On Sept. 21, a few minutes before the clock struck 8 p.m., a grand piano, an electric keyboard, an acoustic guitar and a drum pad waited patiently on the stage of the CFAC Recital Hall under a circular spotlight.
At exactly eight in the evening, the star, Cynthia Yih Shih – better known by her stage name Vienna Teng – took the stage and entered the spotlight. Teng, an American pianist and singer-songwriter, is making a comeback tour after a break from the music industry. Her performance at Calvin was part of this comeback. As the audience – which ranged from students to retirees – welcomed her, Teng’s fingers began to run across the piano keyboard.
Teng might not have known, at that point, what keys she was pressing and which of her songs she was playing, or so she joked in her opening speech before the performance. “Every time I go out, my tour manager asks me, ‘What song are you gonna play first?’ Which is funny because I never know,” Teng told the audience. Teng started off by playing and singing the soft, heartfelt notes of The Atheist Christmas Carol and followed with the forte Augustine on the grand piano.
Then, she turned and dragged her chair to the electronic keyboard facing the audience. This keyboard, which Teng described as a “robot,” records and loops whatever kind of audio she wants to produce. With this keyboard, she performed a remixed acapella version of Whatever You Want.
Next, she added another unique sound: an electric wind instrument that her friend Alex Wong gave her to sing a cover of The Lost Words Blessing, inspired by the novel The Lost Words by Jackie Morris and Robert Macfarlane.
This performance was followed by a duet of Landsailor with her husband, Jacob Corvidae, as well as a fun electronic arrangement of The Tower.
When Teng opened a request to the audience, the Recital Hall was almost immediately flooded with people shouting titles: “Stray Italian Greyhound! Grandmother Song!” But the winner was Close to Home, which she played with both the electronic keyboard and drum pads.
Right after, the audience were surprised by the sudden performance of Teng’s three-year-old daughter dancing on the stage as she sang Level Up.
Teng performed Lullaby for a Stormy Night before ending the night by performing three versions – two of them unreleased – of her latest single We’ve Got You that was released just one day before the show.
Teng’s latest single We’ve Got You is a song about community, which fit thematically with her performance that night. The audience’s engagement with Teng and her overall creativity brought a sense of community. This is why, Teng claims, she loves performing. It gives more pleasure and more space for creativity to sing in front of a live audience that connects with her voice rather than recording alone in the studio.
Her concert that night was closed by an open Q&A led by Jack Droppers, Director of Calvin SAO.
