Levi Cull: I Cannot Wait to Go!

Upon hearing the news that the orchestra could possibly be going to China in the following year, needless to say I was a little skeptical. So many things are required to get a group as big as our orchestra to travel to another state, yet alone another country! But, I stayed optimistic, thinking of how great an experience it could be. Sure enough, the next semester arrived and Dr. Alexander (the director of the orchestra) said that we were officially going.

You can imagine how all of the students in the orchestra responded; we were all ecstatic to find this out! Yet, many of us did not have our passports (like me for example) and had to go through many lengths to get them by the date we needed them. I had to pay about $215 for mine! I was not very happy about that at the moment, but I came to accept that it was for a great cause and something that I would truly learn a great deal about not only myself as a musician but also more about other cultures and the way music affects the entire world.

On New Year's Day, when we get on a plane as one big group embarking on a trip halfway across the world this will be the first time most of the students in the orchestra will be leaving this country. For this reason, we have been having sessions with an instructor from China that has been teaching us cultural and economic information about the country so we will know how to survive better. One of the most interesting things that I have learned so far in these meetings is that Chinese language uses a great deal more voice inflection and pitch changing than does the English language. In comparison, the English language is very flat and the same throughout while the Chinese language changes many times in just one word! In the next couple meetings, we are expected to learn more about what to bring with us to China and what exactly our itinerary will be while we are over there.

The date is continually getting closer and closer. It seems as though just yesterday we had three months, but now it is almost one month out! I am getting more and more excited at every rehearsal, meeting, and information session that we have. I cannot wait to go on this tremendous journey!