New Composition Inspired by the Chinese Zodiac

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Performed in this video by Kevin Ahfat, a former Rebanks Fellow at The Glenn Gould School and a current member of the ARC Ensemble, “Dance of the Tiger Cubs” is a Level 6 repertoire piece by multi-award winning Canadian composer and RCM alumnus Vincent Ho.

The Celebration Series® will feature repertoire and etudes by composers from 20 countries and this video is an example of the inspiring resources that will be available for this acclaimed series for piano, to be released on April 27, 2022.

While Ho’s widely celebrated work has previously focused on orchestral, chamber, vocal, and theatre compositions, this marks the first time he has produced original piano music for students.

His inspiration came from inside his own home, as Ho’s young daughter, Claudia, is studying piano with the RCM Certificate Program. This prompted Ho to reach out to Elaine Rusk, the RCM’s Vice President of Academics and Publishing, and embark on this new collaboration. “It was serendipitous timing, as we were already engaged in diversifying the contemporary selections in the Celebration Series^® to include more Asian composers including fellow Canadians An-Lun Huang, Edward Han Jiang, Alexina Louie, and Maggie Lu who also have pieces in the series. Vincent’s work is a very welcome addition,” said Rusk.

“I decided to compose a book of 12 compositions for piano, inspired by the Chinese Zodiac animals, and tailored to the educational needs of students in Levels 2 to 7,” said Ho. “My daughter’s approval of these works was a critical test to their effectiveness and appeal for players at her level.”

Of the 12 pieces composed by Ho, five were selected for the Series, and a further five will appear in the Piano Syllabus, 2022 Edition.

2022 is the Year of the Tiger – a symbol of strength and bravery – and Ho’s piece beautifully exemplifies the Tiger’s cultural significance and spirit of adventure predicted for this year.

“To ensure I created sincere musical interpretations of each animal, I devoted much time to researching their legends, personality traits, and cultural significance, as well as their distinguishing physical languages to capture their musical spirit and recreate their gestural languages in pianistic form,” said Ho.

The Royal Conservatory’s Celebration Series^® is updated every seven years and the 2022 edition features an outstanding selection of pieces (both repertoire and etudes) from all style periods, including fresh and exciting compositions by modern, diverse composers to inspire students.

The RCM Certificate Program is a comprehensive system of music study widely regarded as providing the gold standard of excellence in music education. It provides a wonderful avenue to help students develop confidence and boost their creativity through studying music. The Royal Conservatory has a Research Centre dedicated to exploring the link between music education, development, and cognition led by neuroscientist, Dr. Sean Hutchins. Our studies show that music students are more likely to reach their full academic potential because of the cognitive benefits of music study, which include better memory and attention skills, enhanced language skills, improved brain function, and higher IQ scores. 

Learn more about the RCM Certificate Program 

为庆祝壬寅虎年，加拿大皇家音乐学院（简称“RCM”）很高兴与大家分享“小虎之舞”（Dance of the Tiger Cubs）的预览视频。这是一首扣人心弦的新作品，由屡获殊荣的加拿大作曲家和加拿大皇家音乐学院校友何志杨（Vincent Ho）先生创作，灵感来源于中国的十二生肖，并被收录于全新的第6版《庆典系列》（Celebration Series®, Sixth Edition）中。 

这段视频由Kevin Ahfat演奏，他毕业于格兰·古尔德学院 （The Glenn Gould School），是Rebanks 家族奖学金的获得者，也是ARC乐团的现任成员。“小虎之舞”属于6级曲目，也是在这个备受赞誉的钢琴系列中动人心弦的一首，将于2022年4月27日发行。该系列将收录来自20个国家的作曲家的曲目和练习曲。
 
何志杨先生此前广受赞誉的作品专注于管弦乐、室内乐、声乐和戏剧作品，而这次是他首次为学生创作原创钢琴曲。
 
他的灵感来源于他自己的家，他的小女儿Claudia正在上RCM证书课程学习钢琴。这促使他联系RCM的学术和出版副校长Elaine Rusk，并开始了这项新的合作。Rusk表示：“因缘际会，除收纳何志扬（Vincent Ho）所提交的作品之外，RCM钢琴考级教程还有幸囊括了诸多优秀知名作曲家的当代作品，包括黄安伦（An-Lun Huang），姜翰（Edward Han Jiang），雷德媛（Alexina Louie），麦琪（Maggie Lu）等等。” 
 
何表示：“我决定创作的这一本包含12首钢琴曲的书，灵感来源于十二生肖，并为2至7级学生的教育需求量身定制……我女儿对这些作品的认可，是对它们的有效性和对与她同一演奏水平的学生吸引力的关键考验。”
 
在他创作的12首作品中，有5首入选该《庆典系列》，还有5首则选入教材《2022年钢琴教学大纲》（Piano Syllabus, 2022 Edition）中。
 
2022年是虎年，而虎象征着力量和勇敢。他的作品完美地体现了虎年的文化意义和冒险精神。他表示：“为了确保对每只动物进行惟妙惟肖的音乐诠释，我花了很多时间研究它们的传说、个性特征和文化意义，以及它们独特的肢体语言，以捕捉它们的音乐精神，并以钢琴的形式将它们的姿态重现。”
 
加拿大皇家音乐学院的《庆典系列》每七年更新一次。2022 年的版本在所有风格时期中精选出一系列包括现代、多元化作曲家的新兴和扣人心弦的优秀作品，以启发学生。
 
RCM 证书课程是一个全面的音乐学习系统，它被广泛认为是提供卓越音乐教育的黄金标准。它提供了一个绝妙的途径，可以帮助学生通过学习音乐来建立信心并提高他们的创造力。皇家音乐学院有一个研究中心，致力于探索由神经科学家Sean Hutchins博士领导的音乐教育、发展和认知之间的联系。我们的研究表明，音乐学生更有可能充分发挥他们的学术潜力，因为音乐学习的认知益处包括更好的记忆和注意力技能、提高语言能力、改善大脑功能、和更高的智商得分。
 
点击此处了解更多有关 RCM 证书课程的信息。