Bringing music to Qiqihar's masses
Source: Xinhua |
November 27, 2011, Sunday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE sky had already begun to darken when Sun Xianggen entered a rehearsal hall in the northeastern city of Qiqihar on a Wednesday afternoon. However, Sun and his 80 choir students were just getting started for the day, preparing to rehearse songs for their next performance.
Sun, a 50-year-old conductor and dean of Qiqihar's College of Music and Dance in Heilongjiang Province, holds rehearsals four times each week in order to prepare free concerts for the city's 5 million residents.
As 2011 approaches its end, Sun is preparing his chorus and symphony orchestra for the New Year holiday. This year marks Sun's 12th New Year concert, and he and his students have work to do.
"It's not exactly the Vienna Philharmonic's New Year Concert," said Fan Youcai, a public relations officer at the university. "But it has been a success every year. People pull strings and use their connections just to get tickets."
Classical music is not as popular as pop or folk music, a trend that Sun has worked hard to try to reverse.
"Years ago, the audience didn't know when to applaud at a symphony," said Sun. The conductor recalled an instance in which the university rented out its music hall -- the only one in the city until recently - for a corporate meeting.
Sun was indignant. "It's a place for arts," he said.
Sun, his colleagues and his students have endeavored to introduce classical music to a region of China that is largely known for its "errenzhuan," or "two-person act," a local folk music typically sprinkled with vulgar jokes and sayings.
Since 2001, Qiqihar University has worked to provide free performances and concerts. Although university faculty were the only ones to attend at first, residents from all walks of life can now be found at the shows.
The status of classical music has changed significantly since 2001, with people in cities like Beijing and Shanghai willing to pay good money for symphony and chorus tickets. Renowned musicians from around the world regularly play to large audiences in these cities.
Despite multiple offers, Sun has refused to move.
"A good part of Qiqihar's cultural identity would be gone if I left," he said. "I can't allow that to happen."
Sun, a 50-year-old conductor and dean of Qiqihar's College of Music and Dance in Heilongjiang Province, holds rehearsals four times each week in order to prepare free concerts for the city's 5 million residents.
As 2011 approaches its end, Sun is preparing his chorus and symphony orchestra for the New Year holiday. This year marks Sun's 12th New Year concert, and he and his students have work to do.
"It's not exactly the Vienna Philharmonic's New Year Concert," said Fan Youcai, a public relations officer at the university. "But it has been a success every year. People pull strings and use their connections just to get tickets."
Classical music is not as popular as pop or folk music, a trend that Sun has worked hard to try to reverse.
"Years ago, the audience didn't know when to applaud at a symphony," said Sun. The conductor recalled an instance in which the university rented out its music hall -- the only one in the city until recently - for a corporate meeting.
Sun was indignant. "It's a place for arts," he said.
Sun, his colleagues and his students have endeavored to introduce classical music to a region of China that is largely known for its "errenzhuan," or "two-person act," a local folk music typically sprinkled with vulgar jokes and sayings.
Since 2001, Qiqihar University has worked to provide free performances and concerts. Although university faculty were the only ones to attend at first, residents from all walks of life can now be found at the shows.
The status of classical music has changed significantly since 2001, with people in cities like Beijing and Shanghai willing to pay good money for symphony and chorus tickets. Renowned musicians from around the world regularly play to large audiences in these cities.
Despite multiple offers, Sun has refused to move.
"A good part of Qiqihar's cultural identity would be gone if I left," he said. "I can't allow that to happen."
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