UW-Eau Claire jazz students make history in China

And the beat goes on….While budget cuts and the war on terror have had a negative impact on many programs dealing with international students, UW-Eau Claire’s Center for International Education has been making “Big Beat” inroads in China.
This is largely due to a group of five student jazz musicians along with Robert Baca, director of jazz studies at UW-Eau Claire. The musical group along with Chancellor Brian Levin-Stankevich and Dr. Karl Markgraf, director of the Center of International Education, were invited in mid-November to a 100-year celebration hosted by prestigious Jinan University.

The Jazz group performed concerts on Nov. 13 and 14 in Chongqing, the home of the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute where Baca has been making plans to start a music school in the next two years. While in China, the jazz group performed at Jinan University on Nov. 17 at the Welcome Banquet and again on Nov. 18 for the centennial celebration. The group performed more that 30 original compositions and also played music associated with big bands. Performances were televised throughout southern China.

“When they invited us to help celebrate their centennial, we thought it would be nice to bring some of our culture to them as they did when they came here,” Markgraf said.

And this is just what has happened. Baca, who has been to China with jazz students in 1991 and 1993, had the first jazz group to perform in the country after it opened to the western world. “Those trips were great, but this time I wanted it to be about more than taking a group to perform,” Baca said. “I wanted students to know it’s important to understand the culture and music of other areas.” Part of this trip was to be a Study Abroad Program for the student musicians—all of whom have never been to China before.

Baca also mentioned that the students were a very talented group of musicians who would represent the university and country extremely well. This surely appears to be true. Baca sent an e-mail message from China, “We are receiving a proclamation from the governor of one of the cities claiming that we are the first jazz group to perform in that city.” He continued, “Our audiences have been no less than 1,000 for each concert, with the largest concert at over 7,000 people.”

A $12,000 gift from an anonymous donor to the UW-Eau Claire Foundation’s Fulfilling the Promise of Excellence campaign paid for the travel expenses for Baca and the students, making it possible for them to participate in the centennial celebration.

Because Jinan University in Guangzhou in southern China hosted the event, it paid for food and lodging expenses for their invited guests. UW-Eau Claire and Jinan University have been partners for over fifteen years. Sounds like a great celebration was had by all.