On the evening of April 17, the 2nd “Spring toward Summer” large-scale chamber music concert kicked off at Beijing Kaiwen Academy (KWA). Admiring parents and KWA teachers and students enjoyed an audiovisual feast of classical music together at the school’s auditorium.

From Mozart’s “Alla Turca” and “Sonata in D” to Chopin’s “Nocture Op. 9 No.2 in E” and Xing Xinghai’s “Yellow River Concerto”, KWA students from Grades 3-7 and music teachers Angelika and Alex performed more than 10 superb piano and violin masterpieces in the form of solos, piano duets, and ensembles. Under the direction of music teacher Mark, KWA orchestra, which was established only half a year ago, perfectly rendered an original suite of his. The music was pure and rich, soft like a spring sun, warm and pleasant, and cold like steel balls, touching and inspiring.

Intoxicating as the melodious music may have been, it was the story behind the concert that touched us the most. To ensure the concert’s professional level, the organizers were very particular about everything from program sequence to the host’s words. At the concert, the piano pieces were played strictly in chronological order of the development of the world’s music, from Bach’s “Gavotte” to Mozart, Beethoven, and Chopin. The participating students produced all the background images themselves to express their understanding of the pieces. Behind the perfect presentation of these details were countless rehearsals by teachers and students.

“Some of the performers had not touched the instruments for a long time and they were still a little nervous on stage, but their efforts for tonight’s performance and their sincerity and devotion to music deserve more applause,” Angelika told us after the concert.

Among the piano performers, Chu Haoru, a 7th grader who was confident, graceful, and skillful, left an especially deep impression on the audience. “Chu Haoru has high musical talent. Although he once wanted to give up learning piano, he has improved his music literacy and gradually formed his own performance style thanks to teachers’ encouragement during the last three semesters. He adapted “Yellow River Concerto”, which was originally a two-piano piece, into a single piano piece,” commented Angelika.

Chu Haoru has won the 2017 Haidian Primary and Secondary School Art Festival Piano Second Prize and 2016 Haidian Primary and Secondary School Art Festival Violin First Prize.

He has also obtained the Central Conservatory of Music Violin Performance Diploma Grade, Central Conservatory of Music Piano Performance Grade 9, Central Conservatory of Music Saxophone Performance Grade 9, and other certificates.

When we asked him if he had become quite familiar with this kind of performances, Chu Haoru grinned and said, “I was a little nervous at the beginning and then felt just fine after I got into the mood. I started learning piano and violin when I was four years old. At Kaiwen, teacher Angelika has instilled more vitality into my performance. Our music lessons are very different from those at public schools. Here, teachers give us more room to think. In the weekly music classes, students are free to choose topics and then share their understanding of music from a certain period in the form of group discussions. The free arrangement and other courses have also benefited me a lot.”

“I am a teaching assistant now,” said Chu Haoru proudly. “Whether it is during a usual music lesson or a private practice session in the piano room, more and more classmates are coming to discuss music and piano performance with me. One of my classmates, a straight A student who never liked music lessons, can now play Mozart’s C major. I am very happy to see him enjoying music more and more.”

As Angelika has emphasized, KWA advocates developing children’s artistic talents in the hope that they learn art as a lifelong interest rather than just for exams. KWA’s original intention in music and the art education has been to let our students learn happily and improve their temperament and self-cultivation while developing their interests and hobbies. We will uphold this concept and provide students with more opportunities to show their talents so that each child can enjoy the charm of art.