ENMU student to play Carnegie Hall

STAFF WRITER

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When Qingxin and Zhili Gan gave up having a television in the house so their 7-year-old daughter could pursue her passion for music, it was because they believed their daughter could do great things.

And according to Jiaqi “Helen” Gan, 22, that is a passionate support she still receives from her parents to this day, because even with an ocean between them, Gan talks to her parents in Sichuan Province, China, every day via Skype.

“They are very proud of me. They have had very high expectations of me throughout my whole education, but they didn’t think I could be so independent and develop my own career (to this extent),” Gan said. “They have supported me no matter what I do. They trust me, and they have always supported me in pursuing my dream.”

Gan said upon seeing her talent and love for music, her father asked her when she was 7-years-old if she wanted to learn to play the piano.

When she said yes, he took the television he had just bought — the family had never owned one before — back to the store and brought home a piano instead.

Her parents are not the only ones who believe so passionately in Gan, who graduates from Eastern New Mexico University this month with her piano performance degree.

An anonymous donor gave the university $2,300 for Gan to participate in a music student trip to New York City, where she will perform next month at Carnegie Hall.

“I didn’t know that I could be such a lucky girl. I never thought I’d be that fortunate,” Gan said. “It’s very special, and I just sincerely want to thank the person who gave me this opportunity. Not only as a student but also as a musician, to get an opportunity to perform in Carnegie Hall, a place that everybody wants to perform in, is just incredible.”

Gan will be off to the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, Massachusetts, this summer to earn a master’s degree in collaborative piano, but not before she leaves Portales with a special gift, a collaborative piano performance, which will entail Gan performing on the piano in conjunction with several other instruments and singers.

“This type of recital would normally only be a graduate experience,” said Instructor Kayla Paulk, who is also a collaborative pianist. “I never had this opportunity as an undergraduate student. She (Gan) said from day one ‘I want to be a collaborative pianist.’ She made herself these opportunities and she said ‘I want to do this.’ We made it happen. So it’s very unique and it’s a great privilege.

“This is the first time I’ve ever had a student in 20 years of teaching, who has gone on to the collaborative piano masters program,” Paulk added, saying that Gan led the way with planning the performance, which happens tonight, and with rehearsals.

“That’s a very difficult thing for a student to have to do with her peers,” Paulk said. “For Helen to exert leadership skills and for her peers to still call her a friend shows she has a very good-natured way. She’s not bossy, but she knows what she wants. She knows how to motivate people and still remain their friend, and that’s a skill that’s hard to do.”

Gan said the friendships she has made at ENMU and the faculty are what she will miss most when she leaves Portales.

She said after her master’s degree, she plans to pursue a doctorate in music then teach and perform for a living, in the U.S. if an opportunity presents itself.

“Making things with people is the best part of my time here,” Gan said. “I owe so much thanks to all of the ENMU faculty for their overwhelming support with this project, especially Dr. and Mrs. (Jason and Kayla) Paulk and Dr. (Jean) Wozencraft-Ornellas.”