The Mingyuan Philanthropic Fund of the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation (CSCLF) held a choir summer camp in Changchun of Northeast China's Jilin province and East China's Shanghai city respectively in this June. With the participation of teachers and students from Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), Sichuan and Jilin, the camp event aimed to further enhance the music literacy of children and teenagers from rural areas, improve the aesthetics education of rural schools, help the healthy growth of rural children in terms of both mental and physical aspects, and facilitate the revitalization of rural education.
The Changchun leg of the summer camp, which was held from June 5 to 8, drew the attendance of over 30 teachers and students from Jilin's Songjiang Township Primary & Middle School and Sichuan's Niwan Township Central Primary School. They received choir training and gave their artistic performance along with China Film Symphony Orchestra (the first national symphony orchestra founded after the founding of People's Republic of China in 1949) in Changchun Film Studio Group.
At the public welfare concert titled "Voice for Dream, Love for the Countryside", teenage students from the two schools performed four songs, which included "Songs by the Nile River," "What the World Gives to Me," "Babylon River," and "China in the Light," earning thunderous applause from the audience.
The Shanghai leg of the summer camp, which was held from June 22 to 26, brought together about 40 teachers and students from the 88th Regiment School of the XPCC 5th Division, Songjiang Township Primary & Middle School and Niwan Township Central Primary School. They held exchanges with teachers and students of Shanghai Shibei Senior High School, visited Shanghai Soong Ching Ling Memorial Residence, Shanghai Astronomy Museum and Shanghai Zoo, and presented a show of "Songs by the Nile River" and other pieces at the "Sing for the Mother River" International Choral Music Festival in collaboration with "Dream Voice" Women's Chamber Chorus and the Children's Choir in Shanghai Shibei Senior High School.
Since 2014, the CSCLF Mingyuan Philanthropic Fund has held six clarinet summer camp events. It was the first time for the fund to organize such a choir camp event. Vice-President of the CSCLF Mingyuan Philanthropic Fund Chen Yuan said that its sole theme is to arouse children's strength of love and unlock their potentials via music, regardless of training topics and venues. Many teenage trainees said that the thematic summer camp was a memorable journey, leaving a beautiful impression on them. They added that it had further expanded their horizon and bolstered personal confidence and that they would study harder and strive to embrace a larger world. Those in attendance of relevant activities included Zhan Deming, Vice-Director of CSCLF Fund Management Department.
Since its establishment in 2007, the CSCLF Mingyuan Philanthropic Fund has committed itself to the implementation of public welfare activities about the revitalization of rural education, the caring of women and children, and the growth of youth from impoverished regions. During the past decades, it built 16 special schools nationwide, unveiled scholarship and education funds, undertaken clarinet and choir education, and organized volunteer teaching activities.
In addition, the CSCLF Mingyuan Philanthropic Fund has engaged in systematic public welfare assistance from the perspectives of hardware donation, special education and personnel training, and made tremendous contributions to the development of Chinese rural education, the growth of children and teenagers, social harmony and progress.
