[NEohioPAL] Oberlin Conservatory Alumnus Composes Music for the Beijing Olympics

[Marci Janas]

*Media Contact Only:*

*Marci Janas*, Director of Conservatory Media Relations

440-775-8328 (office); 440-667-2724 (cell); marci.janas at oberlin.edu





*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:*



*OBERLIN CONSERVATORY ALUMNUS COMPOSES *

*MUSIC FOR BEIJING OLYMPIC GAMES***

* *

OBERLIN, OHIO (August 1, 2008)—When an estimated worldwide viewing audience
of four billion tune in to the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic
Games on August 8, they will hear music by composer Zhiyi Wang, who
graduated from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music a mere four years ago.

Noted composer Qigang Chen, Music Director of the Opening Ceremony, selected
Wang from a considerable talent pool to provide original music and
orchestration. At 27, Wang is the youngest member of the composing team. He
arranged four programs for orchestra and choir and co-orchestrated the theme
song of the 39th Olympiad with Chen. The opening theme is "the most
anticipated part of the ceremony and will color the whole program," says
Wang. "It is extremely meaningful to me that I am a part of it."

Wang, who is from Suzhou, China, believes his biggest accomplishment among
many contributions is his composition and orchestration of the *Fanfare for
the Ceremony. *It will be performed when Jacques Rogge, President of the
International Olympic Committee and Liu Qi, President of the Beijing
Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games, enter the stadium to make their
opening speeches. Dissatisfied with the many submissions received for this
important piece, Chen asked Wang to develop music for consideration. After
an initial struggle to meet the complicated criteria limiting the scope of
the piece—"tonal yet uncommon, splendid yet elegant, indigenous yet
international"—Wang delivered the *Fanfare*, which will be performed by the
band of the Chinese People's Liberation Army.

 "I never imagined that I could write music for the Olympics," Wang e-mailed
friends upon accepting Chen's invitation." I was totally shocked and
overwhelmed by excitement. It is really a huge opportunity and stage for
me."* *

He believes that his studies at the Conservatory "undoubtedly strengthened"
his compositional skills and knowledge, and he is particularly grateful to
Professor of Composition Randolph Coleman: "He enormously improved my
ability and broadened my vision, and consistently gave me confidence. I
would not have been competent to do this important task without my
experience at Oberlin."

For his part, Professor Coleman believes that Wang was already a
well-trained composer-pianist when he arrived at the Conservatory. "Wang was
required to write using musical models ranging from Aaron Copland to John
Cage and many others. He assimilated what he learned into a hybrid and
original style incorporating both traditional Chinese and contemporary
western idioms. Thus he follows other world composers, such as Tan Dun, who
transcend national boundaries and create an art that is truly 21st century."

Wang distinguished himself at Oberlin by earning the top prize in the Premio
Franz Liszt International Competition for Composers when he was only 23. His
work, *Three Art Songs*, was the only one chosen by the composition
department for performance at the Commencement recital for his graduating
class.

After earning a bachelor of music degree in composition from Oberlin, Wang
went on to complete the composition program at the University of
Louisville's School of Music in 2006, supported by a two-year Grawemeyer
Fellowship, one of the school's highest honors. After graduating, he was
appointed composer-in-residence at the Shanghai Opera House, where he
composed and arranged several works, including the orchestration of 23
Chinese folk songs. That's where he was during the summer of 2007, when Chen
Qigang, who had heard performances of his work, contacted him.

Upon accepting Chen's invitation, Wang moved to Beijing, where he has been
busy with orchestration, transcription, and composition. "We realize that
what we are sculpting will musically affect every second of the ceremony, so
we are giving the best of our ability to help Beijing achieve a wonderful
moment in Olympic history," says Wang. Coleman believes that it is fitting
that Wang has been honored by the Chinese government to write music for the
Olympic Games. "It confirms their commitment to continue opening up their
culture to include the broadest possible aesthetic choices."



*The Oberlin Conservatory of Music*, founded in 1865 and situated amid the
intellectual vitality of Oberlin College since 1867, is the oldest
continuously operating conservatory in the United States. Renowned
internationally as a professional music school of the highest caliber and
pronounced a "national treasure" by the Washington Post, Oberlin's alumni
have gone on to achieve illustrious careers in all aspects of the serious
music world. Many of them have attained stature as solo performers,
composers, and conductors, among them Jennifer Koh, Steven Isserlis, Denyce
Graves, Franco Farina, Christopher Robertson, Lisa Saffer, George Walker,
Christopher Rouse, David Zinman, and Robert Spano. All of the members of the
contemporary sextet eighth blackbird, most of the members of the
International Contemporary Ensemble, and many of the members of Apollo's
Fire are Oberlin alumni. The Miró, Pacifica, Juilliard, and Fry Street
quartets, among other chamber ensembles, include Oberlin-trained musicians,
as do major orchestras and opera companies throughout the world.

            For more information about Oberlin, visit www.oberlin.edu/con.

# # #



Marci Janas
Director of Conservatory Media Relations
 and Editor, Oberlin Conservatory Magazine
Oberlin Conservatory of Music
39 West College Street
Oberlin, OH  44074
www.oberlin.edu/con
Voice: 440.775.8328
Fax: 440.775.5457
marci.janas at oberlin.edu
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