Embedded Files
MEET AMY!
MEET AMY!
Greetings! My name is Amy (She/Her) and I am from Guangzhou, China. People are surprised to hear that I dislike most of the summer sports, but, on the other hand, I cannot resist any of the winter sports, especially skiing.
Music-wise, I've been playing piano for almost 10 years, and I already had a few memorable piano performances in the past that still scare me now. Apart from piano, I was a member of the Middle School Concert Band as a clarinetist and was also in the Jazz Band as a bass saxophone player. Thus, it can be concluded that I am an experienced music student.
I have a strong preference for film music and/or classical music over other genres of music; this is because the music without words conveys more emotions with a better flow of music. For example, in my favourite album by Hans Zimmer, "The Da Vinci Code", the background music is composed of simple sustained notes that help envision a scene greater than life.
Amy's Final Composition
THE EVIL QUEEN'S THEME
Amy's Final Composition
THE EVIL QUEEN'S THEME
Evil_Queen_Theme.mp4MAIN THEME
MAIN THEME
This composition is a themed motif for the Evil Queen in the Disney movie Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The use of strings and harp recreate the scene in which the Evil Queen converses with the Magic Mirror. The mood of this leitmotif is designed to be mystical and dramatic, which represents the Evil Queen's standoffish personality.
Evil_Queen_Leitmotif.mp4VARIATION TO THE THEME
VARIATION TO THE THEME
This composition serves as a leitmotif for the Evil Queen in the scene where she is determined to kill Snow White with a poisonous apple in order to become the most beautiful woman in the world. Within the leitmotif, the use of heavily timbered instrumentation help establish a dark and frantic tone.
Amy's Reflection on the Final Composition
Amy's Reflection on the Final Composition
What did you find to be the most enjoyable from this experience?
When I was about to come up with ideas for my motif and leitmotif, I enjoyed gathering all of the composition inspiration. I began learning from Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 and Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake. The former employs a strategy of abrupt sound absence, whereas the latter employs the rich texture of brass instruments to create the climax. I used both of these techniques on my leitmotif, and it's satisfying to see how different music connects simply because they're both composed to express strong emotions.
What did you find to be the most challenging from this experience?
Looking back, I find that the most challenging part of this experience was trying to make each instrument’s melody simple, but when all of the instruments are combined together, the music becomes grand and complex. This necessitates not only focusing on one instrument, but several at a time. Additionally, another challenging part is figuring out how to make the notes from different instruments all as diatonic as possible while remaining somewhat distinct from one another so that the instruments within the same sound range (e.g. harp and piano) would not have an overlapping melody. However, regardless of the difficulties, I am still extremely delighted with my final product.
Sharpsteen, Ben, et al. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. RKO Radio Pictures, 1937. Accessed 27 May 2022.
Other Highlights from This Year
Other Highlights from This Year
Solo_Amy.m4vAPRIL SHOWCASE PERFORMANCE
APRIL SHOWCASE PERFORMANCE
This is a piano adaptation of "Time" by Hans Zimmer and Patrik Pietschmann from the movie Inception performed by Amy Zou.
DECEMBER SHOWCASE PERFORMANCE
DECEMBER SHOWCASE PERFORMANCE
This is "The First Noel", arranged by Allen Matthews and performed by Amy Zou on the piano and Rowan Parkinson on the guitar.
Duet_Amy&Rowan.m4vCorpse_Bride.MP4OCTOBER SHOWCASE PERFORMANCE
OCTOBER SHOWCASE PERFORMANCE
This is "The Piano Duet" by Danny Elfman from Tim Burton's Corpse Bride, performed by May Wang and Amy Zou.
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