ENMU Pianist Plays at Carnegie Hall

By Alisa Boswell/Portales News-Tribune

Before leaving ENMU to earn a master’s degree in collaborative piano at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, MA, Jiaqi “Helen” Gan (BM 15) and her classmates staged a first-of-its-kind collaborative performance, with Helen collaborating with a dizzying series of instrumental and vocal ensembles.

“This type of recital would normally only be a graduate experience,” said Instructor Kayla Paulk, who is also a collaborative pianist. “Helen said from day one, ‘I want to be a collaborative pianist.’ She made herself these opportunities.”

“This is the first time I’ve ever had a student in 20 years of teaching who has gone on to the collaborative piano master’s program,” Paulk added, saying that Helen led the way with planning the unique collaborative performance. “For Helen to exert leadership skills and for her peers to still call her a friend shows she is good-natured and collegial. She knows what she wants, but she also knows how to motivate people.”

Helen recalls that upon seeing her talent and love for music, her father Qingxin Gan 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 back to the store and brought home a piano instead. Qingxin and Zhili Gan believed their daughter could do great things.

According to Helen, that is support she still receives from her parents in Sichuan Province, China. “They have high expectations, trust me, and have always supported me in pursuing my dream.”

Helen’s parents are not the only ones who believe so passionately in Helen. An anonymous donor gave the University $2,300 for Helen to participate in a music-student trip to New York City where she performed at Carnegie Hall.

“It was a special experience, 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.”

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

“I owe so much thanks to all of the ENMU faculty for their overwhelming support, especially Dr. and Mrs. (Jason and Kayla) Paulk and Dr. (Jean) Wozencraft-Ornellas.”

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