Zihan Geng

My composition program： Dissipation appears as a special, deeply personal composition inspired by a recurring childhood nightmare of mine. Although the content of this nightmare is not specifically terrifying, it causes an overwhelming amount of discomfort whenever I have it. This orchestral piece is built around the scattered memories of this dream, which include both idyllic landscapes as well as primarily uncomfortable sights such as a gloomy European-style street, into which the former dissipates. Lasting around 5 minutes, Dissipation is a single movement piece that began in the spring of 2022 and was completed in the fall of 2023. It blends two opposing ideas while keeping to an overall ABA' structure, where the A and A' parts represent the recurrent nightmare and the cycle of discomfort it brings. Strings, clarinet, horn, trumpet, tenor trombone, and timpani are among the instruments used to create a wide range of tone schemes. The harp and percussion instruments infuse the piece with layers of texture and a dramatic experience, allowing it to shift between mysterious pain and calm. "Blink by Zihan Geng Blink is a study in transformation, from system to spontaneity, from logic to instinct. The piece begins with a kind of pulse: patterns that flicker in and out, as if following an invisible rule. These rhythmic shapes come and go like blinking lights, building a world that feels both precise and unpredictable. But as the music continues, it begins to shift. Structure gives way to instinct. Instinct turns into Mechanical motion. Just as the human eye blinks to protect and refresh vision, this piece explores the ephemeral nature of musical ideas, how they flicker in and out of being, often too briefly to grasp. Blink explores the intersection between system and spontaneity. But like consciousness emerging from circuitry. The shift between freedom and control, chaos and clarity. Like a single blink — brief, almost unnoticed, the piece captures the instant when feeling becomes form."