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Banding together for a festival of marching music in Yangpu District
By Fei Lai |
May 9, 2009, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE air of Yangpu District has been filled with music from around the world in the 2009 Shanghai Spring International Music Festival that runs through next Saturday.
Four foreign bands, from Malaysia, South Korea and Spain, and 28 domestic bands performed at the wind and brass instrument art festival, part of the 2009 Shanghai Spring, in Yangpu District during the May Day holiday.
Yangpu District hosted a similar musical art week in 2008 and this year it has been upgraded to a full festival and major cultural event.
On April 30, the opening ceremony was held in the district's Jiangwan Stadium. Twenty-three marching bands from around the world set off from the stadium, marching along Songhu, Handan and Guobin roads.
Passersby stopped to enjoy the music; some even marched along with their favorite bands.
The four-day wind and brass instrument art festival also featured a wind and brass music carnival at Fudan University, a city forest concert and an amateur marching band performance for the public.
The carnival at Fudan also featured the history and culture of band instruments.
Gongqing Forest Park was decorated with colorful flags on April 30 for a concert marking the one-year countdown to World Expo 2010 in Shanghai that opens May 1.
More than 80 musicians from the Military Band of the People's Liberation Army of China and other famous bands played world-renowned works.
An amateur marching band performance was held at Shanghai Jiangwan Stadium. The band from the district's Shanghai Kongjiang High School was a highlight.
The district also sent its own 80-musician student band to the event.
The band was formed only eight months ago, but it performed to a high level and was applauded by both the audience and professionals.
"A marching band is characterized by beautiful and varied performance with an aesthetic touch," says Lou Fei, a music teacher from Shanghai Kongjiang High School.
As a young band, it faces difficulties and pressures in its development, Lou says. "The biggest challenge is winning the support of students and parents as many students are preparing for the college entrance examination that takes place in June."
Lou says many students had a strong desire to join the band but many parents were afraid that practice and rehearsal would take too much of their children's time that should be devoted to study.
"It's understandable that some of them wanted to quit at first because of the need to study, but with their teachers' encouragement they stayed on for the honor of the school and even the city," Lou says.
Since the students have varied levels of ability, it's necessary that each be brought up to speed to play with the entire band.
"We make full use of each Friday afternoon and night for training and rehearsal. Students and parents really support us a lot," says Lou.
The closing ceremony at Fudan was held in Zhengda Gymnasium where 11 bands performed.
Four foreign bands, from Malaysia, South Korea and Spain, and 28 domestic bands performed at the wind and brass instrument art festival, part of the 2009 Shanghai Spring, in Yangpu District during the May Day holiday.
Yangpu District hosted a similar musical art week in 2008 and this year it has been upgraded to a full festival and major cultural event.
On April 30, the opening ceremony was held in the district's Jiangwan Stadium. Twenty-three marching bands from around the world set off from the stadium, marching along Songhu, Handan and Guobin roads.
Passersby stopped to enjoy the music; some even marched along with their favorite bands.
The four-day wind and brass instrument art festival also featured a wind and brass music carnival at Fudan University, a city forest concert and an amateur marching band performance for the public.
The carnival at Fudan also featured the history and culture of band instruments.
Gongqing Forest Park was decorated with colorful flags on April 30 for a concert marking the one-year countdown to World Expo 2010 in Shanghai that opens May 1.
More than 80 musicians from the Military Band of the People's Liberation Army of China and other famous bands played world-renowned works.
An amateur marching band performance was held at Shanghai Jiangwan Stadium. The band from the district's Shanghai Kongjiang High School was a highlight.
The district also sent its own 80-musician student band to the event.
The band was formed only eight months ago, but it performed to a high level and was applauded by both the audience and professionals.
"A marching band is characterized by beautiful and varied performance with an aesthetic touch," says Lou Fei, a music teacher from Shanghai Kongjiang High School.
As a young band, it faces difficulties and pressures in its development, Lou says. "The biggest challenge is winning the support of students and parents as many students are preparing for the college entrance examination that takes place in June."
Lou says many students had a strong desire to join the band but many parents were afraid that practice and rehearsal would take too much of their children's time that should be devoted to study.
"It's understandable that some of them wanted to quit at first because of the need to study, but with their teachers' encouragement they stayed on for the honor of the school and even the city," Lou says.
Since the students have varied levels of ability, it's necessary that each be brought up to speed to play with the entire band.
"We make full use of each Friday afternoon and night for training and rehearsal. Students and parents really support us a lot," says Lou.
The closing ceremony at Fudan was held in Zhengda Gymnasium where 11 bands performed.
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