By: Rachael Jackson Campus Life Editor
Among friends, peers, and colleagues, four visiting scholars from China took the Smith Hall stage to showcase their talents. The scholars were a handsome group: two sopranos, Xin Zhang and Xue Chen, Tian Cao on trumpet, and Wei Jiang on the piano.
The four hail from the Guangxi Arts Institute in the city of Nanning. They are on campus as part of the Visiting Scholar and Faculty Program, and are here for tutelage and for the experience of a different culture.
Isabel Martinez, senior early childhood education major, made it out so she could support the parents of her students. It was surprising to see how skilled the performers were.
“I think they did really great. It is interesting to see them every day and then on stage. I had never thought they would be that talented. I mean, I knew they would be, but just … not like that,” Martinez said.
Liz Halligan, along with her husband, have been offering a place at their dinner table for visiting scholars every Friday night as part of the outreach program International Students Inc.
“The students that come, they are either in business or accounting or computers … to have this many artistic performers is exciting,” Halligan said.
It is new for most people of the western world to see anyone other than white opera performers.
“It was really great to see the different cultures come out. It isn’t something you see a lot of. I was impressed by the piano player,” said Shelby Morgan, employee of The Research Institute.
Though many songs were operetic, that is not all the singers performed. Zhang sang “Rejoice” by George Handel and a Chinese folk song titled “A Glass of Beautiful Wine,” while Chen gave a lively performance of “Glitter and Be Gay” from “Candide”.
The night was carefree and fun as the four played for a room of friends, but it was also inspiring to see what the international students are bringing to the university. It is a reminder to take part and see what students are doing around campus.
“I think the school is really taking good care of their international students. They are interested in them, and care about them, and support them. But international students always want to make more friends, they want Americans to reach out to them. They can get lonely,” Halligan said.
Contact the author at rjackson13@wou.edu
