Peking University, Oct. 19, 2017: At the night of October 15, Ring: the Joint Concert by PKU Chinese Music Institute (CMI) and University of Notre Dame Handbell Choir was successfully held at PKU Global Center for Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship. The concert was one of the major activities of 2017 PKU International Culture Festival, which was themed “Together As One” and expected to witness the building of friendships between students from all over the world.
PKU former Vice President Wang Jie, well-known Erhu performer Yan Jiemin, Notre Dame Asian International Affair Assistant Deputy Liu Zhan, and representatives from other institutions attended this concert. At this music feast, along with the pleasant melody, audiences shared with each other the art of music from different cultures. The entire musical hall was filled with an exuberant spirit.
The concert started with the “The Fair South Yangtze”, which was performed with the great flute. Then there came the ensemble of bamboo flute and Qu flute, which displayed more melodious rises and falls, and lured the audience into the great charm of Chinese traditional music. Later on, the “Deep Night” by drum and Ching-hu expressed the mingling of stiffness and flexibility of music, the “Astrurias-leyenda” by guitar constructed a mysterious painting world, and the “Music in the Living Room” produced vivid and interesting music through daily objects.All these performances had provided the audience with an unforgettable and impressive art experience.
After the performance by PKU CMI, the University of Notre Dame Handbell Choir presented the audience with seven compositions, which were either joyful or graceful. These pleasant melodies embedded with dreamy and spiritual elements refreshed all the audiences and leaded them into a wonderful handbell world.
The ensemble of the two associations brought the climax of the musical evening. When the handbell and the Chinese traditional instruments mingled together to produce one and another charming melodies, the audience felt from the bottom of their hearts that there was no boundary between music and friendship. Lastly，Notre Dame Handbell Choir and PKU Sing Song together performed the school song of the University of Notre Dame and of Peking University, which showed the precious friendship built by years of communications between the two universities.
