After lunch, hands pound an orange ball ribbed with black stripes against the wood flooring of the Auxiliary Gym, dodging through small skids of spilled guacamole before swishing it through the hoop net. Ninety minutes later, those same hands gently tug a marimba from the shadows of Patil Theater and into the limelight, guiding the pairs of mallets that dance across wood tone bars. Basketballs and marimba mallets: both play an important role in the life of Harrison Chang (12), an avid artist and performer.

The journey of the marimba into Harrison’s home began before he was born. His mother fell in love with the instrument after immigrating to the United States from Taiwan, and later decided to pass on her appreciation of the marimba to her children, Harrison and Katie Chang (‘20). Now, Harrison has held marimba mallets for around 11 years. He loves the activity for its innovative feel — a space where music becomes whatever is made of it, through experimentation, learning and growth.

“A lot of people think that in general, percussion is very basic, like hitting instruments, but with the marimba, you can do so much more,” Harrison said. “There are different types of mallets, different types of bars and different types of sounds you can make, so the versatility of percussion makes the potential to create infinite. It’s really cool how you can integrate a lot of skills and make your own style of music.”

While Harrison’s dedication to marimba led him to percussion ensemble groups and private studies, such as those under Ludwig Albert and Marimba One artist Tammy Chen, developing a distinctive identity in music proved to be harder. Harrison committed himself to overcoming the struggle of finding his own playing style, an accomplishment he achieved in his freshman year.

“It was really hard to find what my style was,” Harrison said. “I went on a study abroad trip to Portugal and studied with a professor who showed me how to find my style. That’s my most meaningful experience I’ve had. That’s how I overcame my challenge.”

The practice, persistence and dedication that Harrison gives to his music extends to his interactions with the friends and communities he enjoys spending time with. Close friend Melody Luo (12), who braved the wilderness of sophomore chemistry with Harrison as her desk partner, admires how supportive a friend he is.

“Even when [Harrison] meets challenges or adversity, he always remains super calm and collected, and he always manages to put any situation in this really humorous light,” Melody said. “The fact that he’s able to balance all of these activities and still remain just as upbeat and optimistic is something that is really emotionally mature and nice to see.”

This mindset helped to bring Harrison far, especially during marimba competitions. Eventually, he earned winner’s concerts at Carnegie Hall in New York.

“Performing at Carnegie Hall for the first time is something I am definitely proud of,” Harrison said. “What might be on par with that is beating my sister in a competition, because she’s someone I’ve always looked up to. Beating my role model meant a lot to me.”

Individual exploratory moments with percussion and a family that loves the instrument as much as Harrison does makes the marimba especially close to his heart. In addition to delighting in the freedom of creation in music, Harrison also enjoys observing the styles of others as they come into their own during competitions.

“Early on, especially in competitions, it was hard to differentiate [myself] as a musician because when you compete, each person has their own playstyle,” Harrison said. “That’s what makes them unique. That’s why I like competitions. They’re all so subjective because each judge has their own flavor that they like.”

In his interactions with others too, Harrison remains steady and optimistic. Friend of seven years Alex Zhang (12) appreciates how open Harrison remains in their friendship, striking a balance between laid-back optimism and persistence.

“[Harrison is] always easy to talk to,” Alex said. “You know you won’t be judged by him, and he’d always make the conversation engaging and memorable. He definitely earns everything he achieves, and he’s still fun to be around and play basketball with. I can tell that he works super hard for all of his grades and everything he does.”

Chemistry teacher Robbie Korin, who taught Harrison when he was a sophomore and still stops by Harrison’s current chemistry class for friendly banter, also notices how Harrison’s light-hearted, drawing others toward him through his storytelling, jokes and attentive listening that Harrison’s friends admire.

“It’s hard to get to know a personality sometimes, but [Harrison’s] shines through,” Korin said. “He was certainly one who I remembered quite quickly. He would be a person who I, in five to 10 years, would be interested to see what he’s up to. Any advice to Harrison would be to stay who [he is].”