Arctic art tour
By Lily Wen & Honghong Cheng
Photos by Yao Fan

On the evening of March 27, the familiar and exquisite melody of the Chinese "Butterfly Lovers" flew about the Xiamen Art Theater. The players, however, were from the Lulea Youth Chamber Orchestra (LYCO), Sweden. 吕勒奥青年乐团, 带着新排练的"梁祝"和瑞典人民的友谊首次来华. 在第一站厦门, 他们第一次听到中国的民乐, 第一次看到中国的舞蹈, 第一次尝到地道的中国菜, 经历了太多的惊奇和感动. 瞧这几位团员手执中国结, 笑得多么满足.

Arctic musicians

"We're musicians from the top of Europe," said Mr Bengt Marten Grahn, head of LYCO. Lulea is a city in northern Sweden, only 100-odd kilometers from the Arctic Circle. The city has a long tradition of musical education. Members of LYCO rage from 10 to 20, all having received a 7-to-10-year musical training and four of them are now studying in the Royal Swedish Academy of Music.


Recording each exciting moment

It was the first time for LYCO to perform in China and they had a full schedule. For four consecutive days, they respectively held joint concerts with the Xiamen Song & Dance Troupe, Xiamen South Music Troupe, Xiamen Music School, Art College of Jimei University and the Xiamen Art School.

Jorgen Sandund, the conductor and a professional violin teacher said, "We have long expected this visit and we're very honored and excited to have art exchanges with local students. We have deliberately put ‘Butterfly Lovers' in our repertoire and hope to know more about the culture, life and musical education in China in the coming days."


Attending a local dance class

Art communicates

After performing on the same stage with the Xiamen Song & Dance Troupe, members of LYCO were fascinated with the Chinese traditional musical instruments. "They are amazing! I'm particularly interested in the urheen (二胡). It looks like a violin, with strings and a bow to play with, but it's played upright on the lap," said Erik Wahlgren. "It produces a singing-like sound. Very beautiful! I was so captivated by it that I bought one myself." Smiling and mimicking playing it, he continued, "I want to learn to play it. It must be wonderful to master it!"

When asked about her feelings towards Chinese music she had heard at the joint concert, Lena Marianne Eriksson said, "Simply beautiful, both the instruments and the music. I'm most interested in the one with many strings on it and shaped like a table (referring to the dulcimer 扬琴). It sounded melodious when the musician played with little sticks in her hands. And it sounded as clear as a bell. It is just fantastic!"


Learning more about Lulea

Drawn by the Chinese students' performance at the Xiamen Music School, Ida Maria Nyman, a beautiful Swedish girl said: "It's wonderful and interesting. I feel there is a huge difference between Chinese and Swedish music, yet I enjoy them both. I hope they can come to Sweden one day so we can talk more about music and China."

The CEO of Compodium Corporation, Mr Bengt, is a music lover. He came together with his children who are members of LYCO. In his opinion, it is music - the fantastic language that brought youngsters of the two countries together. They can understand each other through music. The communications gave his children a lot of joy apart from musical knowledge.
Immersed in hospitality


Exchanging souvenirs

Besides communicating with Xiamen art organizations in the musical field, LYCO members also enjoyed the delicious food and the fine scenery in Xiamen whilst immersed in Xiamenese' hospitality. When asked about the local food they had in Xiamen, Bengt Marten Grahn smiled, "Oh, Chinese food has always been my favorite. But it isn't quite like what I imagined before. I thought it would be more strongly flavored, but it turns out to be quite light, and that agrees with me very well. The organizer is so hospitable that we have new dishes every day. If the sight-seeing is the trip for my eyes, then tasting the food is the trip for my tongue, and I enjoy both of them."

One day before their departure, Mr Bengt Marten Grahn said with gratitude, "We are greatly impressed by the friendship of the Xiamen people. Everyone treats us so nicely. We were provided with the best food and the best accommodation. We're all greatly moved by their kindness."

"Fantastic! Incredible! Wonderful! Marvelous! Oh, words just fail me," exclaimed Jorgen Sandund. "I'm so happy to have this opportunity to be here. Xiamen is really a beautiful city and what impresses me most is the harmonious existence of an easy, old life style and a new modern one in the same city. It's like two parallel roads running side by side."

Vocabulary
exquisite 精美的
consecutive 连续的
hospitality 好客
auditorium 大礼堂

 

 

Xiamen Kaiming Movie Complex 厦门天地开明电影城 7日起隆重上映 《50次初恋》 50 First Dates

地址: 江头北路69号 Ticket line: 5517918 类型: 喜剧/爱情 主演: 亚当·桑德勒 Adam Sandler 德鲁·巴里摩尔 Drew Barrymore 剧情简介:常人一生中初恋仅仅有一次, 但亨利·罗斯(亚当·桑德勒饰)却遇上了50次初恋, 而且都是跟同一个女孩. 或许你会为他感叹, 但当你看到和亨利"初恋"的女孩露茜时, 你就肯定会嫉妒得要死了. 那天, 亨利下班后走进了水族馆旁边的咖啡馆, 看到了一位金发公主, 那女孩有着如火般的金发, 圆润的脸上洋溢出快乐, 她的身材丰满娇媚. 亨利怦然心动, 这不就是自己一直寻找的梦中情人吗? ......

 

 

Symphony concert
交响音乐会
Performer: Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra
演奏者: 厦门爱乐乐团
Time: 7:30 pm, April 8 (Fri)
时间: 4月8日晚7: 30
Venue: Music Island Philharmonic Hall, Wanshou Lu at 67 Wenyuan Lu
地点: 万寿路文园路67号音乐岛爱乐厅

Exhibition by two German artists
两位德国艺术家的展览
Author: Heike Aumüller & Elke Mohr
作者: 黑克·欧姆勒 & 艾勒克·莫尔
Duration: April 1-14, 2005, 10 am -12 am and 3 pm - 5 pm, Wednesday - Sunday
展期: 2005年4月1日-14日, 上午10: 00-12: 00, 下午3: 00-5: 00, 星期三-星期日
Venue: Chinese European Art Center, Xiamen University Art College
地点: 厦门大学艺术学院中欧艺术中心

 

 

On the evening of April 3, the final of the 20th Xiamen University Top 10 Singers Competition & the 1st Original Made Songs Competition was held at the Jiannan Auditorium, with nearly 30 participants showing their singing talents.
Photo by Yao Fan