Notes filled with love and joy danced and grew in the winter night. Xi'an Eurasia University embraced the coming year through joyful music.
On the evening of December 25, the Xi'an Eurasia University 2025 New Year Concert was held romantically in Xi'an Concert Hall. The passionate, delicate, and melodious choral and instrumental pieces intertwined. More than 70 students from the Xi'an Eurasia University Choir presented a wonderful audio-visual feast about growth stories and the hopes for a beautiful new year to the audience present, including Xi'an citizens, school-enterprise cooperation partners, and friends caring about the development of Xi'an Eurasia University.
"Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way..." Accompanied by the cheerful and playful melody of "Jingle Bells' Variations," people seem to have entered a long-awaited ice and snow kingdom. In the snowstorm, sleds and reindeer galloped across the desolate fields, with the silver bells ringing clearly. The singers swayed their bodies, and the harmonious voices and laughter filled the air. The audience was also infected by the opening atmosphere, tapping their feet to the rhythm and embarking on a wonderful musical journey around the world together.
(Fig. 4 and 5) Choral Piece "The Song Introducing Voice Parts"
Before setting off, a humorous "mini-class"—"The Song Introducing Voice Parts"—was presented. When the spooky background music started, the various voice parts on the stage began a "battle" of sorts. The members of the soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, and bass sections "competed" with each other. The vivid and interesting dialogues made the "fun-loving" audience burst into laughter and also enabled them to learn a lot of music knowledge.
"In the choir, there is love, encouragement, and criticism among the different sections, as everyone collectively pursues the beauty and harmony of music." Li Qiang, Artistic Director of the choir, hopes that through this song, more people who come to the concert hall to enjoy the performance but are not very familiar with music can let go of their obsession with fully understanding the music, relax and listen to the rhythm, open up their physical senses, and experience the wonderful moments.
"Siyahamba" and "Kaming Mag Ma Ma Ni" are two ancient folk songs from foreign lands, guiding people to look far away and imagine the distance. The South African Zulu folk song "Siyahamba" is like a ball of fire, rising with the passionate and united power of striving on the African land. The singers waved and cheered along with the enthusiastic drumbeats. The simple yet profound lyrics contain the courage and determination to move towards the light. "Kaming Mag Ma Ma Ni" is a Filipino folk song, expressing the joy of farmers standing on the land that nurtures life after a bumper peanut harvest. Optimism, freedom, and happiness were written all over the singers' faces.
"The solitary smoke in the desert embraces the mellow setting sun. The campfire illuminates the cheeks, and the drunkenness accompanies the lasso..." The gentle chant of "Chile Song" brought the audience to the vast and boundless Chilechuan Grassland, where the sky is like a dome covering the earth, the green grass sways like waves in the wind, herds of cattle and sheep appear and disappear from time to time, the horses gallop, and the pastoral songs are melodious. What an intoxicating picture! Being intoxicated by nature in winter, one looks forward even more to the vitality of spring. The choral version of the popular Spring Festival Gala song "Climbing the Spring Mountain" has a lively and jumping melody. Along the willow-lined riverbanks and on the endless grasslands, the spring water and rain come together, presenting a spring scenery that is never tiring to see or hear.
(Fig. 8) Flute Duet Performance of "Waltz of the Flowers"
During the breaks in the choir performance, Teacher Niu Yitong from the School of General Education and her friends performed instrumental music, allowing the audience to experience the elegant temperament of classical music and the carefree ease of jazz. "Waltz of the Flowers" is from Tchaikovsky's third ballet, "The Nutcracker." The adapted flute duet version highlights the fresh and agile timbre of the flutes, with the two flutes performing like dancing sprites, sometimes alternating between the main melody and the countermelody, and sometimes harmonizing to beautifully showcase the romance and delicacy of Tchaikovsky's classic work.
(Fig. 9) "Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano Trio" (Excerpt II Sentimentale)
Claude Bolling's "Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano Trio" (Excerpt II Sentimentale) is a wonderful collision between classical music and jazz. The perfect fusion of the flute, piano, bass, and drum rhythms, combined with the flutist's elegant posture and nimble fingering, harmonized with the jazz band's improvisation to make the entire stage come alive with energy.
Niu Yitong graduated from the Royal Conservatoire of Liège in Belgium, majoring in flute performance. Performing on the stage of Xi'an Eurasia University's new year concert made her feel a sense of closeness and pride. "In the audience are familiar colleagues and lovely students; performing for them is like sharing music with family, which is very warm." Niu Yitong also especially thanked her old friends for their support, integrating a tacit understanding of friendship that created unique sparks in the performance. "Everyone carries a love for music and hopes for music education, making every note bear emotions. This spiritual resonance is something no other performance has."
In her daily work at Xi'an Eurasia University, Niu Yitong is also responsible for public aesthetic education at the School of General Education. This semester, she and her colleagues organized a "general education art+" series of art activities known as "The Power of the Powerless," using art, film, and music to stir the sincere and unique emotions deep within the hearts of the students and teachers at Xi'an Eurasia University. Niutong said, "I feel very proud that students from different majors can all have the ability to perceive beauty, appreciate beauty, and create beauty, to nourish their souls with art, and to discover small beauties in their future lives!"
It is important to learn to perceive and appreciate beauty, and more importantly, to understand how to create beauty. The choral finale, "Red, Blue, Yellow, Green: Super Powerful," added an environmental theme to the concert. "Blue is the magician, turning decay into treasure; Green is nature's reward, sending it to the fields as the most nutritious fertilizer; Red is the superhero, handling dangerous tasks; Yellow is the spirit, stopping the mountains and rivers from crying..." The vivid and lively choir, along with the adorable dance of the four "trash can dolls" on stage, conveys the concept of garbage classification to every audience member present.
The chorus "Try Everything," which had just been performed at the annual student ceremony, was performed again as the finale of the concert. The passionate and uplifting voices of the singers seemed to tell everyone to bravely break free from shackles and try fearlessly, "I won't give up, no I won't give in. Till I reach the end and then I'll start again." With infinite aspirations and full of energy, let's embrace the brilliant year of 2025 together.
"This is my first time standing on the stage of Xi'an Concert Hall, and I'm super nervous, but I think it's great that I persevered to the end." After the concert, Xiang Jiaxin, a member of the Xi'an Eurasia University Choir from the Class of 2024, posted on her Moments. Including her, a total of 50 freshmen participated in the new year concert performance this year, marking the highest number of freshmen ever. Professor Liu Lu, Instructor of the Xi'an Eurasia University Student Art Troupe, said, "These students are very enthusiastic and passionate about both rehearsals and performances. They are also very focused and dedicated, and it is evident how much they have changed and grown in just four short months since enrolling."
Since November this year, the Xi'an Eurasia University Choir had increased its rehearsal frequency in preparation for the new year concert. "After entering December, we had classes five times a week, and we also rehearsed all day on weekends." Yang Yibo is now a junior. From being a "newbie" in the choir to now being the leader, he reflects on his three years in the art group, "Through every group class, every day and night of practicing, and every performance activity, music has long been etched into my bones." He hopes to have the opportunity to continue performing on the concert hall stage next year and pursue his musical dream.
Marketing Director Chen Bingyang of Haier Smart Home Shaanxi Branch, Chairman Hu Jianbo of Xi'an Eurasia University, Leader Cheng Qian of the Big Data Management and Application Program, ad Xi'an Eurasia University Choir Member Ren Hancheng from the Queens' Land Youth Community jointly launched the Xi'an Eurasia University custom T-shirt, inviting lucky audience members to participate in next year's Xi'an Eurasia University 30th Anniversary series of events.
The outstanding performance of the students in the Xi'an Eurasia University Choir was witnessed by Chen Bingyang, a school-enterprise cooperation partner and Marketing Director of Haier Smart Home Shaanxi Branch, who was invited to attend the concert. "The singing and performance just now, as well as everyone's confident eyes and body language, demonstrated the spirit of close teamwork of the entire group."
Ensuring that every student can experience growth and joy at Xi'an Eurasia University is also the original intention of Hu Jianbo, the Chairman of Xi'an Eurasia University, in promoting emotional education at the university. "A well-rounded person cannot do without emotional education and aesthetic education. The concert tonight is a very good live show."
"The songs we shared, cherished, and anticipated are all remembered!" As the new year begins, may this warm and beautiful gift capture the moments of our growth in 2024 and provide more strength for growth in 2025! See you next year!
(By Li Xiaofei, Brand Communication Department)
