Debra Li

debra_lidan@163.com

SOME 300 in the audience were taken away by Melody Chan’s skillful interpretation of many a beloved song in her crystal-clear voice Wednesday evening at Mountain View Theater in the Sea World Culture and Arts Center in Shekou, Nanshan District.

The 11-year-old Shenzhen girl, a student of the International School of Nanshan Shenzhen (ISNS), sang art songs, folk songs and an arietta in English, French, Latin, Italian and Chinese at the concert.

Yao Feng, composer and chairman of Shenzhen Musicians’ Association, said Chan’s achievement is beyond many 11-year-olds after hearing her sing art song “Why Are the Flowers So Red?”

“This is a beloved song on the soundtrack of the 1963 Chinese movie ‘Visitors From the Icy Mountain,’ but this version by Melody is the only one I’ve heard so far that’s faithful to the composer’s music sheet,” he said. “Her training in dancing also helped her deliver a stellar performance on stage.”

It’s an ethereal experience to hear Chan sing “Memory,” which appeared at the climax of the 1981 musical “Cats” and is by far its best-known song. There are three key changes in “Memory” so as to keep the song within a comfortable range for a chest voice. It starts off in the key of B-flat major, switches to G-flat major, then changes again to D-flat major for the climax. It was just amazing to hear Chan effortlessly change keys and bell out the lyrics with her pure and clear voice, a little bit melancholically.

“It’s my favorite song of the program,” the girl said. “I heard it once while watching the musical with my mom and was immediately fascinated by its charming sound.”

Her opening number was “Panis angelicus” (meaning “Bread of Angels”) from the hymn “Sacris solemniis,” which was written by Saint Thomas Aquinas in the 13th century and sung in Latin.

Then she sang “Vois sur ton chemin” (meaning “See Upon Your Path”), a beloved tune from the 2004 film “Les Choristes,” and popular Italian arietta “Caro mio ben” (meaning “My Dear Beloved”).

The audience were more than impressed when the young singer also performed “Por una Cabeza” (meaning “By a Head”), a 1935 tango song. The song, featured in a famous tango scene in Martin Brest’s film “Scent of a Woman” (1992) and in the opening scene of Steven Spielberg’s “Schindler’s List” (1993), immediately brought movies fans back in time.

Chan also showcased her caliber by singing Chinese folk songs and art songs.

Her expat teachers and schoolmates were especially amazed when she sang “Shuo Chang Lian Pu” (“Grandpa Took Me to a Beijing Opera Show”), a catchy song that combines pop music with the tunes and rhythms of Beijing opera.

The program also included melodious Mongolian folk song “Meeting at the Yurt” and “Yang Guan San Die” (“A Parting Tune With a Thrice Repeated Refrain”) with music from an ancient guqin piece and lyrics based on a poem by Tang poet Wang Wei (699-759).

Lu Qingli, Chan’s teacher and director of the concert, also chose “Let’s Paddle Together” and “Hello, Shenzhen” for the program. The former is a famous traditional Chinese song for children, having originally appeared on a 1955 children’s film; the latter is a piece for the choir written by Wu Dingding and premiered by Shenzhen Lily Choir in 2017.

“It’s very appropriate to select these two numbers, because one relates to this city and the other is about childhood and the timeless childhood memories held by generations of Chinese.”

Pianist Zhang Yu, violinist Wang Zhenli, guqin player Qiu Qunlan and tanbur player Gu Bo accompanied Chan at the concert, which also featured guest appearances from three other young singers.

A gold prize winner in the category of vocal performance at the 2017 Hong Kong International Music Festival, Chan has sung in music programs on China’s State TV station CCTV’s children’s channel and music channel as well as on shows on Guangdong TV and Macao Asia Satellite TV. She has also attended public benefit shows in Shenzhen and Yanchuan, Shaanxi Province.

Taking her first music lessons from her mom’s lullabies, Chan showed her acute ear for pitch at a very young age. She’s also got a voice that is clear like a cloudless sky. So her music-loving mom took her to a singing class at the age of 5.

But her breakthrough didn’t come until she met Lu, vocal professor with South China Normal University (SCNU) at singSky, a local art education institution.

“At the beginning, I didn’t like Professor Lu’s teaching very much,” Chan said. “She’s very strict with me and taught me old songs that are difficult to sing.”

Step by step, Lu taught her how to adjust her breath, find the perfect pitch and stabilize it as well as the techniques of singing with a chest voice, a head voice and falsetto.

Gradually, the girl took to her tutor and her way of teaching, and everyone around her witnessed her fast progress.

“We started with Baroque and classical-period Italian songs, which are very beautiful but relatively not-that-difficult to sing,” Lu said. “These are also good choices to teach beginners, because the pronunciation of Italian words — each ending with a vowel — helps them to grasp the rhythm and adjust their breath while singing.”

To teach Chan a song, Lu would start with a lowered half-key then progress to the right key when she’s mastered the easier version. Chan’s homework would be to listen to different versions of a song by different singers, find the nuances and take notes. Lu also asked Chan to google the background of a song’s composer and lyricist so as to better understand the music she was to sing.

Lu, whose other student Wang Fangzhen is now studying at the prestigious Walnut Hill School for the Arts in Natick, Massachusetts, the U.S., has high evaluations of Chan.

“I’ve seldom met a girl her age as composed, optimistic and perseverant,” she said.

Chan, also a devoted ballet student and awardee at a junior ballet competition organized by the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) in Beijing last year, suffered an accidental bone fracture in her toe in May.

Despite the painful operation she went through, she cheered her fellow patients up with her songs, and the father of another young patient was so touched by her voice that he hurried home to fetch his violin and joined in her a “mini concert” in the ward.

Hardly had she fully recovered when she resumed her vocal training with Lu, going to class on crutches.

For the concert, Chan has been practicing more than an hour each day for the past two months. Her supportive mom also sent her recordings to native speakers of several languages to make sure her pronunciation of the lyrics would be perfect.

Kenneth Chan, a former teacher of hers who is no longer teaching at ISNS, heard about the concert and booked a seat immediately.

Many of the girl’s schoolmates and teachers, including the principal of ISNS, came to cheer for her at the concert, because Chan is a diligent, optimistic and outgoing girl loved by everyone.

Not looking to a professional singing career, Chan said she wants to be a researcher of some kind when she grows up.

“Art has a special significance in early education,” said the girl’s mom. “Tapping into a child’s art potential will help them experience the world around them in multiple ways.

“Art education helps us to discover beauty, cultivate good taste and build a positive worldview. No matter what career my daughter chooses for her future, the confidence and positive attitude she has found while singing will take her somewhere.” Lu Qingli

soprano A master’s degree program tutor and professor at South China Normal University, Lu was sent by the State to further her studies in Rome, Italy in 2009. A member of the Chinese Musicians’ Association, Lu has been casted in the lead in more than 20 operas, Chinese operas and cantatas besides performing in solo concerts many times. She has also published more than 30 papers in vocal teaching and participated in multiple State and Guangdong provincial-level research projects.