By Kaili Chiang
Steven Zhu is a talented musician, who will always be remembered at Collingwood as an amazing member of the performing arts, leading countless Drum Corps performances, and showcasing his fantastic talent in memorable assemblies, talent shows, and special events.
After beginning with piano and the drums at age 4, Steven immediately found a connection to music and has been pursuing these passions ever since. Steven and his family arrived in Canada in late 2009, and since then, his talent for music has developed under the guidance of several different teachers, most significantly, Jesse Cahill. Jesse has been a great inspiration to Steven in music, as an influential musician in Canadian jazz who has been teaching Steven drumming for half a decade. Steven says that the famous drummers that have shaped Jesse have now been passed on to influence Steven’s playing style as well, including musicians such as Art Blakey, Elvin Jones, Max Roach, Jimmy Cobb, Philly Joe Jones and Kenny Clarke.
Music has become an integral part of Steven’s identity over the years, and it’s been with him “for longer than any friend, or any personal belongings”. It is something that has grown and developed along with him for the past 15 years, and despite the long journey behind him, he believes that there is still a long way to go in the future as his growth continues. To illustrate his passion for music, Steven says, “I really wouldn't have any idea of who I'd be without it. If someone came up to me in the streets and asked me who I am, "musician" would come right after my name.”
Playing music for Steven is a way of feeling free, as well as expressing emotions; improvising on the piano is a musical representation of his emotions, as he demonstrated at his Collingwood commencement ceremony. When Steven was asked to play piano in front of his grad class and all of their parents, he says that he had a small part of it planned, but the rest was left to his emotions. He knew that he “could not capture the bittersweet feeling better beforehand, than right there, in the moment.” This improvisational skill came from playing songs from the radio and making up melodies on the piano while on his journey to achieve RCM level 10. Through this, Steven has discovered patterns that exist in music, which he can now “emulate and bend” to his own liking to create his own music.
On the piano, Steven is inspired by “Beethoven's emotionalism, Chopin's particular use of chromaticism, a bit of Debussy's flowing-ness, Mozart's lyricism.” His development has been influenced by famous classical composers. He believes that music should be a beautiful representation of who you are, taking into account your own identity, rather than trying to emulate the same things as everybody else. For other aspiring musicians, Steven advises to find your own unique sound, and be sure to have fun with it!
Currently, Steven is pursuing a music minor at UBC, where he is looking forward to studying with many influential Canadian composers. Since December of 2019, Steven has been focused on an experimental project that he calls “Synthy Stuff”, where live drums are paired with synth voices and textures from his keyboard. Since his graduation from Collingwood, Steven has taken on projects like this as a chance to create more elaborate musical pieces, in which he has complete control and can fulfill his entire potential in all aspects of his work. Not only has he been focused on recording techniques, but also on camera work and lighting, as he learns and improves his cinematography skills. With all of these broad opportunities, Steven says “There's so much more to learn, so much more to explore!” As of right now, he is nearing the completion of his final piece out of 6 in total for “Synthy Stuff”, which is sure to be an incredible project when it’s finished.
Link to "Synthy Stuff" project: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvZ4D7yoLZvgFFkTn6r75JvgTv4R6MLTS
Steven Zhu is a talented musician, who will always be remembered at Collingwood as an amazing member of the performing arts, leading countless Drum Corps performances, and showcasing his fantastic talent in memorable assemblies, talent shows, and special events.
After beginning with piano and the drums at age 4, Steven immediately found a connection to music and has been pursuing these passions ever since. Steven and his family arrived in Canada in late 2009, and since then, his talent for music has developed under the guidance of several different teachers, most significantly, Jesse Cahill. Jesse has been a great inspiration to Steven in music, as an influential musician in Canadian jazz who has been teaching Steven drumming for half a decade. Steven says that the famous drummers that have shaped Jesse have now been passed on to influence Steven’s playing style as well, including musicians such as Art Blakey, Elvin Jones, Max Roach, Jimmy Cobb, Philly Joe Jones and Kenny Clarke.
Music has become an integral part of Steven’s identity over the years, and it’s been with him “for longer than any friend, or any personal belongings”. It is something that has grown and developed along with him for the past 15 years, and despite the long journey behind him, he believes that there is still a long way to go in the future as his growth continues. To illustrate his passion for music, Steven says, “I really wouldn't have any idea of who I'd be without it. If someone came up to me in the streets and asked me who I am, "musician" would come right after my name.”
Playing music for Steven is a way of feeling free, as well as expressing emotions; improvising on the piano is a musical representation of his emotions, as he demonstrated at his Collingwood commencement ceremony. When Steven was asked to play piano in front of his grad class and all of their parents, he says that he had a small part of it planned, but the rest was left to his emotions. He knew that he “could not capture the bittersweet feeling better beforehand, than right there, in the moment.” This improvisational skill came from playing songs from the radio and making up melodies on the piano while on his journey to achieve RCM level 10. Through this, Steven has discovered patterns that exist in music, which he can now “emulate and bend” to his own liking to create his own music.
On the piano, Steven is inspired by “Beethoven's emotionalism, Chopin's particular use of chromaticism, a bit of Debussy's flowing-ness, Mozart's lyricism.” His development has been influenced by famous classical composers. He believes that music should be a beautiful representation of who you are, taking into account your own identity, rather than trying to emulate the same things as everybody else. For other aspiring musicians, Steven advises to find your own unique sound, and be sure to have fun with it!
Currently, Steven is pursuing a music minor at UBC, where he is looking forward to studying with many influential Canadian composers. Since December of 2019, Steven has been focused on an experimental project that he calls “Synthy Stuff”, where live drums are paired with synth voices and textures from his keyboard. Since his graduation from Collingwood, Steven has taken on projects like this as a chance to create more elaborate musical pieces, in which he has complete control and can fulfill his entire potential in all aspects of his work. Not only has he been focused on recording techniques, but also on camera work and lighting, as he learns and improves his cinematography skills. With all of these broad opportunities, Steven says “There's so much more to learn, so much more to explore!” As of right now, he is nearing the completion of his final piece out of 6 in total for “Synthy Stuff”, which is sure to be an incredible project when it’s finished.
Link to "Synthy Stuff" project: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvZ4D7yoLZvgFFkTn6r75JvgTv4R6MLTS