Our reporter Cao Wenxuan
Above picture: Wuzhishan City Shuiman Central School, children of the Wuzhishan Li Miao Children's Choir rehearsing. Below: Wuzhishan City Shuiman Central School, children from the Wuzhishan Li Miao Children's Choir are practicing chorus. The above pictures are all taken by Li Tianping
The Wuzhishan Li Miao Children’s Chorus poses in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Picture provided by the Propaganda Department of Wuzhishan Municipal Party Committee
"I have a wish. I want to sing all over the world. Give me a pair of wings. I want to take the dove of peace and fly to the beautiful hometown of the little prince..."
html On May 12, the voice of Li Miao children in Wuzhishan, Hainan The choir children took a plane back to Wuzhishan. The children were still immersed in the excitement of the performance, humming the songs.sang "Jasmine" and "May We Live Longer" with French children
On May 4th, French local time, the bright and melodious children's voices echoed in the theater in the 13th arrondissement of Paris. A Sino-French youth music exchange was held here. 18 children from the Wuzhishan Li Miao Children's Chorus, dressed in national costumes, sang the original song "Sing Wuzhishan to France" in Chinese and French, and the audience responded with bursts of applause.
"I am very surprised that the children of the two countries are celebrating the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between France and China. It allows us to understand each other better. This is a moment worth remembering." After the performance, Trigo, director of the Paris Polyphonic Children's Choir, Elizabeth praised the children.
On the evening of May 6, local time, a concert titled "Voices of Sino-French Friendship" was held at the Government Performance Hall in the 20th arrondissement of Paris. The Wuzhishan Li Miao Children's Choir and the Paris Polyphonic Children's Choir sang "Jasmine Flower" ” “May people live long.” "The children's singing is intoxicating. After listening to it, I really want to go to Wuzhishan, Hainan and China." said French spectator Gwendoline Scotteau.
For this trip to France, the Wuzhishan Li and Miao Children’s Choir prepared 7 songs. In addition to formal performances, they also staged more than a dozen "flash mobs" at French landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre, and the banks of the Seine, attracting French citizens to stop and admire and take photos. During the performance of
, the children were graceful and full of emotions. It’s hard to imagine that this is the first time most of them have left home and left the province. Just over a year ago, "choir" was still a foreign word to them.
A choir is established in a rural school, starting from the simplest musical notes.
"Children in the mountains can sing in chorus? Is it possible?"
Before the choir was established, someone once questioned it. At that time, Gao Li had been the captain of the rural revitalization work team of Shuiman Township in Wuzhishan City for less than a year. He had been thinking about how to do a good job in rural cultural revitalization and went to Shuiman Central School several times to learn about the situation.
"Let's get things done first and then talk about it." After research, he decided to try to empower rural revitalization with literature and art, and found two teachers, Liu Min and Yang Chun, to strengthen music education in rural schools.
When they first arrived at school, there was a big psychological gap between Liu Min and Yang Chun: "The children were shy, knew almost nothing about music theory, and were so nervous that they trembled when they opened their mouths." However, the children's clear eyes and innocent words still impressed them. Let them decide to teach. They selected a group of children, the oldest was 12 years old and the youngest was 7 years old, and started teaching them the simplest musical notes.
In August 2022, the Wuzhishan Li and Miao Children’s Choir was established. thereafter. Every Friday and Saturday afternoon, there are always young singing voices flying around the campus.
How to mobilize children's enthusiasm? "Interest is the key." Liu Min wrote the plants and trees and rural scenery that the children are familiar with into the songs, and created 6 songs including "I Love My Hometown Wuzhishan". The children liked it very much and practiced diligently. The more they sang, the better they got. Well, the more I sang, the more confident I became, and I even received an invitation to perform at the 2023 Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference.
"From having no musical foundation and being afraid of others to being generous and daring to express themselves." Liu Min said that the children have changed a lot, and the chorus has given them more possibilities in life.
The song entrusts the good wishes of everlasting friendship
When French President Macron visited China in 2023, the French nursery rhyme "If I Go to China" was widely spread on online platforms. Liu Min played this song in class and found that the children, like the children in the video, were full of longing for distant countries.He was inspired: "Can you create a song that allows Chinese children and French children to 'talk' across the air?"
A few months later, with the support of the Wuzhishan Municipal Committee and Municipal Government, "Sing Wuzhishan to France" The Chinese version has been created, and the song expresses the best wishes for the everlasting friendship between China and France.
In January this year, the "Hello! China" tourism promotion conference hosted by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Chinese Embassy in France and hosted by the China Tourism Office in Paris was held in Paris, France. After the song's MV was broadcast at the promotion conference , the Paris Polyphonic Children's Choir soon sent an invitation to perform on the same stage.
The children were particularly excited when they heard the news. Liu Min adapted the song into a French version and led everyone to practice harder. The school also specially hired French teachers to help the children correct their pronunciation. On the way home from school, children often hold hands and shoulder to shoulder and practice on the field paths and by the pond.
Recalling his trip to France, 12-year-old Wang Mingjian could not hide his excitement: "I met new friends in Paris and went to many places. I was very happy. I want to sing to more people in the future."
Liu Min said that the performance started Before the visit, French parents specially prepared snacks. Children from the two countries sat together, chatted using gestures or mobile phone translation software, and put on each other's hats or scarves. On the occasion of separation, the children gave each other gifts and were reluctant to part with them.
Talking about the future, Liu Min said that he hopes Shuiman Central School will stick to music education as a feature, so that more children can cultivate their temperament, broaden their horizons, and continue to sing the voice of friendship.
"People's Daily" (Page 12, May 14, 2024)
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