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On June 10, 2009, children from Guang Ai Migrant School concluded a year of Magic Hospital’s Music Enrichment classes with a beautiful performance at Dulwich School in Beijing. Kristi Meier introduced the children and gave a short presentation on Magic Hospital for guests. A number of Dulwich students volunteered for the program throughout the year as supervised music teachers. It was a great way for kids to help and teach other kids.
Guang Ai children performed five songs and dances for Dulwich students and were greeted with a huge, heartfelt applause. Included in the performance was a song using African drums. “The sound from about 15 kids playing drums together gave me goose bumps!” said Kristi. The kids also sang, “Do, re, mi” and many Dulwich students knew the song. The next thing they knew, the whole audience was clapping to the rhythm.
Another act was the traditional Maori dance. The boys were fantastic and everybody had a good giggle as the moves and sounds were quite different than what they are used to.
The next song was in Chinese about last year’s earthquake, which immediately changed the mood to silence and somberness. However, the children finished the show on a high and exciting note by playing the Samba! All of the Guang Ai kids had an instrument and considering how many kids played together and the rhythms what came out, it was fantastic!
What amazed Kristi the most about the day was how the kids from Gaung Ai and Dulwich were in sync and how all their feelings, happiness and sadness, were displayed within a 15-minute performance. It was great!
The Music Enrichment Program will begin again this fall at a new institution. We are happy to report that due to the need of the program and the interest of both the students and the general public, Guang Ai now has several volunteers teaching music classes. Magic Hospital looks forward to initiating this program with a new group of children, while following up with the Guang Ai students from time to time.
We wish to again express our deepest appreciation to PRANA for funding this program. It has been a great success on a number of levels and your support helped make it come to fruition.
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