foundations for the years ahead. And to my mom for listening to this majestic symphony all the time while carrying me those nine months – definitely setting the foundation for years to come!

10. Enlightened Explosions (2:29)

Composers: various; Arranged by: Austin Yan

For TNT – great times; a part of all of us, is in each of us. Here’s another medley – of recognizable tunes from all over the place – which we will someday conquer! Through any quest, adventure, story, journey – we will survive!

11. Broadway Medley (8:03)

Composers: ABBA, Strouse, Webber; Arranged by: Austin Yan
Broadway music is just lovely – dedicated to all my past music teachers and ensembles at school; Dr. Kivesto, Ms. Grunberg – Strings, Symphony. And of course, the first piece in the medley is for you Maple – keep singing!

[For Some Reason, had lots of technical difficulties uploading this one]

12. Friends Shaking Hands, Kum Ba Yah (5:59)

Composers: various; Arranged by: Austin Yan

Dedicated to Doris – inspired by your continual desire for a more kind world – around the campfire singing Kum Ba Yah. These bring memories of playing these classics at Jack’s parties – where Jennifer took the album cover picture. This song is for you too.

13. Climb Ev’ry Mountain (2:58)

Composers: Rodgers / Hammerstein

My entry from the Sound of Music – may its songs continue to touch musicians worldwide. This is for Rylie – your inspiration to the school to aim Reach for the Top; thus this piece is also dedicated to all you hardcore trivia enthusiasts; keep Reaching!

14. Für Ellie (3:37)

Composers: Giacchino; Arranged by: Jorvic Ramos

This beautiful waltz from the Disney Pixar movie “Up” – a lovely piece – inspiring my pet turtle Bubble Tea to start eating! This is for all the animals out there – nature spurs thought and creativity, reminding us that the Music is all around us.

15. I-V-vi-iii-IV-I-IV-V (5:42)
Composers: various; Arranged by: Austin Yan
Oh Pachelbel – these eight chords follow us where ever we go.
I dedicate this piece to the cellists out there, symphony and strings;
a special mention to Wesley, as well as the awesome cello section of the TTCO.

16. Variations in A Minor, Op.20, No. 2 (3:39)
Composer: Dmitri Kabalevsky
I love playing variations – they start out as the simple melodies that remind us of our childhood, and grow into the complex but wondrous creatures that we become after phrases of development and growth. This is for the piano – remember the early years, the late night playing, the sonatas, the fugues; the discoveries into new worlds of magic.

17. Try to Remember (3:51) Song credits to: The Brothers Four
Composer: Jones / Schmidt; Arranged by: Austin Yan
For the graduating class of Macdonald ’09.
High school has been filled with wonderful experiences, memories, and opportunities. May we carry on with the best of luck in university, yet look back at the great times and “Try to remember, the kind of September, when Life was slow, and oh, so mellow…”

18. The World: Ahead, Around, and Above (3:30)
Composers: Babcock, Brewer/Carney, Jackson; Arranged by: Austin Yan
I love songs that sing about the world. Music makes the world go round!
The introduction and conclusion to this piece is a small simple hymn
that speaks of the beauty of in the simplicity and greatness of the Earth.
For everyone listening, everyone singing, everyone playing
Always keep music with you! – keep the world spinning!

Photographers: Front Cover / CD: Jennifer Liu; Backcover: Megan Stacey
Thanks to my Family for all the support, and the patience in the many hours of recording!
© 2009 a SAVE THE TIGERS production

Where is Music?

I've written a good number of posts on light; searching for the light, and the absence of light – blindness. Physical light, metaphorical light. For the time being, and as I prepare for a special post that should be released very soon, I bring to attention something of another dimension – noise. Or even better – music.

From a physics perspective, sight and sound are two extremely different concepts. The transverse electromagnetic wave that requires no medium to travel through (light), compared to the vibrations of particles in the longitudinal wave that cannot travel through a vacuum (noise).

Noise is a beautiful thing. It allows us to communicate, to perceive. Noise is all around us. And when we control the pitches, hold noise by its reins – we have music – beyond the beauty of simple noise.

Music is all around us too. The radios playing in the mall. CD's in the cars. The piano teacher next door. Siblings singing in the shower. Legally downloaded tracks playing on the computer. Earbuds in our ears.

But that's not what I mean by where is music? I'm speaking about the music in us. Within us. The songs that get "stuck" in our minds, the soundtracks that play when we walk home in the drizzling rain when our iPod battery dies. The background music that plays when we have time to ourselves, when we write, when we're bored, and when we listen to… the sound of silence.

Where is this music? Perhaps it's a little too quick to simply conclude it's in our minds. We often say we have a song stuck in our head; it's a common thing to see on cartoons as well. Music notes pass through one ear, swirl around in the head, and exit out the other ear. We hear these sounds, this music, and are able to translate it into our minds with the miracle of the human ear, our own antenna to the world around us.

But I think music goes a step further than our minds. Music can transport us into different worlds, guide us through emotions, and touch us in ways that nothing else can. It stays with us, flowing with its graceful notes through every inch of our body. And it beats without failure, every moment we live, and even a while after we die.

The spirit of music – living in our hearts. Lub-dub, lub-dub, lub-dub.

Question: We know our collective terms. A school of fish, a streak of tigers. What do we use to call a group of notes?

Swings and Slides

Every day, every passing second – we grow older. The minutes count up, and yet we often seem to be counting down; towards the next holiday, the next event, the beginning of school. Then again, I suppose, whether we count up or we count down leads everyone to the end of their paths. Another chapter has ended; another just about to begin.

As we grow older, we acquire things. We want to acquire. Acquire knowledge, make new friends, learn skills, make money, develop a career, find love. In this aspect, we always count up – we aim higher and higher, acquire more and more.

But do we lose?

Recently in driver's ed, there was one thing that the instructor said that inspired me in class to make a note to write this note. Talking about pedestrians, he urged us to be extra careful when children are nearby. "Watch for children. Children are least predictable." Makes sense.

But why? Why are children so unpredictable? Weren't those the good times…
"The World's a playground. You know that when you are a kid, but somewhere along the way everyone forgets it." – Allison, in Yes Man

Somewhere along the way, in all our dreams of acquiring – we have lost something. Have we lost a spark, a passion? Have we thrown out our childhood vision when we tossed away our childhood glasses? (well, depending on your eyesight back then =P)

Or have we acquired too many new things that tie us down. New responsibilities. New doubts. New fears. To the extent that even the strongest hurricane can't lift us off the ground, preventing us from taking off into skies like the kids we were at some points in our lives, when the slightest breeze launched us into new discoveries. Soaring like an eagle in a playground. Our playground.

However, many of us just get used to living life on the ground. I suppose it's not that bad anyways. But some lucky ones have managed to let go of some of our acquired ballast, and lift themselves up with ten thousand helium balloons – filled with the life that was in the air so many years ago. And another chapter begins.

At Our Fingertips

This again, was written for something else... less than 250 words essay; I don't really call this an essay, but it was fun to write anyways, so whatever =D

At Our Fingertips

“The World is At Our Fingertips”; my fingers dance across the keyboard as I type this. Click-clack, click-clack, click-clack, pause. I ponder the truth about this statement. I have spent so many years, minutes, and moments in my life, sitting in front of the keyboard, staring and escaping into a portal that lies in front of me. I have played the piano for twelve years; it has been a magical experience with the eighty-eight ivories that seem to launch my mind into a new dimension. Fingers touch, eyes see, ears hear – but it is my mind that escapes into this world of music, wonder, and knowledge. As I click-clack away at the plastic keys below my fingertips, just at the lower edge of my sight, the mountains of tasks, information, and opportunities that lie in the screen ahead is astounding. With my email inbox full of university notifications, my blog bookmarked on the side, a conversation with a close friend open, and my interactive periodic table alongside my music recording software, this truly is an escape to a world of opportunity, friendships, and accomplishments. As my fingers run around the keys – this really is the key to new dimensions. As my fingers bring this window to a close, remember – the World is at Your Fingertips. I’ll see you there.

Reaching for the Top

This article was written for the August Issue of the Together, the newsletter for the Taiwanese Canadian Association in Toronto.

Reaching for the Top

Snapstart to Round 1! In what city did the 2009 World Games take place? Who plays No. 40 on the New York Yankees? What company did Steve Chen co-establish? What is the highest mountain in Taiwan?

Why am I asking all these questions? Well, this is trivia – questions that are generally unimportant but familiar to common knowledge. A snapstart is a series of usually random, unconnected questions that begin a round in the trivia game show, “Reach for the Top”. The competition takes place in high schools across Canada, where the finals are aired on TVO. “Reaching” as we sometimes like to call it, is an enriching experience; I participated in our school junior team in Grade 10, and have played in intra-school competitions every year since then.

Along with athletic teams and music ensembles, trivia competitions provide opportunities for students and everyone else to build friendships, teamwork skills, and life-shaping values. Thus, I am bringing to attention its appropriately chosen title, “Reach for the Top”. This should be nothing new, of course – reaching for the top and trying our best has always been an integral part of our nature.

The motto of the 2009 World Games in Kaohsiung was “Top Sports – High Spirits”. Bringing athletes, lesser known sports, and Taiwanese culture to the centre stage, the event created mountains of opportunity to reach high with high spirits. It also inspired many worldwide – whether it was the TV viewers admiring the athletes, or the countries who admired the Taiwanese organizers – inspiring them to reach for their own goals and to find new passions in this ever-changing world.

Taiwan is a great example when it comes to reaching for the top. Whether it is scraping the skies with the world’s highest completed building, Taipei 101, or leading the world in high tech computer technologies including cellphones, netbooks, and monitors, we all know that “It’s Very Well Made in Taiwan”. There are also great Taiwanese people who work hard to pursue their goals and reach for the top – ranging from the Yankee’s No. 40 Chein-Ming Wang to Youtube’s co-founder Steve Chen, and of course, you too! From the volunteers that keep this newsletter running to the supporters of the Taiwanese churches, youth orchestras, sporting events and other organizations – your efforts are endless in supporting the Taiwanese spirit and culture.

To the next generation – I’ve saved my introduction until here; my name is Austin Yan, now 18 years old. I’ve written an article for every August publication in the last two years, from “Conferences – Time Well Spent” at 16, and “Carrying Your Own Torch” at 17 years. Our torch should not just be passed on, but passed up – higher and higher, towards our pursuits and our goals – whether we are climbing up the path to planning another Taiwanese event, or climbing Taiwan’s tallest mountain – Yu Shan (Jade Mountain).

Well, climbing mountains is a big challenge, but at the foundation of preparing for Reach for the Top is learning new things and knowing our general knowledge. Being aware of events such as the World Games, participating in the Formosan Cup and the Taiwanese Conferences, learning some basic Taiwanese, and understanding Taiwanese culture, are our morning stretches for the road ahead.

Besides my usual, “promote Taiwan to the second generation”, I would like to add the point of promoting Taiwan to your friends – inviting them to come out for the many Taiwanese events, such as TaiwanFEST, the Formosan Cup, and the night markets. Don’t forget – food is always great too; and of course, there’s nothing wrong with knowing a little bit of trivia! Snapout to end the round:

From what type of plant is the starch for the bubbles in bubble tea made from? When is Jay Chou’s birthday? And don’t forget MC David Lin’s infamous, “how many stories does Taipei 101 have? And lastly, what will you do to promote Taiwan? If you have any questions, or wish to contact me, my email is ay.savethetigers@gmail.com. SAVE THE TIGERS!!!