Often featured in Fidelio and Yorkies concerts, musicals and piano recitals, Peter Yang ’10 can readily be defined as the versatile senior musician. Yang gave the performance of a lifetime to conclude his musical career at Andover. Yang has been playing piano since he was 5, but surprisingly, the talented singer only started singing his Upper Year. Better known for his singing, Yang surprised some audience members by beginning his senior recital with 3 mesmerizing pieces on the piano. First, Yang played Mozart’s “Rondo K. 485 in D Major,” followed by “Hungarian Dance,” an energetic and complex duet by Johannes Brahms, which Yang played with David Lim ’12. Yang concluded the piano portion of the recital with “Rhapsody in Blue” by George Gershwin and seamlessly moved through the moody, bluesy melody and chords. Moving on to the singing portion of his recital, Yang started again with 3 classical songs. In “Chi Vuole Innamorarsi” and “Quella Fiamma,” Yang sang about everlasting love, and his crystal-clear belt added intensity to the songs. The singer sometimes moved into a sweet falsetto during some parts of the songs, showing his impressive vocal range. Yang then sang “Im Frühling,” “Ständchen” and “Ganymed,” by Franz Schubert, 3 pieces strung together to tell a beautiful love story. Yang’s energetic performance gave one the feeling of being in “The Sound of Music” and provided a nice contrast to the night’s darker pieces. Again, Yang belted most of the song, even some notes that most singers would shy away from. Changing genres, Yang sang a selection of Broadway show-tunes to conclude the recital. First, he sang “I Believe My Own Eyes” with Kristina Rex. The song was from “Tommy,” in which Yang played one of the leads. Yang said, “The duet with Kristina Rex was a definite throwback to our “Tommy” days and was extremely fun, as well as reminiscent. I could see all my friends from “Tommy” in the audience singing along!” Next, Yang sang “If I Can’t Love Her” from “Beauty and the Beast.” This was the only piece of the night that highlighted the lower of Yang’s vocal register, hitting some very low notes. Ever the performer, Yang sang even these notes with ease. A duet with Patrick Brady followed with the two singing “Lily’s Eyes” from “The Secret Garden.” The singers’ voices blended perfectly, and their harmonies had the sound of professional performers. By the end, the two were singing completely different verses layered on top of each other, bringing the song to a powerful close. To finish, Yang sang “Corner of the Sky” from “Pippin.” The song is about finding one’s place in the world, and with this performance, Yang showed that wherever he goes in life, music will play a role. Adding a number of extra riffs and high notes to the song, Yang ended the performance to raucous applause. The boisterous audience demanded an encore, so Yang proceeded to perform a duet of “I Believe I Can Fly” with Faiyad Ahmad. When asked about his favorite part of the night, Yang said, “Definitely the duet with Faiyad. Faiyad’s one of my best friends and singing such an emotional song meant a lot to us.” Bidding farewell to Andover in a beautiful way, Yang’s performance showed his immense ability as a performer and his love of the arts. Yang said, “Music means so much to me. I love it and hope I will always have it in my life.”
