Jake Z: Melody of the Lion Grove Garden

In the final of the first Suzhou Youth Music Creative Composition Competition, Jake Z, a Year 10 student from our school, was awarded the Best Composition Award！ 

The Exciting Origin of Inspiration  

Once Jake learned of the composition competition, Jake gleefully entered. However, as someone who grew up in Germany and only arrived in Suzhou three years ago, "Jiangnan" was a relatively fresh topic for him. To gain a deeper understanding of Jiangnan culture and find inspiration, Jake went to Suzhou Gardens and immersed himself in the local culture. After he spent two months researching in his spare time, he finally created "Lion Grove," a song that tells a fictional story of a childhood friend named "Friend" and imagines a parting with a close friend in the garden, placing thoughts and memories in this "former playground" and throwing them into the river of history. 

Jake told us that he had previously written background music for the school's STEAM program, but this composition was his ‘real’ work. He completed the composition on his computer, including the scores for all instruments. He recalled, "At first, it was an improvisation on the piano, and then I added the chords to complete the composition." 

The first time Jake had the idea to create music was in eighth grade, when he was also participated in a singing competition. He studied the chords of the competition song and gradually understood how to create music. Due to his strong interest in composition, he began to study composition software and successfully applied what he learned to this competition. 

The Road to Pursue a Music Dream  

In Germany, a place with a robust music scene, Jake's musical journey was like a brilliant and colorful melody, full of various splendid instrumental sounds. 

He began learning the piano at the age of six, the cello at the age of nine, and the saxophone at the age of eleven. He recollected his first exposure to instruments, which occurred at an open day at a music college in Austria. "A variety of instruments were available for testing. I was initially drawn to the drums because I thought they sounded cool, but after talking to my mother, I decided on the piano." His passion for the piano, which began at that time, has kept him going ever since. Jake afterwards chose to learn the cello in order to join the school's classical orchestra. When the school and a music college collaborated in the sixth grade, Jake was able to take saxophone lessons from qualified instructors. 

Music has always energized Jake. He told us he appreciates Imagine Dragons and other singers like Charlie Bruce and Bruno Mars. "The melody of my song was inspired by Bruno's 'Grenada.'"Participating in this competition allowed Jake to see how other contestants processed music in a more diverse way. "They may utilise FL Studio, a more sophisticated program that allows for the addition of filters and effects throughout the creation process.” With his participation in last semester's EDM (electronic dance music) school CCA (co-curricular activities), he obtained a fundamental understanding of this music composition programme. "I want to master the use of this software so that I can brighten up my music." 

Performance of "Passion" by an Orchestra  

The members of the orchestra who performed this time are all from Year 11, brought together by their common love for music. Jake was extremely thrilled about the opportunity to perform a song he composed with the band. There was only one full rehearsal with everyone present before the competition due to their conflicting schedules, but the team took it very seriously and offered many helpful comments: "For example, our drummer adjusted the beats, making the whole sound more harmonious." During this period, music teacher Yewon Cho also came to help and instructed them on how to practice with a metronome. 

In fact, Jake and his classmates pondered starting a band as early as fifth grade, when he was in Germany, but it was not practical at the time. "I consider myself quite fortunate to have found such good and committed bandmates in Dulwich. I'm currently considering about two songs at the same time, one more rock and one more soft," he remarked.