In the evening of March 14, 2016, the opening ceremony of the PKU-Yale Exchange Week 2016 and the first stop of the 2016 Yale Spizzwinks a cappella China tour was held at the Zhonghua Convention Center of the Lake View Hotel in Peking University (PKU).
At the beginning of the event, Gao Song, Vice President of PKU, addressed the audience. He warmly welcomed the guests from Yale and introduced the school representatives who were in attendance. He then mentioned that an agreement would be signed to have more clinical rotations for medical students during the upcoming visit of Yale President Peter Salovey. “This exchange week will be a significant step towards greater cooperation between our two countries,” said Gao.
Shen Xuesong, Deputy Secretary-General of the China Education Association for International Exchange, then welcomed the Yale guests and also expressed her gratitude to PKU for its support in many fields. She spoke highly of the exchange activity and said that there was no better ambassador of friendship than young people from both countries.
After the gift exchange between the PKU, Yale, and the China Education Association for International Exchange, the performances began with a gorgeous song called “Somebody to Love” originally by Freddie Mercury, which is a Spizzwinks classic. After that, the team went on to sing “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” and “Billie Jean” with humorous dance moves added. Following them was the A Cappella Lovers group from PKU. “Qing Fei De Yi” by SEAbling, “Juan Zhu Lian” by Sunday, and “Zhuan Shen Zhi Jian” by Paca all integrated Chinese elements into a cappella, which won thunderous applause and high praise.
The performance came to its peak when Yale Spizzwinks and PKU Paca worked together and sang “Let it Be” and “Dui Ni Ai Bu Wan” in English and Chinese, respectively. Immersed in the melodious voices, we could feel the cultural communication between the Chinese and American a cappella groups, which was exactly the theme of the Yale Spizzwinks China Tour 2016.
After the marvelous performance, students from Yale and PKU held an in-depth discussion about singing skills of a cappella, about its history, the liberal arts and traditional culture of United States, and also of China. Inspiring friendship was established between the young people with different cultural backgrounds. After this performance, the Yale Spizzwinks will hold a special performance at the Forbidden City Concert Hall.
Background Information:
Yale University, where a cappella culture has been popular on campus, is one of the most important headstreams of a cappella. Founded in 1914, Spizzwinks is undoubtedly an active pioneer endeavoring to spread a cappella culture on campus. The group has profoundly carried on a tradition of musical excellence and camaraderie as one of America’s oldest male choirs.
The A Cappella Club of PKU, founded at PKU in 2009, is also the first university a cappella club in China. There are eight singing groups in the club, Paca, SEAbling, Wake-Up, Vocal Booth, Sunday, iScream, and Acature.
Written by Chen Meizhi
Edited by Li Ruoxue
