Every student at SFCM gets their time to shine. 

That's the meaning behind Ablaze, the winning composition by Liyuan He for this year's TACtok competition. "That's what this music represents," He said, "When the moment comes, capturing that opportunity and then putting in your best effort is the key point in becoming a musician."

The Technology and Applied Composition (TAC) student’s composition Ablaze was selected as the winner of the third TACtok contest, for which SFCM looked to TAC students to craft a genre-bending soundtrack to be featured on the Conservatory’s TikTok channel as a project for a TAC course. Students were challenged to create soundscapes that were bold, exuberant, joyful, and viewed through the lens of innovation and inclusivity. 

Originally from Beijing, China, He grew up playing the piano, but it wasn't until his teen years that he was moved to try composing, by one record-breaking and billion-dollar movie. "The movie Avatar made me realize that a great movie can’t live without amazing composers writing the music," He said. "In my senior year of high school, I made up my mind and decided to study music professionally." He is currently a sophomore at SFCM. 

For his inspiration, He thought about the Conservatory and specifically the TAC program, "The reason I wrote a very electronic piece is because I wanted to emphasize the characteristics of our TAC program, with a little help from musical artists Shawn Mendez and Zedd. "The idea of reversed sound and synthesized vocals comes from a remix of their song Lost in Japan," He said. 

Since its launch in November of 2021, SFCM’s TikTok channel has become one of the largest of any college or university in the country and has garnered millions of views, created a few TikTok stars, and grown to more than 238 thousand followers. 

Upon leaving SFCM He plans on continuing his dream of becoming a film or game composer, a journey he knows the TAC program will help him achieve, "I did a lot of research among top music colleges and schools, and it all pointed here, the advanced recording studios, labs and also the educational concept of TAC program, that we learn all aspects of music technology eventually became the reason why I chose SFCM," He said.

Check out Ablaze on TikTok! 

Learn more about studying Technology and Applied Composition at SFCM.