The sound of rural music

Besides the 150-odd children from eight schools who performed in Beijing, more than 1,800 more from 70-plus schools in Yunnan and Shandong provinces and the Tibet autonomous region, among others, are part of the project. Their performances were livestreamed online the same day.

"Most village schools don't have academically trained music teachers. We train these teachers, hoping to improve the quality of music education in rural areas," says Li Gang, vice-president of the Capital Normal University's music school, who joined the charity project in 2017.

Li recalls that the first few classes attracted over 600 teachers, 20 percent of whom actually taught Chinese and math in schools. They doubled as music teachers because there were no trained regulars.

These teachers are now primarily trained in choral singing, choir conduction and vocal modulation. On Aug 12, as many as 132 music teachers from Hebei, Shandong and Sichuan provinces came to Beijing for a weeklong training.

"In addition to teaching children how to be appreciative of music, choral singing helps them conquer their fears and make friends. The charity project is a long-term one and we are proud to be a part of it," Li says.