Wind Ensemble in China

It's been very 'eye opening' to meet and hear many of the young musicians in the People’s Republic of China & Hong Kong. The good news is that the interest in a musical world is huge. Additionally, I have played on a china built trumpet and found it to be quite in-tune and free-playing for an instrument that only costs $ 200. That’s the good news. The bad news is the limited space available to practice is a common problem. Most urban areas of Asia use limited space very efficiently. This leaves very little tolerance for venues to practice a musical instrument. Even in a modern Hong Kong the difficulty finding a place for beginning and intermediate student to practice is a limiting factor in their development. The story is common of how neighbors complain to the police when a trumpet student plays in an isolated part of their parent’s apartment. The laws of ‘quiet hours’ are yet to be decided upon. The practicing musician, student or professional has no ‘lobby’ here.
- Prof. Roderick Macdonald, State University of New York @ Fredonia