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20 - “All” I K I( "HONMILI: - Wednesxhn Md) 11.3003 0 I O , 0 0 Local pianist affirms muszc s soothing effect, playing on through a blackout Br Boa Vim/WAC . Zhang earned rounds of warm applause ( lira/title Staff w for his determined effort. He was rewarded C. for his perseverance by winning the George he thunder rolled and the lightning struck and Jessie Peter Award from the adjudicators I but nothing muld stop a Vi'atetitx) pianist ' , as well as the Senior Allegro Trophy. from completing his gold-medal per- $1. Jo g; ,., "This just might be the magic of music," ionriance at the recent Kiwanis MUSIC Festival. “3&3“, " , Horn wrote about the performance. “This People are still talking about the incredi- {fficfifig ' . is: _ was truly a beautiful moment.” hle performance that came during the heart gtjf?‘ ' " [a ' Zhang, a Grade 9 student at Sir John A. of the storm that raged through the area at " __ ,..» ‘ Macdonald high school in Waterloo. admits the end of April by lSvyear-old, David 2 he also heard the rumble of thunder and ‘ Yhango _.._ , '-" ~ -~ started to worry when he saw that members More than 50 piano finalists and their - 3 l ofthe audience were preparing to leave. families were gathered in Stratford's St. ”I He even wondered if he should stop play< John's United Church when Zhang, the last w. ing. But his music teacher, Waterloo's Joanne performer, took the stage. Wearing a red tie , Bender. always told him the show must go with a Canadian Maple Leaf motif. the six- .-. one footâ€"tall youngster strode to the centre of the y, ’ - g “Unless they tell you to stop, you should stage and said he was playing a piece by . ' ’ l' n’t stop even ifyou have that kind of wind Canadian composer, Alexina Louie. eff ‘ blowing around and hail coming down." Waterloo resident Judy Home was in the said Hang, taking his teachers instructions audience that day and wrote to the Chroni- , to heart. “Especially with a full house of kids cle about the amazing circumstances that ~ and parents anxious to get away." followed. She said before the young pianist ‘ Pan of the reason he managed to main- got too far into the beautiful melody of the tain his calm is the way he plays the piano. piece, the wind started to howl and the He said that he gets so involved with the thunder shook the foundations of the music he usually doesn't notice any distrac- almost 90-year-old church tions When the hail started, a ooncemed mur- . He just closes his eyes and feels the mur rang music. So that’s what he did when the storm through the u . . . hitâ€"hejust closedhis and continued assembled ThlSJUStInIght toplaythemusic eyes crowd. That be the magic of "I guess it kind of my fault because I was ‘ q u i c k l y - - toointothemusic.'hesaid. changed to full. musw. T7115 was Zhang, who only took up playing the out cries by a truly beautrfid piano seriously four years ago. said he sacri- some of the n ficed a lot to get ready for the performance. younger chil» moment‘ He even gave up his other pursuits. like bas- d ren in the _ ludy “om ketball, to perfect the piece. audience as WW Mum, So, a little thunder and rain wasn't going another thun- ‘ tostophimfromdoinghisbest. derclap was followed by total darkness Peo- L2 If anything it confirmed his belief in the pie in the audience began scurrying to leave, ti“ a transcendent power of music. fearing the worst was still to come. The \ "The piece 1 played was verylyrical in the whole time. the pianist played on, not miss- beginning. so it had a calming effect.” said ing a note as he built toward the dramatic Zhang. “And when i got to the end it was ending of the composition. very grand with lots of big chords, so i decid- While the darkness continued through ed to emphasize it a lot more to calm people the rest of his performance, Home said the down beautiful music had a remarkable calming . “Everyone started to focus on what i was effect on the audience. {a playing â€" it made a safe haven for every- The kids soon stopped crying and the m ’" one.” music was all that could be heard in the per- But that doesn‘t explain the lights switch- formance space. The pianist held the audi- ‘\ , ing back on just as he struck his last note. ence captive until the final chord when the A He was taken aback by that as much as lights of the church dramatically flickered David Zheng’s performance at the Kiwanis Music Festival is coming him kudos for his pom anyone. back to life. verance and emphasizes the calming effect music can have on an audience. new more Continued on page 2] o 0 V ' Come & Browse This Holiday Weekend ~~ / a - W‘ A More than 90 booths feature t. _~ M~ f“ 72“ Market Road a sensational array of antiques 8. » -' ' ‘ A, collectibles. New stock arrives ~ . ' ‘ every day! ‘ y a n lq ue S 3 OPEN DAILY: Sun to Fri 70-6. Sat 8-6 . ‘ , 519-747-1830 _ . SUNDAY OUTDOOR MARKET 845 Weber St. N., Waterloo Across from bi Jacobs Farmers Market 104 of Market Road Antiques