Singing at the Great Wall

Millikin University Choir performs in China, Taiwan

Millikin students found out they have more in common with Chinese singers than just performing: they both love “High School Musical.”

After a concert in Shenzhen, a city located on the southern coast of China, Millikin’s female choir members bonded with members of the Lilly Girls Choir, a native choir that also sang that night. When they discovered a mutual love for the popular Disney movie, the students put on an impromptu show of songs and dancing together.

It was the start of a two-week trip throughout China and Taiwan in which 60 Millikin students performed and learned about the culture and landscape of Asia. University Choir Director Brad Holmes and Millikin President Doug Zemke accompanied the students.

In Taiwan, the students sang at Tunghaui University, where Millikin has sent students in the past to learn about education and medicine. The choir also performed in Changchun, where other Millikin students who were completing Immersion courses in teaching English attended. Holmes said the 3,000-member audience was particularly excited—they often applauded in the middle of pieces.

Students took a break from performing and had opportunities to learn more about Chinese culture while visiting Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. At the Great Wall, the choir performed an impromptu concert, where onlookers asked for two encores.

Holmes said the trip was life changing for all involved.

“The people were amazingly welcoming,” he said. “This was an eye-opening trip for our students into a culture that we know so little about. I kept telling the students that they were doing things I never thought possible. It was quite a trip.”