When the leisurely British music meets the melodious Chinese Kun Opera; when the smiling faces of youth cross the mountains and seas and meet sincerely on campus, an exchange that connects the soul with art unfolds warmly at the Foshan ASJ.
In order to actively respond to the Guangzhou Municipal Bureau of Education's "Gathering in the Bay Area and Collaborating with the Future - Lingnan Experience Camp for Young Ambassadors of Humanities Exchange" event and deepen the cultural mutual learning and artistic exchanges between Chinese and foreign youths, on April 22, the choir of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland visited our school for a friendly visit. The two sides interacted in depth through multiple forms, enhanced cross-cultural understanding in the blending of melodies, conveyed international friendship in warm interactions, and fully demonstrated the youthful demeanor of tolerance, mutual learning, and walking hand in hand.
Faced with friends coming from afar, ASJ students warmly welcomed them and took the initiative to lead the guests of the choir of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland to walk around the campus and appreciate the learning and living environment. Along the way, Chinese and British students interacted together and walked to the library. The carefully displayed books on Shakespeare's classics attracted everyone to stop and watch, immersing them in the school's diverse and open educational atmosphere.
In the relaxed and harmonious relationship, everyone talked a lot. Classmate Zhou from S5B shared: “They introduced me to a lot of local Scottish culture, and also introduced me to some Scottish colloquial expressions. For example, ‘I agree’ can be directly replaced with ‘i’, which also made me understand that there are many more authentic expressions in spoken language.”
Music Performance Session
ASJ Foshan & Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
At the welcome meeting, the moving melody of the school song of ASJ slowly played. The executive principal, Mr. Kevin Zhang, introduced the foundation and characteristics of Foshan ASJ to the choir guests. At the same time, he also presented commemorative gifts to the guests from afar, marking this friendly encounter.
He said, "Today, when the young people of our two countries meet and communicate, although the languages are different, we can still communicate because art is cross-language and cross-cultural. Art is a universal language of humanity. I believe everyone at Foshan ASJ will cherish this opportunity to meet with RCS teachers and students."
Focusing on the theme of "Bridged ByMusic, United In Harmony", the wonderful mutual performances between teachers and students of the two schools became a highlight of this music exchange event.
Foshan ASJ teachers and students were the first to take the stage and opened the show with a melodious chorus "Shengshengman". The whole work is full of creativity, cleverly integrating Cantonese, Wu dialect and traditional opera accents, and vividly presents the gentle artistic conception of classical poetry, fully displaying the unique charm of traditional Chinese culture.
Before the applause ended, the choir of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland gave a wonderful performance. As a music school with profound artistic heritage, the choir performs highly infectious vocal choruses with a calm and mature stage style. The singing was ethereal, holy, solemn and far-reaching, and the harmonies were rich in layers, allowing the teachers and students present to truly feel the beauty of music that transcends cultures.
ASJ Foshan & Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
In the Chinese culture experience class, students from the two schools jointly studied Kun Opera, a Chinese opera with a history of more than 600 years.
The class started with "The Peony Pavilion · Garden Visit & Dream Interruption". The teacher introduced the development and origin of Kun Opera in detail. As a unique artistic treasure in traditional Chinese culture, Kun Opera has long been selected into the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list.
During the singing learning session, the students experienced the unique singing method of Kun Opera, with its soft and delicate melody and well-proportioned rhythm. Chinese and English students followed the guidance, tried to sing line by line, and experienced the uniqueness of Kun Opera.
"It's really interesting to learn about the different styles of opera, I didn't even realize that the singing was so different, much more about the kind of the cultural nuances and stuff, it's very interesting." said Luca, a student of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
When it came to the Kunqu opera performance experience session, Chinese and foreign teachers and students held folding fans and learned stage performances together. From body postures to stage moves, everyone gave each other pointers, showed boldly, and enjoyed the charm of the opera together. The atmosphere at the venue was relaxed and warm, with endless laughter and laughter.
In this exchange, young students from different national backgrounds listened to each other through smart songs, understood differences through cultural experiences, and gained resonance through sincere interactions.
Foshan ASJ has always connected the world with an open vision and expanded the boundaries of growth with multiple platforms, allowing students to improve their communication skills, cultural literacy and global competency through real communication and practice. In the future, the school will continue to build more high-quality platforms to help young people in the Bay Area broaden their horizons and pursue a bright future.
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