Shortly after commencement in May, Dr. Del Lyren, professor of music at Bemidji State University, set out on a four-week tour with “Voltage,” the university’s five-person student electronic music ensemble.

The tour was unlike any other experienced by the musicians, however, as it involved a trans-Pacific journey to China.

As part of the university’s expanding international efforts, arrangements were made for Voltage to participate in a month-long exchange program with Weifang University in Weifang, China. The students were sent to introduce electronic music and composition in an environment dominated by traditional instruments such as piano and violin.

Lyren, who supervised the trip for BSU, was joined by:

  • Molly Bass, a music major pursuing a teaching certification from Slayton;
  • Judah Chezick; a business administration major from International Falls;
  • Jesica Lindquist, a music major pursuing a teaching certification from Victoria;
  • Josh May, a music and liberal arts major from Maple Grove; and
  • Ben Schreiber, a music major pursuing a teaching certification from Bemidji.
  • The group departed Bemidji in early May, arriving in China after a lengthy trip that included a layover in Japan.

Before leaving on the trip, the students participated in a half-semester preparatory course taught by Hongxia Sui, one of two visiting professors in Chinese hosted by Bemidji State during the 2012-13 academic year.

Weifang, located near the center of China’s Shangdong provence, is a city with a population of just over nine million, with 1.5 million residents living in the main metropolitan area.

Voltage arrived in Weifang on a Thursday, and after a three-day adjustment period began taking classes and rehearsing for its final concert the following Monday.

Lyren and the students began taking classes in Chinese language, and also learned about Chinese culture by studying a variety of subjects including cooking, calligraphy and tai-chi. The group made dumplings and spent hours practicing how to write Chinese pictograms.

The trip culminated with a a final concert on campus at Weifang University, attended by students, faculty and the university’s president. Preparations for that concert were intense, and the group spent several hours a day rehearsing.

The music not only helped the Voltage students settle into a comfort zone of familiar practices and sounds, it also helped them bridge a language and cultural barrier with the Chinese students they worked with for the concert.

Schreiber said that after the concert ended, the group was swarmed by people from the audience asking to have their photo taken with the group or wanting autographs.

“The students thought they were rock stars,” Lyren said.

For the students in Voltage, the Weifang trip provided a lifetime of memories and an unparalleled opportunity to experience life in a new culture.

The group also successfully completed its goal of building the relationship between the universities in Weifang and Bemidji. “This was a good way to solidify the relationship between Weifang and Bemidji State,” Lyren said. “While we were there, we hung out quite a bit with the eight Weifang students who are coming to BSU in August; that was exciting. We’re going to have them and our students who are over there working now over to our house for a big American meal this fall.

“I appreciate the university giving us this opportunity,” he said. “It really was the opportunity of a lifetime for all of us.”