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Choir brings joy of music to impoverished students

By Luo Wangshu in ZHAOPING, GUANGXI | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2020-10-29 11:01

Yang Lele instructs students to sing in a choir, part of a poverty alleviation project sponsored by China National Aviation, in Jiangkou village, Zhaoping county, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. [Photo by Luo Wangshu/chinadaily.com.cn]

Primary school students from a mountainous village have gained enjoyment from music and choir participation thanks to a poverty alleviation project.

Xiao Mengyuan, an 11-year-old from Jiangkou Primary School in Jiangkou village, Zhaoping county, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, joined the school's choir last year.

The girl has learned a few new songs through the choir and said she can hum a song along the way home.

She has spent one and a half hours every week to attend choir rehearsals.

"I am happy when I sing with my classmates and I like the choir. The boys do not make trouble during the training as they usually do at other classes," she said, adding that the musical training is more fun and attracts the interest of students. She looks forward to the rehearsals and especially hopes to see "the teacher from Beijing".

Xiao is one of about 30 students benefiting from the choir. The choir, established in July last year, is part of a poverty alleviation project sponsored by China National Aviation, Air China's parent company.

The company has a strong choir with a professional conductor Yang Lele as the training instructor. Yang is an experienced choir conductor who conducted the choir performance at the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China last year.

According to the company, when its staff members proposed to Yang that they were willing to help to establish a choir at the school and hoped to gain her professional guidance, Yang said yes without hesitation and has become the "teacher from Beijing" as the students mentioned.

Now Yang's team visits the school every two weeks, providing training to local teachers and students.

"Some students at the village school are mischievous and have difficulty concentrating," Yang said.

"Being in a choir is not only about singing a song, but also training for responsibility and teamwork," she said, adding the training and rehearsals will help children learn beyond the books.

The company pays for the team's travel costs and Yang's team provides free training to the school choir.

According to the school principal Li Chao, before the project, very few music classes were provided to the students because the lack of teachers. The school has 209 students.

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