Recital: Haoyu Zheng '24, Contemporary Musical Arts
NEC's students meet one-on-one each week with a faculty artist to perfect their craft. As each one leaves NEC to make their mark in the performance world, they present a full, professional recital that is free and open to the public. It's your first look at the artists of tomorrow.
Haoyu Zheng '24 studies Contemporary Musical Arts with Michael Gandolfi and Nedelka Prescod and is the recipient of the Tan Family Foundation Scholarship.
This is an in-person event with a private stream available to the NEC community here: https://necmusic.edu/live
- Haoyu Zheng '24, voice, piano
- Pualina Lim Mei En and Changjin Ha, piano
- Josie Larsen, soprano
- Michael Gandolfi, studio teacher
- Nedelka Prescod, studio teacher
Haoyu Zheng | Since There's No Help
Artists- Josie Larsen, soprano
- Pualina Lim Mei En, piano
Donny Hathaway/Roberta Flack | For All We Know
Artists- Haoyu Zheng, voice, piano
David Tao | The Beach/Somewhere Over the Rainbow
Artists- Haoyu Zheng, voice
- Changjin Ha, piano
INTERMISSION
Ilan Eshkeri/Shigeru Umebayashi | Ghost of Tsushima for Orchestra and Asian Instruments
from a trailer for the 2020 action-adventure game, Ghost of Tsushima
Rescored by Haoyu Zheng
Program note
In "Ghost of Tsushima," set in 1274, Mongol forces led by Khotun Khan invade Tsushima Island, defeating the samurai led by Lord Jin Sakai and capturing his uncle Lord Shimura. Jin, revived by a thief named Yuna, realizes traditional tactics won't work against the Mongols and adopts guerrilla warfare, earning the moniker "The Ghost." He recruits allies and liberates villages, eventually retaking Castle Kaneda. However, betrayal by a former friend leads to a confrontation where Jin's brother is killed. Jin continues the fight, gathering allies to retake Castle Shimura. Despite success, tensions rise between Jin and Shimura over honor and tactics. The Shogun orders Jin's execution, leading to a final showdown where Jin emerges victorious but becomes an enemy of the state, facing off against his former mentor.
Ensembles- Orchestra
Artists- Pin-Hsien Chen, cello soloist
- Shutong Li, erhu (Berklee College of Music)
- Hui Weng, guzheng
- Ruike Li, xiao
Haoyu Zheng | Final Frontier for Orchestra and Synthesizer
Ensembles- Orchestra
Artists- Name, synthesizer
Carlos Rafael Rivera | Shaibel's Death for String Orchestra, Synthesizer, Piano and Vibraphone
from a clip of the Netflix mini-series The Queen's Gambit
Rescored by Haoyu ZhengEnsembles- Orchestra Strings
Artists- Name, vibraphone
- Name, synthesizer
- Changjin Ha, piano
Joe Hisaishi | The Name of Life for Orchestra and Two Solo Voices
from the Japanese classic anime film, Spirited Away
Orchestrated by Shutong Li and arranged by Haoyu Zheng for chorus and sopranoArtists- Josie Larsen, soprano
- Anouk Chemla, Xuanjie Ouyang, Pitiki Aliakai, and Andy Messier, chorus
Orchestra
Stellan Connelly Bettany, conductor
Violin 1
Yirou Zhang
Jia-Ying Wei
Minhan Tsai
Caroline Smoak
Violin 2
Hannah Park
Audrey Weizer
Shutong Li*
Viola
Aidan garrison
Po-Sung Huang
Haobo Bi
Cello
Pin-Hsien Chen
Li-An Yu
Pi-Wei Lin
Bass
Benedict Koh
Yihan Wu
Flute
Anne Chao
Piccolo
Shengyu Cui
Oboe
Sherry Chang
Clarinet
Yi-Ting Ma
Alex Chen*
Bassoon
Garrett Comrie
Carson Meritt
French horn
Huimin Liu
Qianbin Zhu
Yeonjo Oh
Trumpet
Sammy Divies
Trombone
Jimmy Ji
Jason Sato
Tuba
Jimmy Chang*
Percussion
Elfi Shi
Tristan Zhu
Piano
Changjin Ha
* guest, Berklee College of Music
I would like to express my gratitude to
my composition professors: Michael Gandolfi, John Mallia, and Efstratios Minakakis;
my music theory professors: Lyle Davidson, Bert Van Herck, and Roger Graybill;
and my CMA professors: Farayi Malek, Dominique Eade, Hui Weng, Hankus Netsky, and Nedelka Prescod,
for all the guidance I've experienced during my 5-years fruitful double major studies at NEC.
I would also like to thank my greatest mentor ever -- Stephanie Economou for all the mentorship throughout this academic year and for guiding me to the path of the industry of media scoring.