UMKC Orchestra
May 3, 2025
White Recital Hall, Kansas City, MO
She Was a Ghost
For Full Orchestra [~14''] (2024)
She Was a Ghost is a story of self-transcendence, inspired by the chapter Nie Xiaoqian in Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio by Pu Songling (Qing Dynasty). The story follows Nie Xiaoqian, a delicate female ghost trapped in a secluded temple after dying at 18. Initially coerced by other spirits into committing ritual murders, she gradually questions her actions and searches for a path to reclaim her integrity. One night, she encounters the virtuous scholar Ning Caichen, whose unwavering morality inspires her to seek help and regain her freedom. Once liberated, she devotes herself to confronting her past, transforming her life, and cultivating her humanity. This work musically explores her journey, capturing the tension between her inner conflict and longing, despair and moral awakening, and the ultimate arrival of spiritual renewal.