During the final week of my project, Prof. Hsiao-mei Ku was able to join me (as her Duke Engage Zhuhai program has come to a close) to assist with a weeklong foreign language and arts camp in Qingyuan, Guangdong, China. In the photos, each of us is conducting a group of mostly primary but some middle school students from Qingyuan and Guangzhou in ensembles performing both Western classical and some Chinese music.
We've held performances, concerts, hikes, and other events to engage the children through music and I have been able to hold lessons with students studying Double Bass, cello, and violin in order to help them with English and music/dance/performance and stress the importance of such education to them. Encouraging them by telling our own stories and having a full panel discussion on American Educational Culture have made me quite proud, as I feel it's been extremely effective in helping them understand just what such opportunities can offer them in their lives.
Department of Music