大 華 府 區 北 一 女 校 友 會
BEINU ALUMNAE ASSOCIATION OF GREATER WASHINGTON AREA
張 黎 莉 Li-Ly Chang
Music is the universal language that gives imagination, emotion and communication.
Embrace music and embrace life!
I grew up in Taipei, Taiwan with my parents and 3 sisters, Shiao, Tailih and Pelly. Pelly is 8 years younger than I am. So when all older sisters left for the US to study, she was taking care of our parents, and helping with everything in the household . After she graduated from Yang Ming Medical School, she came to the University of Boston to study dentistry. Later our parents joined all of us in the United States. They had a wonderful time living here and saw their grand children grew up one after the other . Sister Shiao had successful work in MD and retired to Florida; Sister Tailih, raised a wonderful family and is now busy as volunteer baby sitter for grand children; sister Pelly is a successful dentist in Quincy, MA and teaches at her alma mater University of Boston.
After studying at Peabody Institute, I went back to Taiwan and taught at Tunghai University for a couple of years . Students are all very hard workers, and I enjoyed the mountain , trees , scenery immensely . After that I returned to DC. and have been teaching in Maryland and Washington DC area for over 30 years, both as an independent teacher and as a member of faculties at Montgomery College for the past 10 years.
Recently, I played a Faculty Spring Concert at Parilla Performing Arts Center, Montgomery College, 2022. Alumini Yuping, Phoenix, Lienchong and others all attended to cheer and provide encouragement. It was a pleasure to play in a 500-people hall with great acoustics and on a beautiful 9 -foot Steinway grand. The sound is still lingering in my ears. Thank you for being there to celebrate with me. Another dream come true is being featured at a music webinar called " Meet The Composer”. It was sponsored by Frances Clark Center in New Jersey. It was great for audiences to see the “living composers” talk and play their own music.
I am also making recordings of Western, Asian and my own works and also playing for churches. All those opportunities have broadened my experience as a performer and a composer.
I am also very fortunate and honored to have met and played for many wonderful people and friends, such as Isiah Leggett, former Montgomery County Executive; Henry Steinway Jr, great great grandson of the Founder Henry Steinway; Ambassador and Mrs. Wen Chung Chang and Mrs. Anna Chennault (on the front right side row) at Twin Oaks Mansion celebration; with concert pianist Lang Lang at Washington Performing Arts Society. Those are very memorable times.
In addition to performing, I founded International Young Artist Piano Competition in 1985 with fellow musician teachers in Washington DC. In the beginning, we had about 25 students entering, now in its 37th year, reaching 15 states and overseas, we have over 150 entries. Everyone is required to perform a Chinese piece and other western pieces. It has promoted cultural exchange between the East and the West, connected friendship, discovered talents and supported their studies. Thank you for all your support on the scholarship fund, so we can continue our work. Enjoy the photos of the previous zoom winners concert in 2021.
One of my favorites things is teaching students of all ages and all levels from age 5 to 80. I often take the students everywhere to play at churches, libraries, senior homes and colleges. They gained performance experience on stage and the audience had fun listening to them. This sharing is very important in the early stage of studies. Later they will pass the torch of sharing spirit to others and become an integral part of their own lives. I am so fortunate to be their mentor and to nurture them.
My other hidden talent is gardening. With trial and tribulation, I killed many plants - finally a big success with a “Korean Squash” which looks like a watermelon. Yes, you cook and eat like squash. This one lasted me a couple of weeks. With other veggies such as tomatoes, beans, chives, I was all set for lockdown time these past 2 years. It has helped my diet tremendously. Indoor orchid and outdoor Easter lilies all grow well and healthy.
My favorite outing is Beinu gathering of singing, dancing , talking and foooood. In the photos I saw Phoenix, Lienchong, Roger, Penshu, Melanie, Lunyun, Mary, Vera, Linda, Lilian, Sue, Chiming, Lute, Ting Mei. During the gathering, I got to review many proverbs, poems, customs and popular songs. All is very inspiring to write more music.
Another photo collage is my playing a Trio with Baltimore Symphony Orchestra concertmaster Jonathan Carney. At that concert, he also premiered my new violin piece titled “Thirty -Mile Road”. That was like an encore piece for such a seasoned performer.
鋼琴家張黎莉分享自己譜曲的八首不同難易度的鋼琴練習曲，親自演奏及解說
Li-Ly Chang Biography
Li-Ly Chang grew up in Taiwan with parents who were both excellent amateur Erhu players from China. During her early years, she was inspired and excited to hear them play this ancient music; this contributed to a mix of traditional sounds and Taiwanese folk songs in her compositions. Li-Ly was also inspired by the works of Bartok, Kabalevsky, Albeniz and Ginastera -- how they captured the spirit of their native folk songs and dances. Her compositions incorporate a mixture of pentatonic, jazz, blues, quartal, quintal chords, syncopation, mixed meter and bi-tonality, as well as the micro tonality of ancient Chinese instruments. She often uses intervals of the augmented 2nd, minor 2nd, minor 3rd and chromaticism to imitate the fluctuation of Asian string instruments in her piano works. Often programmatic, her compositions have been listed with Modern Piano Music by Nancy Breth and A Seat at the Piano by Annie Jeng. A recipient of many organizational awards and grants, Li-Ly was the commissioned composer for the Maryland State Music Teachers in 2011.
As an active chamber musician, Li-Ly Chang has concertized in Asia, Europe and the U.S., with compositions debuted in music festivals and international competitions. Her piano teachers include Sacha Gorodnitzki, Leon Fleisher, Sequeira Costa, Fernando Laires, Walter Hautzig, Jack Winerock and Ming Tcherepnin. Composition teachers include Joseph Nelson, John Pozdro and Henry Mitchell. For more information can check www.lilychangpiano.com
