LEILA ZOU Moved to Hinsdale from Texas in eighth grade • Began playing piano at age 7 • Daughter of Chinese immigrants • Speaks some Mandarin and French • Plans to study bioengineering
Hinsdale Central senior Leila Zou has always enjoyed painting and drawing. So when Hinsdale Central orchestra director Serge Penksik asked for volunteers to create a mural on the walls of the school's orchestra room, Zou quickly volunteered to take on the task.
Any musician knows that practice is essential. That proved to be the case in the creation of the mural, as well.
"This mural was the second attempt. The first was not very good," said Zou, who initially tried to organize a group project. "Doing it all myself didn't feel right."
But too many artistic styles and voices resulted in a mural that Zou said lacked cohesiveness. When she offered to take another shot at the mural, her teacher gave her the green light to start again.
Zou dedicated part of her summer to designing a whole new look for the orchestra room wall and even returned to school a couple of weeks before classes started to begin preparations.
The result is a carefully curated collection of portraits depicting famous orchestral composers from throughout history, along with line sketches of instruments associated with each composer's work.
"I had to do some research," Zou said.
That included polling fellow orchestra members about the composers they thought should be recognized. A crowd favorite, however, had to be eliminated. Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff didn't make the cut because he never composed for orchestra.
The six who did make the cut are arranged chronologically, beginning with German composer Johann Sebastian Bach. Because he wrote a collection of suites for cello, his image is paired with an image of that instrument.
Next is Austrian Franz Joseph Haydn.
"He was one of the first composers to work with an orchestra," said Zou, who chose a harp to pair with Haydn's image.
The third composer was a must, Zou said.
"I had to put him on, no matter what," she said of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
As a violinist, Zou said she has a conflicted relationship with the composer.
"I love listening to his music, but it's terrible to play," said Zou. Mozart's portrait is paired, of course, with a violin.
Fourth on the wall is Ludwig van Beethoven, one of history's most famous composers and pianists. His portrait sits above an image of a piano.
Zou said the orchestra was rehearsing a piece by Felix Mendelssohn as she worked on the wall. His image is paired with the string bass.
Finally, Zou chose to honor Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, the Russian composer responsible for writing famous ballets such as "Swan Lake." His image is that of a conductor.
Zou has not only played some of Tchaikovsky's works, but danced to them. A student at Hinsdale Dance Academy, Zou currently is rehearsing for "The Nutcracker," in which she will dance the part of the Sugar Plum Fairy Nov. 22-24.
Completed in shades of red and white to represent Central's colors, Zou said it's exciting and satisfying to see her completed work and to know that her mark on the program will last beyond her graduation next spring.
"I'm pretty happy with it," she said. "Now, it's just part of the orchestra room."
- story by Sandy Illian Bosch, photo by Jim Slonoff
