October 1 this year marked the first-anniversary celebration of a church brass band deep in the mountains of Guangxi Province when the band did its first performance in public at a wedding.
When the whole country celebrated the birthday of the People’s Republic of China on October 1, 2021, the Tianyun Brass Band of Shangsi Church was established. The band mainly consists of clarinet players, trumpet players, saxophone players, trombone players, tuba players and percussionists.
It is hard to establish a brass band. Firstly, elements such as the musical aptitude of band members, funds to purchase musical instruments, integration of a band, orchestration, etc. have to be considered. Secondly, it’s also not easy for those members to learn their instruments well and be organized and orderly every time. Thirdly, it’s more difficult for everyone to keep going for a long time. Except for the bass trombone, other parts in the band are marked by treble clef. As a result, there were many members in the early days of the band’s establishment, though, some co-workers who bought musical instruments, some of whom even lacked the foundation of four parts, found it so challenging that they could not adapt or keep training, so they quit and dedicated their musical instruments to the church.
The band currently has 25 members. After one year’s cooperation training, practice, and improvement, the band has been able to play many pieces of music including hymns and popular music that are well known. It also has participated in church activities and some social activities. By playing famous Chinese and foreign music as well as music loved by fellow villagers, the band walked out of the church and went into society, participating in activities such as wedding celebrations.
(The article is written by a staff writer for the Gospel Times.)
- Translated by Stephen Huang
