BEIJING, China — The 62-member Concert Choir tour is nearing the halfway point of its "Harmony with Aloha" tour through China and Mongolia. On Wednesday, May 16th group members bid farewell to this city, their 2nd stop on the tour itinerary, by giving an outdoor performance at Xi'an International Studies University, where they were enthusiastically received.
"It may have been my favorite performance yet," said one chaperone traveling with the choir. "It felt spontaneous and natural. The stairwells and balconies were filled and a few students were even watching from the windows behind the choir."
Immediately following the performance, the choir dashed off to the train station to board sleeper cars which would transport them 11 hours away to Beijing. Tensions mounted, however, when the bus could go no further and the nearly 100 travelers — including media crew, chaperones, translators and university representatives — were dropped off on the side of a crowded road with all of their belongings and no train station in sight.
With the help of Harold Zheng, a BYUH/PCC Asian Executive Management alum from the Chinese Shaangxi Providence Friendship Association, they gradually weaved their way, single file, to the station, about half-mile away. There they waited outside in a huddle for nearly 30 minutes before they could enter the station and board the train. Needless to say they drew quite a crowd of curious onlookers. "We must have been quite a spectacle in our matching aloha shirts and luggage," said Dustin Geddes, a junior accounting major from Cedar Hills, Utah. "It was impossible to blend in."
"The crowd seemed to hem us in on all sides and one man in particular kept circling around us as if sizing us up," said one choir member. "That was probably the most threatened I have felt since I've been here," said another. Dr. Peter Chan, a cultural advisor and BYU-Hawaii academic expert, wasted no time in protecting the choir and within minutes four security officers were patrolling the area.
Despite any apprehension or inconvenience, the choir members remained both patient and pleasant and even gave grateful applause and sang Aloha 'Oe to Harold as they boarded the train.
Elder Bill Harris, a service missionary in University Advancement remarked on the way the choir members handled themselves, "They know what they are and what they represent and they are very careful not to cross any lines."
Duane Roberts, BYU-Hawaii Director of Communications and Public Relations, expressed how proud he was of the choir. "These kids have had a few curve balls thrown at them and they've really been flexible. Each of their performances has been a new experience with different challenges, but they couldn't have been more dignified. I couldn't be happier with the way things are going."
Joseph Moore, the Concert Choir President and a senior vocal performance major from Littleton, Colorado expressed excitement about the train ride. "This is the choir's dream come true," he said. "We are so close and this is the best opportunity for us to share that closeness. Here we can't do anything else but be together." And together they were. Spirits were high as everyone settled into their surprisingly comfortable and cozy bunks for the night.
BYUH music professor Michael Belnap, the choir director, was relieved the next morning to hear that with few exceptions, all the choir members had slept well and felt prepared for their upcoming concert in Beijing, one of their most important performances of the tour.
Upon arrival, the choir once again met the challenge of lugging all their belongings through and up and around the crowded train station. They eventually emerged, three flights of stairs and two escalators later, heavy laden into a beautiful blue sky and breezy Beijing.
Little did they know that after an adventurous night of hoofing it through train stations, they were about to get the VIP treatment. An audible sigh of relief could be heard throughout the bus when news spread that the bellhops would take care of the luggage as soon as they reached the beautiful Diaoyutai Hotel. The morale soared even higher as soon as the choir walked into the lobby where they received a warm welcome with music, media and a line of clapping employees.
And it just kept getting better. From spacious luxurious rooms to bacon and hash browns for breakfast and a police escort to the Great Wall of China, the choir felt like stars. "I cried when I got to my room," said Kamaile Blake, a senior exercise science major originally from Wyoming. "Then I laughed. Then I cried. Then I jumped on my bed and filmed my room and cried some more."
— Photos by Monique Saenz, (upper): aboard the Beijing express; (lower): boarding the train in Xi'an.
