Zhang Yixin
The Universities Admitted
Berklee College of Music
From “Rebellious Teenager” to Berklee College of Music, Only for Music
| An Exclusive Interview for Graduates in Central Conservatory Preparatory School(CCPS)
Zhang Yixin: My dream towards music is to bring happiness with it!
BGM：Closed Door Jam /Larry Carlton
Dreams are hard to define for some people.
Butfor those who learn and love music,
“She”is over there in the distance, waiting for you to chase her.
Zhang Yixin is currently studying at Berklee College of Music
“He came to CCPS, knowing very little, but was admitted to Berklee College of Music three years later. He not only completed composition on his own, but also adapted some opuscules in combination with classical music. Even Teacher Chaipraised his talent. You can imagine how talented he was.”
—Wang Xiaohua, a junior fellow student
Having traveled 13 hours in a plane from Boston to Beijing made him slightly tired, but his smile was still as brilliant as it ever was. After a second he still said he was too sleepy to keep his eyes open, but he then immediately felt full of vitality upon picking up his guitar.
On arrival of CCPS, the first thing he did was step into the piano room and communicate with his fellow junior students. “Every time he comes back, he comes to my dormitory to chat for a whole night.” Wang Xiaohua complained but there was pride in his voice. “My goal for this year is to be enrolled in the Boston Conservatory in the same city with Zhang Yixin!”
He talks about his dreams, his future studies, an ecdotes in the new school and his experience in the process of being admitted to Berklee.
An Exclusive Interview for Graduates in CCPS
He shared his studious life in CCPS and uncovered the application process and procedures for Berklee as well as the content of the examination.
I’m deeply grateful to this school, for these three years of improvement that were really beyond my expectations. This was by no means planned! Zhang Yixin's mother, Teacher Zhang, is a staff member at CCPS, who has served for many years at the Central Conservatory of Music.
“Three years ago, when Zhang Yixin expressed his willing to come to our school to study, I really did not agree. On one hand, he was studying in the International Department of the Eighth Middle Schools at that time. On the other hand, he did not systematically study music before, especially because hewas a bit more rebellious back then. I was really afraid he might create trouble or chaos for the school, which would have been really bad.” Just like many other mothers, she become very emotional, with her eye sockets turning redas she talked about her child. “He himself secretly attended a guitar class, and applied for this school after a very short time studying. Also, I really appreciated it that CCPS admitted him and how they always encouraged him to never give up, otherwise he would have never been admitted to Berklee.”
What educators should do is to create an environment and a catalytic mechanism for developing independent thinking. Let students be influenced by the entire humanculture, including all kinds of knowledge, to help them become truly well-rounded individuals.
— “Thepurpose of education” Whitehead
It’s easy to express a preference, but it’s difficult to stay true to the original self and keep persevering. Every minor set back may lead to giving up,from a scar on the body, from spiritual loneliness and tolerance and from confusion and doubt of the future. All very scary and intimidating occurrences. However, Zhang Yixin and his classmates fulfilled and overcame their difficulties together by studying and over time in CCPS they felt enriched and confident in their approach to learning new things.
Both Zhang YiXin and his fellow junior student Wu Yuanchun (having been admitted to the College-Conservatory of Music), referred to an enrichment in their education. Also, all their parents also mentioned “spontaneous” learning, where they would learn topics in very different ways that they could sometimes not understand but their children could.
Thisis because when students are doing what they love and adapt to it, and whentheir personalities are respected and encouraged, they will sweep away their former rebelliousness and focus on what interests them. They may not have only learn from books and other information, but also acquire knowledge through interactions with others as they learned from others’ experience. They’re able to re-recognize themselves and re-know the world through what they learned from different people with more experience and understanding. They learned from people that have achieved certain dreams that they aspire to have.
“Quietness”,“growth”, “rebelliousness”, and “restlessness”
may beconsidered as good or bad points in traditional education;
But in the world of music,
Every emotion is a treasure.
“Classical music enables me to hear more possibilities”
Classical music pays attention to the logic of music, the unity of motivation, the continuity and rationality of musical development. Therefore, even for a grandand magnificent classical symphony, its articulation of music is harmonized with the expression of content, without any incongruity or boldness.
“Schools like Berklee places a rather high demand on students’ basic skills, such asspeed of sight reading. Besides, I am deeply influenced by classical music bothin techniques and in creation.” When asked about classical music and modernmusic, Zhang Yixin shared in the interview above that, “teachers in Berkleeconsidered many of my ideas to be excellent!”
[InterviewVideo (1: 22-2: 29 – the roles of classical music in modern music learning)]
“The best major of Berklee is jazz, so I chose a jazz work for the interview.” When asked whether he could give some advice to junior students expecting to apply to Berklee College of Music, Zhang Yixin directly shared his whole application process, from the beginning of his summer music project, to his apprenticeship, to preparing for the interview, and finally when he received the final admission letter. “I think the best part of my performance was in the interview.”
“Now, I am studying Performance at Berklee, and afterwards I’m going to Los Angelesto learn film scores. Although I know it may be very tiring to do this, Iwill stick to it as long as I like!
[InterviewVideo (2: 57-4: 47 – Strategies on Application for Berklee)]
“Learn English well and doing much listening and practice”
When asked what he wanted to teach the junior students, Zhang Yixin said earnestly:“These children should learn English well. If your English is poor, it is absurd to believe that you can study in the United States. All the professors take lessons in English and it’s impossible to communicate in Chinese justbecause you don’t speak English! So, be sure to learn English well.”
He continued: “In addition, you must listen more and practice more. This is what every musician must do! The capacity of works is very important. So, you mustlisten to various works and those recommended by teachers!”
Rethinking the way of education, having “perseverance” for junior and senior schoolstudents in adolescenceis not needed from parents and teachers, that just adds extra pressure. It should be stimulated by their inner desire, to acquire realunderstanding. Targeted recognition, encouragement and care from teachers established a full understanding of their individuality and they can adjust lesson to suit their way of learning.
WuYuanchun’s parents also shared: “at that time we didn’t understand what Teacher Chai meant by saying: ‘If she doesn’t want to learn, we have no reason to pressher.’ But after three years of studying, when Wu Yuanchun was admitted to College-Conservatory of Music, we understood.” Zhang Yixin exclaimed as he did in the video: “I’m particularly grateful to Teacher Chai for his encouragement which allowed me to go further and find out what I liked, just like now as I receive my admission toBerklee.”
