The Confucius Institute at the University of Sheffield is always excited to innovate with its events and activities, and to find ways to explore and promote the beauty of Chinese culture. Our collaboration with the recent Chinese Heritage Concert that took place on 15th March at Firth Court was a prime example of this spirit!
Students from the Department of Music’s MA course, coupled with organisers from the University of Sheffield Concerts initiative, put on a show to remember; with beautiful opera performances, piano and violin solo and ensemble performances and Chinese traditional dance delivered by the Wanlin Dance Academy.
The SCI was delighted to deliver its signature cultural ‘pop-up stalls’ - exploring Chinese calligraphy, tea ceremonies and the Chinese Zither (guzheng) workshops. Each stall was manned by our dedicated sponsored teachers, whose expertise ensured a rewarding experience for all concert-goers!
The event was reported by ShefNews, with a great video exploring the event - to be found here:
Interview with Event Facilitator, Dr Sarah Watts.
We sat down with Sarah Watts, the Director of Music Performance at the University of Sheffield to find out more about her vision for the event, and importantly, how she encouraged her Chinese students to organise the concert - an event that the students both conceived and managed themselves.
Dr Sarah Watts is Director of Music Performance and Director of the MA in Music Performance Studies course at the University of Sheffield. Sarah specialises in clarinet performance, and is in demand as a performer, researcher and educator of new music for low clarinets. She has performed and taught across the UK, Europe, China, North and South America. Sarah is the UK rep for the International Clarinet Association, and in 2016 was awarded the ARAM from the Royal Academy of Music.
You recently staged a successful Chinese Heritage Concert through the University of Sheffield Concerts platform, could you tell us a little bit about the Concerts project and what it seeks to achieve?
This concert was a collaboration with our Chinese Students and the University of Sheffield Concert series. The Monday lunch and Wednesday rush hour concerts are platforms for our students to gain concert experience. These are free concerts and open to public audiences.
Can you tell us a little bit about the Chinese Heritage Concert? What were the goals of the concert?
This concert was an opportunity for our Chinese students to organise a concert of music from their own country and culture. It was a chance for them to put on a showcase event and also gave them the opportunity to plan a high profile public event.
You mentioned that there is an established and thriving Chinese element to the UoS Music Department and the MA programme, could you tell us a little bit more about this?
We have a large cohort of students from Asia, and especially China. The department has worked to welcome our international students into our community, and also done a lot of work looking at how we teach and understand the needs of all of our students. We have created a thriving and welcoming department with an aim of promoting inclusivity and diversity.
The organisation of the concert was left largely to the students of the music department and not the staff. Tell us about your inspiration behind this and what effects did this create?
I wanted the students to be the centre of the event. They had a clear idea of what they wanted to achieve and perform, so for me this was their event and not my event. My role became one of a back seat supervisor. This gave the students not only performance experience, but also essential career building skills in organising, managing and marketing an event.
How did the concert go? What are your feelings about its success?
This event was amazing. I was very proud of the students who did everything from programming, to designing the programme, to bringing in a very large external audience. They all performed extremely well and the event was a huge success.
Has the Chinese Heritage Concert inspired you to create more events in this kind of theme and style?
Yes! We will be aiming to make this an annual event. I look forward to the next one.
What are your opinions about the Sheffield Confucius Institute’s cultural pop-up stalls (exploring calligraphy, tea ceremony and Chinese zither), was it a successful accompaniment to the performance?
It was great to link with the Confucius Institute, and the pop up stalls were also a great success with the audience. The music department also contributed a table of Chinese snacks and we were delighted that the table was empty by the end of the concert. The addition of the pre-show was a fantastic addition to the evening.
Many of the collaborating students for the performance were taking the MA in Performance Studies offered by the university, tell us a little more about this course and why it’s so popular with Chinese students?
The MA in Music Performance course has been designed to maximise career potential for further research, performing and/or teaching. We teach modules including Historically Informed Performance, Advanced Ensemble Skills and Communicating Music and Music Research that are valuable modules for performance students. We offer both piano and non-piano courses, and the university is an ALL Steinway School, which has helped further attract students from home and abroad to the department.
Finally, after such a successful event and great future opportunities, have you any parting words for your students and the university society as a whole?
I think the students deserve all of the credit for this event. I was very proud of their achievement and the commitment they showed to the event.
To find out more about the Sheffield Confucius Institutes Chinese Cultural Pop-Up Stalls and how they could apply to your event, contact us at:
confucius@sheffield.ac.uk
Thank you for reading!
Take a look at the links below to read more about the SCI's recent activities and events!