On Monday, renowned Chinese musician Fang Jinlong visited both of our campuses to impart his wisdom and talents of musical instruments with our students. Fang is well-known for being a master at the contemporary five-stringed pipa (Chinese lute), as well as bringing together traditional and popular music. He is passionate about teaching others, especially young people, about the art of traditional Chinese music and to appreciate it.

At both Elementary and Secondary School, our students gathered in the MPR and theater, respectively, to listen and learn. Onstage, Fang showed off some of his collection of traditional instruments, showing some that were invented thousands of years ago. Demonstrating how each one is played and how they are related despite coming from different areas of the world, Fang expressed the idea that the shape of an instrument, its design, and its function are all shaped by daily life.

Students and faculty alike were excited to learn and watch his performances onstage, cheering and clapping loudly. At Elementary, some students were also invited onstage to play alongside Fang! It’s rewarding seeing how much our students enjoy our guest speakers and how much they learn from these unique experiences.

He also visited our Grade 7 strings class and hosted a question and answer session with our IB Music class. Students received personalized instruction and attention from Fang and it was a great chance for our musical students to meet a professional musician and learn from someone with a different perspective and voice.

From Preschool to Grade 12, our AISG performing arts program provides students with experiences to develop curiosity, interest, enjoyment of their own creativity and an appreciation for the performances of others. This extraordinary experience from Fang builds upon our own program and we were honored to host such an esteemed musician who could connect with so many of our students.

Our Speaker Series brings extraordinary speakers from all over the world to share their expertise with the AISG community. This is made possible by donations to our Annual Fund. To learn more about our Speaker Series and to see future and past speakers, click here.