And they also formed a rock band, where the children learned to make their own instruments. At this music summer camp, Qintong | Feisi Le | Instruments
How to make a musical instrument? How to adapt a familiar song into rock music? How to form a rock band? During the 13 day Feisile Summer Camp, pianist Chai Qiongyan and a group of music education experts led the children to make music fun. At the closing concert held at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music on August 13th, the children brought a creative performance.
"Who said that classical musicians can't play rock anymore? The music of music is not only for playing, but also for playing. We hope that children can experience the joy of playing music and understand the ultimate meaning of music." Chai Qiongyan said.
Chai Qiongyan and Rock Musicians Play Crossover
At the closing concert, Chai Qiongyan formed a rock band with a rock musician and a qin boy, bringing a song called "Leap Over the Rainbow". The children also form a rock band and passionately perform popular songs such as "Yellow," "Vortex," and "See You Again.". Before the concert, the children also selected a theme song from the animated film "Pony Pony" and adapted it into a rock version, filming an MV.
"Every year, Qintong should have the opportunity to perform on stage." This is the principle that Chai Qiongyan and her partner Peter Thomas have adhered to since the establishment of Feisile. In recent years, they have established music summer camps and invited renowned teachers from around the world to teach.
Students showcase their musical "brain teasers"
This year's lineup includes lifelong professor and composer Mark Applebaum from Stanford Conservatory of Music. He is known as a musician, scientist, and inventor due to his passion for "re creating" masterpieces. He once assembled new musical instruments from waste materials, held concerts for flower growers, combined symphony and flower arrangement, and even turned his watch into music sheet. The music sheet was different from the common staff sheet, which he created by hand drawing.
During the summer camp, Applebaum talked to the children about the fun and even the danger of making homemade instruments. "I almost vomited Beethoven's music, so I wanted to make my own instruments, compose according to its tone, and ultimately play them. These works are not as good as Beethoven's works, but they are more interesting and can make me love music." Under his leadership, the children began to make their own instruments and use them to play music, feeling full of achievement.
Students form a rock band
The summer camp also invited Kenji Ueno, a professor of composition and electronic music technology at the University of California, Berkeley. He excels in using his body as an instrument and using various vocal extension techniques to create music. Ernest Barretta, a piano professor at Juilliard College in New York, and Kolo Anson, a composition professor at Juilliard College in Tianjin, also brought courses and lectures to broaden children's horizons.
At the closing concert, 7-year-old Zhang Yunnan appeared on stage in a red dress, performing the piano piece "Pi Huang" with Beijing opera characteristics and Liszt's dazzling "Paganini Etude No. 5". She held a solo concert at the Shanghai Concert Hall at the age of 5, and collaborated with the Symphony Orchestra to perform the Haydn Concerto at the age of 6. Kong Yan, a piano boy who enjoys composing, created "Words" through cross media based on 3D brain data provided by neuroscientist Christopher Christie.
Students come on stage to showcase their talents
In the 1990s, Chai Qiongyan and Lang Lang became the first generation of Chinese piano children to be admitted to Curtis Conservatory of Music. "In the past, we seemed to have no other choice but to practice the piano hard. Nowadays, children are too happy because of the change in educational concepts, and music is returning to its essence. China is advocating for social aesthetic education, and music education should enhance the music literacy of the whole nation."
Today, Chai Qiongyan has multiple identities, including a professor in the Department of Music at the University of California, Berkeley, a graduate supervisor at Curtis School of Music, and a career supervisor at the Manhattan School of Music. As a pianist, she constantly promotes cross-border cooperation between music and other art genres. She has been preparing for a contemporary music and art project that has been co composed by 10 composers for 3 years and will also be completed in California. "This work is based on Bach's" Gothenburg Variations "and has been re created. The 30 variations in the work all contain innovative content."
