Wind Ensemble goes to China --with 25 high schools in tow

Following its Commencement concert this Saturday — its last on-campus performance for the semester — the School of Music’s Wind Ensemble will be traveling quite a distance before they play their next “gig.”

The 40-student ensemble is embarking on an ambitious 10-day tour of China, where they will perform literally alongside Chinese student musicians and learn about that country’s music and culture.

“We thought this would be an excellent opportunity to showcase the extraordinary talent in Fredonia’s School of Music,” said Dr. Paula Holcomb, professor of Music and Wind Ensemble Director. “Our students will be sitting side-by-side with other university conservatory students and high school students, playing for them and making music with them. They will also be able to sit down and talk to each other. That’s one of the best ways to learn about a country.”

But Chinese students aren’t the only people with whom the Wind Ensemble will be conversing. During their travels, Fredonia’s students will maintain a blog and communicate with high school students here in the U.S. — specifically, the current high school band members from each Fredonia student’s hometown, amounting to roughly 25 that stretch across New York State, in addition to three Pennsylvanian cities. The high school musicians will be able to track the progress of their collegiate counterparts, read about the experiences of Fredonia’s students, and ask them questions about virtually anything.

“As excited as we are to have such a fantastic, once-in-a-lifetime experience, it’s just as exciting to be able to share that experience with people ‘back home,’” said Nick DelBello, a senior trumpet player at Fredonia who hails from John F. Kennedy High School in Cheektowaga, N.Y. “It’s great to be able to reach out to these high school students, and show them the kinds of opportunities that are available to them at a place like Fredonia.”

Highlights of the May 18-27 journey include performances at XingHai Music Conservatory, the only music conservatory in GuangDon Province, as well as at HuaLuen University and HauDu PuiChing College.

At one of these exchange concerts, Fredonia students will join Chinese students in a “read through” of music by Quan Chou, a major composer in China and composer emeritus at Columbia University in New York. He will observe that session. SUNY Fredonia students will also perform in a concert featuring five university bands.

“We are really getting to know their composers and music, and we’re taking music from our culture and sharing it with them,” Dr. Holcomb added.

Sightseeing, with destinations that include Chan’s Temple, Tin Hoi Electronic Center and KHS Music Store, is also on the itinerary. Unique opportunities await Dr. Holcomb and fellow School of Music colleague, John MacDonald, who will join the tour. Dr. Holcomb will conduct the Chinese Army Police Band and Mr. MacDonald will give a trumpet lesson to Mr. Chou’s son. Sideline trips to Hong Kong for workshops and master classes following the China tour are also planned by both faculty members.

Dr. Holcomb, who visited China three years ago, said her students are very excited and thrilled about the opportunity to go to China, and many have spent time learning more about the country and its culture.

“China is such an enormous and rapidly growing country, and there’s so much that is so very different from the way we live here in the U.S.,” DelBello added. “I suspect that the high school students will be as curious as we are here at Fredonia. It will be fun to see the kinds of questions they’ll ask.”

She hopes the trip will lead to more exchanges between SUNY Fredonia and China. She knows her students represent not only the Wind Ensemble, but also the School of Music and all of SUNY Fredonia. Dr. Holcomb explained, “We hope to build a foundation for future study, be it in music or other areas of study, for the whole university, and to possibly help our students study in China if they wish, and encourage Chinese students to study at Fredonia as well.”

Wind Ensemble members, primarily juniors, seniors and a handful of graduate students, are the most outstanding wind and percussion musicians in the School of Music. And as Dr. Holcomb noted, "They're also among SUNY Fredonia’s best ambassadors."