A melody fills the room, spontaneously moving the minds and bodies of those in the crowd, telling stories that only the fingertips can communicate. For junior William Xuan, the piano is his history book. Each key is a bridge between his culture and himself, as he becomes the storyteller.
Xuan plays the piano with the Camerata Choir and takes an active role in the Asian Pacific American Club (APAC). He is currently practicing for an upcoming competition in Miami and he has been practicing over four hours a day. Over hours and hours of practice, the piano has taught Xuan to connect with his Chinese culture and illustrate it through compositions.
Ever since he was three, Xuan has played the piano. From a young age, Xuan was able to play songs by ear.
“My parents really encouraged me, but there was this moment where I sat down at the piano without anyone telling me, and I played a song that’s ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,’ all by myself,” Xuan said.
Michael Driscoll is the conductor and teacher of Camerata. Xuan often spends his afternoons in room 324 of 115 Grenough playing the piano. Driscoll has vocalized how he noticed the skill and passion Xuan developed during the afternoons Xuan spends in his room.
“It’s definitely his passion. He kind of lives [and] breathes, music and playing,” Driscoll said. “In the 22 years I’ve been here, he’s probably one of the strongest pianists I’ve ever had.”
Junior John Carroll is in Camerata with Xuan. Carol has said that notices the hard work Xuan has put in to add to his gift.
“Honestly, it’s got to be from hard work over time. He has natural talent. But also, he devotes hours of his time to his music,” Caroll said.
Through his music, Xuan connects to his Chinese culture as some of his favorite songs are in Chinese, such as “Yellow River Piano Concerto,” and “Let Us Row Our Boats Across the Lake.” Chinese artists like Xin Xin inspire Xuan to become an even better musician.
According to Xuan, the piano gives him the ability to connect with people from his background by transcribing pieces of the past.
“I really like to connect with my background as much as possible. And for those that I don’t have any relationship with, I try to find what would have been the experience of that composer during that time,” Xuan said. “For example, in one of the pieces, Chopin was, he moved to different places during a war. So I tried to depict that in one of his pieces.”
During the Lunar New Year Festival of 2024, Xuan transcribed and performed a piece, and this year he has bigger ambitions to compose an entire piece for the school. Xuan has commented on how he hopes to use his skills to connect and teach others.
“One of my goals is to be able to perform to an international audience. The other one is be able to teach people the skills I’ve learned,” Xuan said. “I feel it’s not useful if I just have the skills and no one else has. I love to teach the skills that I have to other people.”
