

Spotlight Series: Prepared Piano
Welcome to our first Spotlight Series concert where we go in depth with a musician and composer to learn more about their corner of the art form!


A Quick Intro to the Prepared Piano →
Program
Black Earth
I expected for many people to be real friends,
I expected for many people to be real friends,
My faithful beloved is black soil,
I wandered around with no end, I got tired for nothing,
My faithful beloved is black soil.
I dedicated myself to such beautiful ones,
I didn't see any loyalty, I didn't find any use,
I had everything I wanted from the soil (Earth),
My faithful beloved is black soil.
It gave sheep, it gave lamb, it gave milk,
It gave food, it gave bread, it gave meat,
When you didn't peck up the ground, it gave less,
My faithful beloved is black soil.
I cut it open with a pickaxe,
I tore its face with my hands, with my nails,
It again welcomed me with roses,
My faithful beloved is black soil.
As I tortured it, it used to smile at me,
There is no lie in this, everyone saw it,
I gave one seed, it gave me four fields in return,
My faithful beloved is black soil.
If I look up in the sky, I can breathe,
If I look down to the earth, I have the prayers of others,
Where will I stay if I leave it,
My faithful beloved is black soil.
f you have a wish ask it from God by prayer,
Don't go away from the soil to get your wish,
Generosity is given to the soil by God,
My faithful beloved is black soil.
If you search for truth, here is a clear point,
God is close to people and people are close to God,
The secret treasure of God is within the soil,
My faithful beloved is black soil.
Soil is repairing all the mistakes we have,
It heals my wounds like a medicine,
It is waiting for me with open arms,
My faithful beloved is black soil.
Whom ever learns this secret,
Will leave an immortal wonder behind for the world,
A day comes when it hugs us deeply,
My faithful beloved is black soil.
About Tin Yi Chelsea Wong
Pianist Tin Yi Chelsea Wong has taken a wide variety of concert stages. From Wienersaal in Salzburg and Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, to unconventional yet intimate GroupMuses, and Airbnb concert series, her programming blends classical and contemporary repertoire. Her performances at San Francisco Botanical Garden “Flower Piano” paired Crumb’s Makrokosmos II with Schumann’s Symphonic Etudes, and Schubert’s Fantasia in F minor for piano 4 hands with Novak’s Rustica Musa II. In her Ross McKee Foundation concert, she presented Brahms’ Bach Chaconne for Left Hand with Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin, and Oscar Peterson’s Hymn to Freedom.
An advocate of contemporary music, Tin Yi Chelsea Wong is a founding member of contemporary vocal ensemble Mouthscape Choir. She premiered Ilya Demutsky’s Skomoroshina, commissioned through the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) Hoefer Prize, choreographed and performed at San Francisco Ballet; other premieres include Lukas Janata’s Echi, Ryan Brown’s Mortal Lessons, and numerous new works. Fluent in free improvisation and focusing on extended techniques, Tin Yi Chelsea Wong invented the Harmonic Capo to expand the potential of the instrument. Her current project is to advance the prototype, while seeking collaborations and commissioning composers to create new possibilities for the piano repertoire.
Tin Yi Chelsea Wong served as a faculty member at New York University Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, while studying with Alan Feinberg. She graduated from SFCM with a Master’s degree and the President’s award, studying in the studios of Yoshikazu Nagai and Paul Hersh, and received her Bachelor degree from The Boston Conservatory (magna cumme laude) under the guidance of Ya-Fei Chuang. In her free time, Chelsea enjoys collecting rare succulents, preparing 10 person+ feasts, boardgames, and rock climbing. She is also a proud support of the Hong Kong Umbrella Movement.

Acknowledgments & Support
Foundations & Grants
Charles N. Felton & Charlotte Ashley Felton Endowment
Myriam Weinstein Charitable Fund
William Meyer Foundation
Bill Graham Memorial Foundation
First Unitarian Universalist Society of San Francisco
Hapsburg Circle
Dr. Bing Liem
Felicia Su
Rev. Davidson Bidwell Waite & Edwin Waite
Maecenas Circle
Tony David and Kaz Zemanek
Albert Yeh & Haerang Lee
Dr. George Charles Grosscup III and Rose Ann York
Ian Sima
Linda & Brian Chrisman
Benefactors of the Arts
Jennifer Jolliffe
Harold Jacobsohn
Gail Cornwall-Feeley & Brian Feeley
Patrons of the Arts
Peter Rosenfeld & Dr. Carla Golden
Susan & Jeff Froyd
John Dickerman
Shipra Kayan
James & Teresa Agate
Udi & Guy Ledergor
Howard Robbins and Linda Kardos
Kaye Reeves
Kelly Boyce
Patricia Finson
Edward Pizzi
Jenefer Bickers
Tom O'Brien
José Vargas and Damira Keagy-Hadzic
Barbara Sommers
Liv Sridhar
Doug & Betch Murray
Gary Koolik
Larry Anderson
Elijah Yang
Julie Valenzuela
Karen Wang
Lionel Metz
Ana Elsner
Aarifa Jwaji
Tammy Chang & Steven Yukl
Dr. Jean Ahn
Lorena Honorato Moreira
Arlene Hajinlian
Eric Hillenbrand
Janet Vennari
Leora Benioff
Patricia Smith
Dr. Kreigh Moulton
Gail Baugh & Jim Warshell
Madeline & Daniel Shellhouse
Piotr Stancyzk
Robert Neal

