After the train to Beijing, we toured the Summer Palace, which is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. It was almost a shame, however, that this waited until the last, because we had seen so many beautiful things, it was hard to appreciate the sheer beauty here, and we did not really have enough time to really explore. After the Summer Palace, it was time to head to the airport and begin the long journey home. It was quite emotional for us to say goodbye to our hosts in China. I will forever remember the kindness they showed to us, and will always appreciate the depth of knowledge they had, and the openness with which they shared their love of their country. Thank you Mike, Mary, Jessica, Sheldon, and all the others!
It is difficult for me to sum up the experience we just had. We packed so much into the week, and it all went so smoothly. I am truly grateful to all the faculty and staff with whom we traveled: Harry Price for his willingness to pitch in and help to make sure that the students were well taken care of; Sam Skelton and John Lawless, not only for their unbelievable artistry, but also for their exceptional sense of humor. They kept us laughing throughout the trip. We also couldn't have done what we did without Susan Grant Robinson, who is always willing to put others' needs ahead of her own, and whose attention to detail was essential in so many little ways when we were so far from home. And I would be remiss not to mention Allyson Fleck and Cecelia Price, who helped in so many small ways throughout the trip. Finally, not enough can be said about the work of Michael Alexander, without whom this trip would not have been possible. I marvel at the amount of work that he put in to make the trip possible, and to see him at work is incredible. He was involved at every stage, moving effortlessly from overseeing the logistics of the tour, to conducting and ensuring that the students remained focused on their art. Thank you, Mike, for making this happen.
Before the last concert in Xi'an, I spoke briefly to the orchestra, and one of the things I told them was that it was my hope that 25 years from now, they would hold a reunion and be able to talk about the experiences they had. When that happens, I hope that I am there to see it, because I'm sure that I will still have fond memories of what we experienced together. I am exhausted and elated, and count myself to be very lucky to have been part of this truly amazing trip.
[Jan. 8, 2011 KENNESAW] I am not really sure how to put in perspective what we experienced in the last week, but here are my final thoughts after a good night of sleep.
It was amazing to see how much we learned while in China. Musically, we adapted to new halls and new conditions (like no heat in one hall!!), new audiences that had different customs like demanding encores until they stopped clapping, and having an opportunity to repeat a program three times and see it continue to get better each time. Personally, we experienced so many new things, like no traffic rules at all (including no right of way for pedestrians!!), an overnight train where thousands crowd to try to get on the train and 200,000 people move through the station each day, new foods and customs, and a whole new world of culture. It was so beautiful that by the last day we were almost numb to it. What we saw and experienced will take years to process.
We have students with high character. I can't tell you how many people looked at me like I was crazier than usual for taking 76 college students to China. It was odd, but I was never nervous about it. Our students handled themselves incredibly well. In fact, at virtually every turn, people would tell me that it was the most disciplined and professional university group they had experienced. United Airlines was so impressed they waived all of our excess baggage charges, the tour managers could not believe how easy it was to move us through China, and we have an open invitation to return to Xi'an (a city twice the size of Atlanta) at any time with a state welcome from the Director General of the Province. We were treated like royalty and were given the gifts to prove it including two bronze chariots for the university from the Terra Cotta Warriors.
We made new friends at every turn. The students know each other and have bonded in ways that will last a lifetime. They communicated with musicians that share their experiences, if not their language, and they experienced a culture that is so different from ours and adapted and embraced it. They performed at the Central Conservatory where people like Lang Lang learned and shared a concert with a group that surely contained several future stars in the musical world. They are prepared to put in perspective what China will mean to the musical and broader world in the years to come. I am even further convinced that China will lead the musical world in the future and we have contributed in a small way in creating connections and good will between our countries and raising the profile of KSU in a country as important as China.
We have a great faculty and staff. Sam Skelton and John Lawless were amazing and are great role models for our students. They simply never miss and always have a smile to embrace any challenge. Susan Grant Robinson never gets any credit and displays grace and skill beyond belief in administrating anything she touches. We have a Director in Harry Price, who supports and fights for us at every turn. My colleagues in the School of Music rooted and supported us the whole way and so many people went above and beyond to make this happen. Impossible to name them all, but Karen Robinson, the Confucious Institute, Dr. Jerome Ratchford, and everyone in Global Studies were particularly amazing. Finally, we have a Dean and University administration that is courageous and forward thinking to help us take this trip. Their answer is never "no," only "how can we help?"
For me, my favorite moment of the trip was watching the students' faces as we performed for a packed house in a $100 million hall with near perfect acoustics. I simply can't describe it, but luckily we had Sam Robinson along with us to put things in perspective. His speech to the orchestra is something I will never forget as we prepared for the concert of a lifetime.
I return with the same feelings that I had before we left. We love what we do, we do it for the love of our art and what it does to improve humanity. I am the luckiest person in the world to have a beautiful family to return to and 84 people that are my extended family, now bound by an adventure that will have profound impacts for years to come.
