The 7th “Art for the People” Music Competition Winners’ Concert by the School of Arts was successfully held

On the evening of 26 October 2023, the 7th “Art for the People” Music Competition Winning Students’ Concert by the School of Arts, Renmin University of China, was successfully held in the Concert Hall. Sixteen students standing out in the music competition gave a wonderful performance for the audience. Many honored guests were invited to attend the Concert; they were: Qi Yue, Associate Dean of the School of Arts; Liu Jie, Head of the Music Department; Wang Shen, Head of the Wind Music Department; Wang Ying, Head of the String Music Department, also the person in charge of the competition and this concert; Yang Mingming, Associate Professor of Vocal Music; and Professor Li Honggang, one of the founding members of the Shanghai Quartet and a renowned viola player.

Before the concert, Professor Liu Jie extended a warm welcome to the audience, expressed her gratitude to the music teachers for cultivating such outstanding students, and congratulated the winning students and encouraged them to make persistent efforts. Then, greeted with applause and cheers from the audience, the honored guests awarded prizes to the winners; the atmosphere was very lively.

The winners are listed below:

Piano Group

1st Prize: Yan Zichao

Vocal Group

1st Prize: Guo Zexuan

2nd Prize: Zhu Chenxi

3rd Prize: Yu Mohan

Wind Group

1st Prize: Chen Xiaomei

2nd Prize: Gao Tianyu, Chen Gongwei

String Group

1st Prize: Tian Yuhan

2nd Prize: Yang Danli, Pan Yanchen

3rd Prize: Feng Jiasheng, Li Chen, Li Jiaxuan

Chamber Music Group

1st Prize: Tian Yuhan, Yu Jinyi, Yang Danli, Liang Shunzheng

2nd Prize: Guo Hanlin, Yan Yitong, Sun Chenyu, Li Jiaxuan

3rd Prize: Peng Cancan, Feng Jiasheng, Zhang Litianyi, Pan Yanchen

Award for Outstanding Performance of Chinese Works

Yang Danli, Yu Mohan

After the awards ceremony, host Yang Dezhao, 2019 undergraduate student, announced the official start of the Concert. It features classical works from ancient and modern China and those from abroad; and it was rich in forms, including piano solo, vocal singing, orchestral solo, and string quartet, with many classic Chinese works proving more popular among the audience.

For example, Yan Zichao, 2021 undergraduate student majoring in Piano, performed the piano piece "Moment of Peking Opera"composed by Chen Qigang, which is a perfect fusion of modern Western techniques and traditional Chinese folk music vocabulary. The performer presented the changes of melody and emotion with precise control of the strength and demonstrated the unique charm of Peking Opera, the quintessence of Chinese culture, through the piano.

Yang Danli, 2021 undergraduate student majoring in Viola, played "Jiuer's Fantasia", and as the familiar melody rang out, the audience felt as if they were returning to the sorghum fields of Gaomi, Shandong Province, in the 1930s, listening to a simple and unpretentious story of sadness and beauty.

At the end of the concert, the Balance Quartet presented a passionate performance of "The Sun Comes Out Gladly", which reproduced the optimism and cheerfulness of the working people, and in the warm and cordial melody, it made the audience deeply feel the simple emotion of the working people's desire for a better life, and also reflected the theme of this year's Music Competition, “Art for the People”!

The Music Competition by the School of Arts plays an important part in the construction of "Double World-Class Project". It is held annually and has been held for seven consecutive years. As one of the practical teaching activities organized by the School of Arts, the competition implements the tenet of "put the people first, Art for the people", further improves the quality of teaching, enhances students’ ability to practice stage art, and promotes learning through contests; students can learn from each other and make mutual progress.

The 7th Music Competition was set up into 5 groups: Vocal Group, Piano Group, Wind Group, String Group, and Chamber Music Group. Thirty students of all grades participated in the event; the judges were teachers recommended by each teaching and research office. To ensure fairness and impartiality, the judges gave their scores on site; the results were announced on the spot after all the competitors had fulfilled their performances, so was the winners’ participation in the Concert on 26 October. It is noted that all players’ choices of repertoire should reflect the theme of “Art for the people”, emphasizing on the inheritance of the red gene rooted in Renmin University of China, as all groups are required to perform outstanding Chinese works that promote outstanding traditional Chinese music and showcase the achievements of musical art in the new era. Thus, in addition to the regular awards, the competition has a special award for outstanding performance of Chinese works.

On 25 April 2022, General Secretary Xi Jinping stressed during his visit to Renmin University of China that "for whom to train people, what to train people, how to train people" has always been the fundamental issue of education. In the beautiful expression of tonight’s song and melody, students of the Music Department demonstrated the spirit of Shangong, which is "inherited from the same lineage and has a long history"; they will always remember the red spiritual genealogy of Renmin University of China, take root in history and present, as well as keep learning and exploring in the practice of working hard and moving forward with determination.

In the end, Mr. Li Honggang spoke highly of the performance and invited the faculties and students of the Music Department to visit the Juilliard School in Tianjin. Along with the thunderous applause and cheers, the 7th “Art for the People” Music Competition and the award-winning students' concert by the School of Arts, Renmin University of China, ended up in complete success!