This summer, three Marlboro residents, Tienne Yu, my brother, Jared Chiou, and I, as well as 13 of our Bravura Youth Orchestra (BYO) musicians came along on the China concert tour.
The ages of the BYO students range from 10 to 18. Tienne will be a fifth-grader at the Marlboro Elementary School and my brother will be a freshman at Biotechnology High School in Freehold Township. As for myself, I am 15 and a rising sophomore at Biotechnology High School. I was the only flutist out of the musicians that went.
Leading the way was our conductor, Mrs. Chiu-Tze Lin. Our program consisted of “Hungarian Dances No. 5,” “Go West!,” “The Entertainer,” “Libertango” (arr. Matt Liu), a trio for violin, cello and piano, and two piano duets.
Before we flew to China we received well wishes from U.S. Sen. Cory Booker and Gov. Chris Christie.
On our second day, we headed to the Guangzhou Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra building, which was impressive in size, acoustics and modern style. Their professional facilities are funded by the government, which is also why they are one of the top orchestras in China.
We were honored to collaborate with their Youth Orchestra that day, since some of their students are looking to major in music. Our joint concert with the Little Angel Youth Orchestra was also memorable because we had a full house and a flute solo was given to me at the beginning of “You Raise Me Up.”
As for our time together with the Macau Youth Symphony Orchestra, their enthusiasm for music and meeting new people made us feel welcome; our joint concert was a hit.
For each of these orchestras we performed with, I came to the realization that we were children of the same ethnicity, but different nationalities uniting to create beautiful music. That music was the reason we were able to use some of each other’s language to talk, able to be on the opposite side of the globe, and able to gain leadership opportunities.
Sitting next to these musicians also allowed us to physically feel the moving force of both our orchestras functioning as one. After our interactions, we gave presents to them and exchanged emails to keep in touch.
We also spent time touring Guangzhou and Macau. In Guangzhou, we spent a night eating dinner on the Pearl River and we saw the Canton Tower. In Macau, we entered a museum with national gifts bestowed by the other Chinese provinces to Macau when Macau was returned to China in 1999.
We also listened to stellar performances by the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra and a Curtis graduate, Adrian Anantawan. Mr. Anantawan was born with only one arm and it really amazed me that despite his disadvantage, his hard work led him to create beautiful music. As a young musician, I was truly inspired by both performances.
Overall, the tour proved to be a success in exchanging cultures while simultaneously educating us in music. I am so thankful and fortunate to have been able to take part in it.
Jodie Chiou
Marlboro