Dr. Haiqiong Deng performed “Mo Li Fen Fang” on the guzheng.
Senior soloist Brian Zhu ’26 played the erhu during “The Sun Shines on Tashkurgan.”
The Academy Orchestras presented a dynamic program last Friday that blended Spanish flair, contemporary composition, and Chinese musical traditions. The concert moved from the fiery energy of “Capriccio Español” to the rhythmic intricacies of “The Sun Shines on Tashkurgan” featuring soloist Brian Zhu ’26 on the erhu. Besides Zhu, the concert also featured guest artist Dr. Haiqiong Deng, an internationally renowned player of the guzheng. The evening highlighted cultural repertoire and instruments not commonly featured at Andover.
A centerpiece of the program was “Mo Li Fen Fang” (The Fragrance of Jasmine), a reimagined concerto based on the well-known Chinese folk song, “Jasmine.” Soloist Deng showcased the guzheng’s capabilities while reflecting the traditional southern Chinese musical style. Deng described the significance of performing the work with a full orchestra.
“What excites me about this music is that it captures the essence of the instrument and the traditional Chinese musical flavor, particularly from southern China. It also reveals a shared image of Chinese musical sound. Collaborating with a symphony orchestra enriched the cultural collaboration between the instrument and the orchestral sound, and also the human connections. It connects many aspects together,” said Deng.
For audience member Jacob Gruneich ’27, Deng’s solo offered a rare opportunity to hear the guzheng played at a high professional level.
“Dr. Haiqiong Deng’s solo stood out the most to me. It was especially enjoyable to hear what a professional level musician sounds like on that instrument. All the soloists were great, but that performance was particularly memorable. As someone who is Chinese, the music felt personally meaningful to me. Hearing it performed at that level was powerful and made the experience especially impactful,” said Gruniech.
This concert’s program was notably diverse, spanning various cultures, time periods, and musical traditions. Attendee Vedant Bajaj ’28 highlighted Zhu’s solo, a work inspired by traditional Chinese music and rhythms.
“I have not attended orchestra performances in the past, apart from the mandatory ones during ASMs and school events. But compared to those one or two piece performances, this one was really extraordinary, because I saw such diversity in pieces. Usually during the performances I previously attended, there was only one type of piece, tempo, or key. Whereas this concert featured many different types of pieces from different eras, and it really stood out to me how much variety there was,” said Bajaj.
Behind the scenes, the repertoire demanded technical precision and adaptability. Merson Tang ’29, a cellist in both the Symphony and Amadeus Orchestra, described the rhythmic complexity of “The Sun Shines on Tashkurgan” as particularly challenging.
“In ‘The Sun Shines on Tashkurgan,’ there was a section where the time signature constantly changed between measures of seven and five beats at a fast tempo. That made it difficult to count and know when to enter after resting. I worked through it by subdividing the beats. For example, grouping seven as 3 plus 2 plus 2 and five as 2 plus 3. Counting subdivisions instead of total beats made it easier to stay with the tempo,” said Tang.
Deng acknowledged the complexities of traditional Chinese music and commended the students and conductors for their hard work and dedication.
“Chinese music has a tendency where the melody does not entirely follow the notation, so there is flexibility. At first, [the pieces] felt slightly out of sync because the music look[ed] simple on paper. But after two rehearsals, I was amazed. The students were so intuitive. Dr. Jacoby is such an experienced conductor and immediately shaped those connections. The experience was enlightening for me. The students are not only talented, but also willing to collaborate and devote their passion. During the concert, it felt like we met that point together,” said Deng.
