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What is a Huang Zhong?

Huang Zhong trophies

The Huang Zhong (“yellow bell”) plays an important symbolic role in Chinese music. In ancient times this object was used to set the pitch of Chinese musical instruments. Each year, participants in the Instrumental, Vocal, and Chinese Instrument Division will earn Huang Zhong merit points based on their performance score (the average score of both pieces performed). Any student who accumulates a certain number of merit points (detailed below) for a given instrument category will receive a Huang Zhong trophy. Points are accumulated within an instrument division, and not per student (should a student perform on more than one instrument).

 Accumulated Merit Points Trophy Level
First 12 merit points Bronze
Second 12 merit points (total 24 points) Brass
Third 12 merit points (total 36 points) Gold

Point System

Average Score Points
Superior (95 – 100) 5
Excellent (90 – 44) 4
Very Good (85 – 89) 3
Good (80 – 84) 2