I have been playing classical music for forty or fifty years, and when I was a judge of some youth instrumental music competitions, I saw many children who loved music and had good musical quality and basic conditions. However, I found that they only practiced the repertoire for the exam, but did not pay attention to the basic skills, and their understanding of music was very weak. Nowadays, many parents attach great importance to music exams, hoping that their children will get a high grade at a very young age. It not only takes a lot of time to practice but also because of their age, which leads to frustration and lack of self-confidence, which not only does not make children feel the charm of music, but also consumes their love for music. Some parents even regard learning music as a shortcut and means to go on to higher education. This kind of training method of rushing for quick success and quick success has deviated from the original intention of aesthetic education and quality education.
The purpose of learning music is to help children cultivate their sentiments, enrich their spiritual life, feel and understand the world from multiple perspectives, develop their intelligence and stimulate their creativity. To learn music, you must follow the laws of art. In particular, young students should combine the laws of their own growth and development, gradually and solidly lay a solid foundation, and slowly know, understand and appreciate music. The development of student orchestras should pay more attention to cultivating collective consciousness, so that children can learn to listen, cooperate and cooperate; Choose works of appropriate difficulty, so that children can see the results of their efforts through performance, and play the cultural connotation of the work. We want to help children feel the beauty of music, and truly "educate people, transform people, and cultivate yuan".
In July 2021, in order to popularize classical music and promote the development of aesthetic education, the Shijingshan District Government established the Shijingshan District Primary and Secondary School Students Philharmonic Orchestra at the initiative of the Philharmonic Youth Symphony Orchestra, and hired me as the orchestra leader, artistic director and conductor. At the beginning of the orchestra, I found that most of the orchestras in primary and secondary schools today were formed for the purpose of competition. Sometimes the organizers make the orchestra very large in order to achieve visual impact, which makes the students have very little time to receive targeted instruction. Under such circumstances, the musical expression played by the orchestra is not satisfactory, it is difficult to grasp the connotation and style of the composer's repertoire, and it is difficult for the students to feel the beauty of music and gain a sense of achievement. Therefore, I have developed three "three-year plans" for the development of the orchestra.
In the process of building a student symphony orchestra, the string section is the first part that should be established. In the first two years, we continued to recruit new members, and after the string part had a certain size, woodwind, brass and percussion sections were established one after another. At the beginning, we did not rush to organize performances or participate in activities, but focused on strengthening training in basic skills, and selected chamber music works with distinctive characteristics of the times, familiar to children, and suitable difficulty as rehearsal repertoire. We also strengthen students' sense of cooperation and community by playing scales together. I instructed them to practice different strengths and weaknesses and timbres, so that the students could feel the changes in the colors of the music, so that the children could enhance their perception and interest in music. After two years of development, the orchestra gradually began to rehearse orchestral works. However, there are not many orchestral works suitable for junior student orchestras at present, so I specially hired composers to adapt some orchestral works according to the current establishment and level of the orchestra, such as "Little Bamboo Row - Red Star Song" and "I Love You, China".
The allocation of teachers and teams is the foundation of the orchestra's sustainable development, and it is also one of the mandatory conditions. We have hired musicians from national troupes as instructors for the orchestra. I was touched by their extensive experience in the orchestra, their meticulous professionalism and professionalism, and injected new vitality into the orchestra.
The management of the orchestra is also a very important part, we have formulated a detailed system for the organization of scores, file management, orchestra rules, assessment system, positions and seats, etc., and we have also drawn on the management model of professional orchestras to formulate the performance and rehearsal plan for each year.
Through the efforts of the past three years, we have made some achievements: in 2023, we held a special concert on June 1st, won the gold medal in the instrumental music performance of the Beijing Sunshine Youth Art Festival hosted by the Beijing Municipal Education Commission, and successfully held the first New Year concert of the education system in Shijingshan District.
Since student orchestras inevitably have a large turnover problem, it is particularly important to do a good job in the construction of echelon talents in advance. At the beginning of the establishment of the orchestra, we have done a good job in the step-by-step training plan of zero-foundation, preparatory troupe, and formal orchestra, and arrange corresponding training plans for students of different levels to ensure the steady development of the orchestra.
In the second half of 2023, I will lead the students and teachers of the orchestra to perform and explain live on campus, so that more children can get in touch with classical music at zero distance, stimulate their interest in music, and help them enter the door of music. Nowadays, many schools have their own concert halls and theaters, and I hope to hold more such events, so that classical music can be popularized and the orchestra can be practiced.
Business card: Guan Zhengyue, director and artistic director of the Beijing Shijingshan District Primary and Secondary School Students Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, former deputy principal cello of the China Philharmonic Orchestra, and a national first-class performer. Guan Zhengyue has performed all over the world, served as a cello soloist in China's heavyweight film and television works for a long time, and has extensive cooperation with many Taiwanese musicians such as Jay Chou.
This article was originally published in the April 2024 issue of the National Centre for the Performing Arts
Author: Guan Zhengyue Illustration: Zhang Xiaomu