Standing in the center of the stage, Zhou Yanbing opened his arms and danced lightly with the baton in his hand. Following the rhythm of the conductor's baton, flute, trumpet, snare drum, saxophone... all kinds of different musical instruments merged into one, like a trickle, slowly flowing to every corner of the stage, making the audience feel like a spring breeze.
Zhou Yanbing is the director and associate professor of the Department of Culture and Art, School of Humanities and Management, Guangdong Medical University. In 2004, just after graduating from university, he started to build a wind band belonging to Guangdong Medical University in Songshan Lake, Dongguan, which was also the first college student wind band in Dongguan. Now, 20 years later, the wind band has trained thousands of medical students with musical instrument playing skills. While they shine in the medical field, they have also been using music to heal the body and mind.
"Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and all philosophy." Beethoven once used this sentence to express his devout belief in music. Zhou Yanbing has always adhered to this belief and moved forward unswervingly on the road of music. Over the past 20 years, he has used music as a medium to connect with Songshan Lake and thrive together.
Zhou Yanbing.
Special concerts are held at least once a year
In 2004, Zhou Yanbing, who graduated from the Folk Music Department of Xinghai Conservatory of Music, joined the School of Humanities and Management of Guangdong Medical University and became a music teacher. Soon after
joined the company, the school gave Zhou Yanbing a "difficult" task - to create a wind band belonging to Guangdong Medical University.
"The students are all studying medicine, and more than 90% have no musical foundation, so they basically have to start from scratch." Zhou Yanbing recalled that this became the biggest difficulty in building a wind band at that time.
"The first year was very difficult." Zhou Yanbing said that there were more than 50 people in the first wind band, and the band had more than ten kinds of instruments. He and the external teachers have to teach each voice and each student individually. Overtime training during holidays has become a common thing, and there are also about 20 days of intensive training during summer vacation.
Hard work pays off. In 2005, at the school's appraisal party, the wind band made a brilliant debut, astonishing all the guests, teachers and students of the school. The moment he took his bow, Zhou Yanbing felt a strong and unprecedented sense of honor and mission.
Later, Zhou Yanbing and his wind band became famous and were invited to participate in major activities inside and outside the school. Since 2013, the Guangdong Medical University Wind Band has held many special concerts in art venues such as Dongguan Yulan Grand Theatre, Dongguan Cultural Center Star Theater, Guancheng Cultural Weekend Theater, and has also won the first prize in Group A of the Guangdong Provincial College Student Instrumental Music Competition. Award, Guangdong Provincial College Students Art Exhibition Second Prize and many other honors.
Today, the wind band must hold at least one special concert every year. This is also the task Zhou Yanbing has set for his students and himself.
On May 11 this year, the wind band of Guangdong Medical University also joined forces with the orchestra of Dongguan Vocational and Technical College to hold a concert celebrating the 102nd anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Youth League during the Guancheng Cultural Weekend.
Zhou Yanbing led the members of the wind band to participate in the concert.
Students benefited from musical instruments and "felt everything was worth it"
The soldiers of the iron-clad camp and the flowing water. The wind band recruits new members every year, and each session has 40-60 musicians. So far, there are thousands of students who have graduated from the wind band. In other words, Zhou Yanbing trained thousands of medical students with musical instrument playing skills.
In Zhou Yanbing’s view, the “blessing” of art can better serve as a medical professional. The Eighth People's Hospital of Dongguan is the only hospital in Dongguan that has a band. Several musicians in the band are from the wind band of Guangdong Medical University, and Zhang Yongkang is one of them.
Zhou Yanbing was deeply impressed by Zhang Yongkang. "When he was studying, he was the only student who could repair musical instruments. He could take a screwdriver, dismantle the piccolo parts and reassemble them." Zhou Yanbing said that today, Zhang Yongkang is a professor of pediatric neurosurgery at the Eighth People's Hospital. The main doctor; with hands that play the piccolo, he can also save lives and rejuvenate on the operating table. When the hospital held cultural activities, Zhang Yongkang took the lead.
“Students like this are not alone, there are many students who have benefited from musical instruments."Zhou Yanbing said that in general, those medical students who stepped out of the wind band and became medical staff can also deeply feel that musical instruments have brought some subtle influence to their careers. "As a teacher, Seeing your students benefit from the instrument makes everything you do worthwhile. "
There are also students who stayed in Songshan Lake after graduation. Li Yingmao was a boy who played trumpet in the wind band in the early days. After graduation, he worked in a pharmaceutical company and at the same time worked as a part-time party branch secretary in a community in the north of Songshan Lake. Until Now, whenever the wind band has an important performance, Zhou Yanbing will ask him to come back to rehearse, and he will happily agree every time.
“He likes musical instruments very much. Working in a band is a fun thing. A group of people play at the same time, and there will be a chemical reaction between different instruments. " Zhou Yanbing said.
The wind band created by Zhou Yanbing has trained thousands of medical students who can play musical instruments.
Witness the great changes of Songshan Lake in 20 years
So far, Zhou Yanbing has taken root in Songshan Lake for 20 years. In the past 20 years, Songshan Lake has undergone earth-shaking changes, and Zhou Yanbing has experienced and witnessed it
“When I first came to Songshan Lake, many roads had no street lights and were dark. When you go out to eat or shop, you have to go to other towns and streets. "Zhou Yanbing said that the biggest change in Songshan Lake today is the increasing flow of people and vehicles. "Every five years, there will be a very big difference. ”
In recent years, new commercial districts have been built in Songshan Lake every two or three years, making life more and more convenient. In addition to the convenience of life, the most attractive thing about Songshan Lake for Zhou Yanbing is its very strong Cultural and educational atmosphere.
Zhou Yanbing said that Songshan Lake is very strong in some music and dance competitions across the city and even the province. “This is inseparable from the large number of talents in Songshan Lake. "
Zhou Yanbing said that Songshan Lake has a lot of musical talents, especially in the past two or three years, a group of musical talents with high academic qualifications and high professional titles have been introduced. "There are several PhDs in music, many master's degrees, and many middle school students. Primary schools have introduced master's degrees in music. Every time they hold an event, you can see that their professional and organizational skills are very strong. ”
Many students have benefited from musical instruments and have been using music to heal their bodies and minds.
In Zhou Yanbing’s view, the level of Songshan Lake’s band is also very high. The college student wind band he built is the first in Songshan Lake and even the city; looking at It is also relatively early in the province. “At present, the three universities in Songshan Lake have orchestras with symphony performance capabilities, and all have more than 50 people. Most primary and secondary schools also have their own bands, which require the support of talented people. "
In addition to the field of art, in recent years, talents from various fields have gathered here, contributing to the development of Songshan Lake. To a certain extent, Songshan Lake has become synonymous with "high-end talents."
On the other hand, with the As the population of Songshan Lake continues to increase, the people’s demand for culture is also increasing. “Songshan Lake is a unique place for high-end talents to flow into Dongguan. The government and social organizations need to provide more services for talents, and cultural nourishment is the most suitable. "Zhou Yanbing said.
Empowering the "city of science" with the "prosperity of culture" has become the development strategy of Songshan Lake.
In recent years, Songshan Lake has centered on the four main lines of "enjoyment, enjoyment, learning, and enjoyment". Focus on creating a series of cultural and sports activities such as high-quality cultural performances, music, reading, tourism, and sports, carefully cultivate and develop the "Enjoy Song Lake" cultural brand, focus on cultural inheritance and innovation, and open up new development paths with the unique trendy culture of Songshan Lake , further polishing the city cultural business card of "Trendy Dongguan"
In order to allow citizens to enjoy a full and convenient cultural service experience "at their doorstep", Songshan Lake has built 4 urban reading stations and 6 shared cultural spaces to further Create a community cultural atmosphere of “reading + communication” “Creating a cultural space can bring powerful power to unite people. "Zhou Yanbing said.
In addition, more and more coffee brands have settled in the northern area of Songshan Lake, gradually forming a unique coffee culture and becoming a vivid cultural symbol of Songshan Lake.
Zhou Yanbing (first from left) is rehearsing with the students.
The increasingly strong cultural atmosphere inspires creative inspiration
The increasingly strong cultural and artistic atmosphere of Songshan Lake has also brought more creative inspiration to Zhou Yanbing.
Influenced by the strong cultural atmosphere of Songshan Lake, Zhou Yanbing also wrote a moving piece of the urban customs around him. "Meeting Songshan Lake", written by Zeping and composed by Zhou Yanbing, depicts the beauty and prosperity of this new technological city.
"Countless neon lights light up the bustling city" "At the end of the road, there is the entrance to the lake"... The images and descriptions in this song come from Zhou Yanbing's life experience in Songshan Lake, and it is also the experience of a Songshan dream chaser. A true portrayal.
In 2020, Zhou Yanbing composed an original song "Happy Pine Lake" with a smooth and natural melody, and the beautiful scenery of Songshan Lake is perfectly integrated into it. Since then, this song has won many awards in provincial and municipal song competitions.
In Songshan Lake, a land full of vitality and creativity, art and cultural activities are dotted like stars. Zhou Yanbing also participated in it many times and witnessed many wonderful moments. Among them, the most unforgettable ones were the parties held for the 10th and 20th anniversary of the founding of Songshan Lake.
In 2011, on the tenth anniversary of the founding of Songshan Lake, Zhou Yanbing led the students to carefully rehearse "Century Overture". When the orchestra played that familiar melody, the entire Songhu Square seemed to be ignited by the music. The earth-shaking changes that have taken place in Songshan Lake in the past ten years are vividly reflected in the magnificent and exciting melody.
In 2021, Songshan Lake ushered in a grand celebration of the 20th anniversary of the founding of the park. Zhou Yanbing led the students to perform music originally created by the party's director team. This passionate piece of music expresses respect for Songshan Lake’s ups and downs and unremitting pursuit over the past twenty years. That night, the trumpeters wore uniform costumes and stood on the stage in high spirits. Their playing skills are superb, their coordination is tacit, and their skills are astounding. When the trumpeters played the last note, the audience burst into applause and cheers.
Looking back on his experience in participating in art and cultural activities in Songshan Lake over the years, Zhou Yanbing deeply feels that this land is full of infinite possibilities and opportunities. "It not only has beautiful natural scenery and complete facilities, but also has a strong artistic atmosphere and an open and inclusive cultural environment."
For Zhou Yanbing, he has been integrated and symbiotic with Songshan Lake for the past 20 years. He said that he was extremely familiar with every plant and tree in Songshan Lake and was full of emotions. "It was fate that made me choose Songshan Lake. I found my way of existence, music positioning and shining point here."
Coordinator: Nandu reporter Liang Jindi
Writing: Nandu reporter Tian Lingling
Photography: Nandu reporter Tan Weishan