Music opens doors to friendships at Beijing youth camp

The young violinist from central Mexico found herself doing something she never imagined for a summer holiday: not practicing alone in a quiet room, but dancing in a circle with new friends from around the world as laughter and music filled the Beijing air.

Most summers, Eugenia Jaramillo Castellon, a student from the Conservatory of Music and Arts Celaya in Mexico, spends her break refining scales and sonatas on her violin.

This year, however, she was swept into a whirlwind of musical improvisation, cultural discovery, and cross-border friendships, all in the farthest city she has ever visited.

"I am so excited to meet new people and experience different cultures," says the 16-year-old, her voice brimming with enthusiasm.

She arrived carrying wooden souvenir keychains featuring a printed illustration of the classic Mexican Lele Doll — a renowned folk craft of the Otomi indigenous people — and happily exchanged them with fellow young musicians from different countries as keepsakes of their new friendships.

The occasion was the 15th Soong Ching Ling International Summer Camp, a week-long gathering that brought together youth art troupes from China, Russia, Turkmenistan, Bulgaria, Mexico, and Indonesia.

The program was packed with orchestra workshops, master classes led by distinguished music educators, sightseeing tours of Beijing's historical landmarks such as the Palace Museum and the Great Wall, and collaborative performances.

While many of the attractions are familiar to seasoned travelers, for these young musicians — most of them visiting China for the first time — it was music that truly dissolved borders.

"Music connects us. It's a universal language," says Castellon.

"The most moving thing is that we get to know different people, different cultures, and different languages through music."

At the opening ceremony at the Soong Ching Ling Science and Culture Centre for Young People on July 20, performers from each country showcased their traditional folk songs before closing with a collaborative finale — a joint rendition of the Chinese folk song Jasmine Flower and Austrian composer Johann Strauss Sr's Radetzky March. Austrian conductor Christoph Campestrini led both the orchestra and the audience, who joined in with synchronized clapping.

"It's a fun experience because we get to learn a lot from other people and improve ourselves, especially from the professors and master classes there," says Gracia Emmanuella Candra, a trumpet player from Indonesia's Trinity Youth Symphony Orchestra, a leading ensemble in Indonesia that frequently travels abroad for competitions and performances.

Since its launch in 2010, the summer camp has been held for 14 sessions, welcoming nearly 10,000 young participants from around the world. It has grown into an important platform for promoting international youth exchange, using music to foster mutual understanding across cultures.