Photo Album: A Song for the Class of 2020

As the core composer and lyricist for Photo Album, Yolanda says that she wanted to find the perfect graduation song – eventually becoming inspired by looking through the photos she had taken during her time at the school. She recalls how, after many false starts, one day the melody for the prelude to Photo Album popped into her head, which then inspired her composition of the verse and chorus. However, after struggling with the bridge due to a lack of familiarity with the pop genre, she pulled in Selina – who acted as composer, pianist, ukulele player and singer – to help.  

After the music was composed, Yolanda needed help from someone who had had experience writing lyrics, so she called on Irene – who served as a lyricist, translator and singer. “At some point, I realized that exhaustion and desperation had played an important role in our high school career, just as important as all the joy, love, and ambition that we wanted to highlight in the lyrics.” As Irene and Yolanda wrote, they also reflected on their fears and hopes for the future and reminisced lightheartedly on their time at YK Pao School.

As Yolanda’s inspiration had come just two weeks before graduation, the group only had time to rehearse twice before the recording, with these time constraints presenting the team with their biggest challenge. In addition, the group was also limited by the instruments and recording equipment they had available impacting the audio quality. Though this first recording was deemed good enough to feature in the music video, due to these quality issues the team later decided to record the song again over the summer to capture an ‘official recording’ in a studio.

As the song recording drew to an end, the work was not done – the new alumni were ambitiously preparing to produce a music video to accompany Photo Album. Jason, who directed the video, explains how he had to make sure the video content reflected the song’s lyrics, whilst also ‘resonating’ with the student’s memories of life at Songjiang. The music video shoot took place over three days, which not only included the filming but also camera testing and location selection. George, who filmed and edited the video, says that before the shooting, the rapid timeline meant that he ‘lacked sufficient communication’ with Jason and Yolanda regarding the direction of the music video. As a result, he remembers having to compromise on his original plans and simply used the footage he was able to capture to create the best possible video.

Filming limitations weren’t the only post-production challenge the team faced. Irene, who provided English subtitles for the music video, describes how it was almost impossible for the English translation to capture both the content and the lyrical quality of the original Chinese. She describes how, ‘thanks to YK Pao School’, she felt honoured and grateful to be competent in both English and Chinese, allowing her to pen a meaningful translation of the lyrics.

As they prepared to finally walk through the school’s gate for the last time as students, the musicians and filmmakers reflected on their time at Pao School. For many, their music journey began at the school and say that it was an ‘indispensable part’ of their student life.

George traces his passion for music back to the Primary School, where he learned the violin and was part of the orchestra – which he continued through to high school. He says that these experiences were an important part of the person he is today. Irene also explains how music helped her grow, saying her time as part of the a cappella group Tune Fish helped her build confidence and gave her a love for music.

Jason and Vina also reflect on how the school supported their love of music through academics, both mentioning their IGCSE music studies. Vina explains that she didn’t have any in music theory or world music knowledge before taking the course, but that it inspired her to take roles in more music-related activities, such as being part of a band, and playing in the Christmas and Chinese New Year concerts.

Pianist Yuan explains how is particularly proud of performing a 16-handed piece with several other students and teachers at the school’s tenth anniversary celebration, “Those piano classrooms are not only full of music but also full of beautiful memories. Though I've graduated, the melodies and words are still within my heart.”

In the time since graduation, the alumni have found themselves facing a world that they couldn’t have imagined. Due to the pandemic, many have had to postpone their university studies, whilst others have now resolved to study online in China or face the virus abroad. The Photo Album team is no different.

Selina says that, as her start at Brown University has been delayed until the spring, she has had more free time than when she was at Pao School. Though strange at first, she has since filled the time with online classes and a part time internship.

Irene has taken a different approach and is now a gap year fellow within Pao School’s Drama Department. Though it was her original plan to take a gap year before the coronavirus struck, she explains how the situation has taught her to value her health and loved ones more, “I’ve started to realise how much I miss my high school peers, how much we supported each other and made each other grow. Now working as a gap year fellow in the Drama Department, I hope to continue bringing the sense of compassion and support to my students.”

（Song for Pao School Class of 2020)