Chinese melodies strike a chord in the US

Representatives from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and the Confucius Institute of the University of Michigan pose for a group photo during the SCM delegation's visit to UM from March 5 to 11. [Photo provided to study-shanghai.org]

A group of teachers and students from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music (SCM) visited the University of Michigan (UM) in the US for several days of academic and musical discussions from March 5 to 11.

Representatives from the two schools found harmony on a range of issues, while sharing their ideas on best practice regarding student assessment, enrollment and school management.

The two sides' discussions of music were equally productive, with talks ranging from traditional Chinese musical styles and instruments to the development of modern art in China.

Professors from SCM share in-depth ideas on music with their US counterparts during their visit to the University of Michigan from March 5 to 11. [Photo provided to study-shanghai.org]

A lecture given by professor Zhao Weiping on the revitalization of popular music styles in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) aroused great interest among his US counterparts, while the leader of the Chinese delegation, professor Yang Yandi, gave an overview of the development of China's piano music over the past century and expressed his concern about the fusion and collision between Chinese and Western styles.