Name
A Bridge from the Mountainous Areas to the World: 88 Keyboard China Concert Project
Date & Time
Monday, July 27, 2026, 5:05 PM - 5:20 PM
Description
This paper reports on the progress and results of a musician’s six-year educational outreach program as a concert pianist/organist. The 88 Keyboard China Concert Project aims at delivering 88 concerts in remote areas of China to bridge underserved children with the outside world through interactive concerts. Since 2019, the project has achieved 51 concerts and reached out to more than 10,000 students across five provinces. These students include ethnic minorities from Dong, Tibetan, Bai, Nakhi, Hani, and Lisu as well as from the Jilin Orphanage School. Each concert is structured to serve three major objectives: 1) to allow students, unfamiliar with classical music, to understand how the music is structured and recognize stylistic elements through cross-modal associations; 2) to use music as a tool in teaching other disciplines in a digestible and enjoyable way; 3) to embed diverse cultures and histories into the concerts so that the students can use the music as a bridge to understand the outside world. The pedagogical approach was designed by adopting the established educational theories such as Constructivism, Holism, Kodaly, Orff, and Dalcroze as foundation and applying them to the live performance. To adapt these approaches to the students' lives, music activities often involve local natural sceneries and agriculture. This project has three main goals: 1) broaden and deepen the scope of music education to both optimally develop students’ musical understanding and use music for broader cultural and interdisciplinary learning; 2) increase access to creative, cross-disciplinary, and cross-cultural teaching plans and samples; 3) bridge the gap between musicians and educators by enabling musicians to incorporate education into a new form of concert. For the past 6 years, evidence has been collected in the form of concert observations, educator feedback, student comments, video documentation, and field notes. The evidence demonstrates high levels of participation from students when learning challenging music skills, increased interest in their traditional academic tasks, and acknowledgement from key educators in the rural areas. When holistically viewed, these pieces indicate the significant role 88 Keyboard China Concert Project plays as a “bridge” to help underserved children to access a broader world.
Location Name
515C
Full Address
Palais des Congres - Montréal Convention Centre
1001, Place Jean-Paul-Riopelle
Montreal QC H2Z 1H2
Canada
Session Type
Short Paper Presentation
Presenting Author(s)
Hong-Yu Hsien