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Songs of Self-Discovery Composing Identity Through Emotional Expression
No full textIt’s Me! is a six-track bilingual EP that reflects my journey from student to independent artist through emotionally honest, cross-cultural music. Blending R&B, jazz, neo-soul, and Chinese folk elements, the project explores themes of identity, growth, and vulnerability from the perspective of a Chinese international student. Each track captures a distinct emotional moment—whether uncertainty, self-doubt, or affirmation—expressed through bilingual lyrics and stylistic fusion. The project combines creative research, live performance testing, and collaborative production. I worked with international musicians and producers, including Cashmere Studio, and developed content strategies tailored to platforms like Bilibili, TikTok, and Spotify to reach bilingual Gen Z audiences. Beyond music, the EP is supported by music videos, interactive challenges, and storytelling content that deepens audience connection. It’s Me! serves as both an artistic debut and a cultural bridge—offering a personal voice while inviting listeners to reflect on their own. It marks the beginning of my professional journey and a broader vision for bilingual, emotionally resonant original music.https://remix.berklee.edu/graduate-studies-contemporary-performance/1342/thumbnail.jp
Black Elegy: Middle School Models for Studying the Life of Florence Mills
No full textIn 2020, The Apollo’s Education Department coordinated school day performances and professional learning sessions spotlighting the life of Florence Mills, an acclaimed Black performer known for her appearances across North America and Europe. Her extensive achievements were chronicled in Renee Watson and Christian Robinson’s book, Harlem’s Little Blackbird: The Story of Florence Mills (2012). Despite her extraordinary accomplishments, there are no existing audio recordings or films of Mills. However, archival photographs, library resources, musical scores, and elegiac songs can be used to investigate Mills’s lasting impact and legacy. In this chapter, I examine hybrid, in-person, and virtual learning models used in my middle school class’s study of Mills. Students opted to title our project “Black Elegy,” an amalgamation of Duke Ellington’s and Constant Lambert’s songs composed in honor of Mills’s life. Our class attended The Apollo’s “Florence Mills: The Queen of Happiness” performance in February 2020. I also participated in the preceding professional learning workshop, “Florence Mills: The Unheard Voice of a Generation,” in January 2020 to learn about Mills prior to launching our study. Between March and June 2021, my class also explored Mills’s life through the New York City Department of Education’s History by Design program, a social studies partnership with cultural institutions including the Apollo Theater and the Museum of the City of New York highlighting historical figures in New York City. I analyze our collective work using Zakiya Adair’s (2013) investigation of Mills’s activism and advocacy and Jayna Brown’s (2008) framework for examining nineteenth- and twentieth-century Black female performers, and demonstrate how Black feminist performance theories influenced our study
Girls like me
No full textThe Girls Like Me EP tells the story of Qi Liao — and girls like her — who grew up in East Asian societies shaped by patriarchal narratives. For many of us, womanhood is defined and disciplined by external expectations, and our coming-of-age stories are often intertwined with both the joys and struggles unique to the female experience. Using a relationship as the narrative framework, Girls Like Me portrays the awakening of female subjectivity and self-awareness. This is where the EP’s uniqueness lies: through surprising contrasts, ever-shifting styles, and diverse, innovative production ideas, it offers a multifaceted exploration of identity. Every song is a reflection of the complex emotional landscapes of girls like Qi Liao, turning personal stories into a universal resonance.https://remix.berklee.edu/graduate-studies-cmat/1150/thumbnail.jp
Curiosity about Cultures: The Intentionality and Responsibility of Curricular Planning
No full textBroadening and deepening of students’ perspectives of global and domestic humanity cannot be accomplished without equally deep and broad exploration of cultures, class standings, and sociopolitical backgrounds that differ from that of the mainstream. Teachers must be curious about such differences and, with intentionality, provide curricula that integrate these differences. Such efforts contribute healthfully and comprehensively to students’ education and support their cultivation of society.https://remix.berklee.edu/pac/1021/thumbnail.jp
