Music Teacher’s Dedication to Education

Wang Zhen

The 45-year-old Zen Guanghai is a music teacher. He is now taking a doctoral course at Kharkov State Normal University in Ukraine. With a dedication to music， he works hard to communicate love， Chinese culture through his undertakings. The following are some highlights of his colorful music teaching career.

1

As soon as he started his doctoral study at the normal university， he went to see the principal. He proposed to offer a free series of lectures on Chinese music to students. The principal hesitated. Such a proposal was unprecedented. Zen promised that he would give lectures in his private time and his studies would not be affected and the lectures would be open to all who were interested. He was given a small classroom that could seat about dozens of people. But as soon as his series began， undergraduates， graduates and doctoral candidates on the campus were attracted. They flooded in to hear the lectures and hear the Chinese music. The principal attended one of the lectures and gave Zen Guanghai a more spacious classroom for the Chinese music lectures.

Zen Guanghai conducts a traditional Chinese orchestra。

Zen did not offer his lectures on the spur of the moment. Before he set out on his journey to Ukraine， he had made thorough preparations. In addition to preparing a repertoire， he undertook a crash course on oral English. He got up at four oclock every morning to memorize English words as well as a glossary of music terms. And he did not go to bed until midnight. He and his wife talked to each other in English. Half a year later， he became fluent in English.

The lectures on Chinese music were extremely popular on the campus. And these lectures opened a window on China and， after attending a lecture or two， some students hit upon the idea of going to China for further education.

2

One day in 2009 Zen Guanghai， then a music teacher in Taian， Shandong Province in eastern China， went through a village called Tianwai at the foot of Mount Tai. On the village square， a group of seniors were singing in a large pavilion. Zen stopped and listened until the group finished singing. Zen approached the leader of the group and introduced himself and offered that he could make the village chorus better. The seniors were happy to have such a warm-hearted teacher to teach them the vocal essentials and the art of singing together. Before long， the village seniors sang splendidly.

3

In 2011， Zen became a graduate student at East China Normal University based in Shanghai. He was the oldest graduate student in the course and the only student who had two supervisors： one in composition and one in vocal. After graduation in 2014， Zen Guanghai got a job offer from Hengdian Collage of Film & Television. It was in Hengdian that he helped a child through music.

The 8-year-old Ge Zichen was unable to move his left arm and left leg due to apoplexy that had hit him hard. He could hardly speak and he couldnt play the piano which he had been studying before the apoplexy. The scar from the surgery on his head looked terrible. Doctors suggested a music therapy， but no music teacher would take him. When Zeng came to Hengdian， he was approached. Zen brought the boy in and taught him wholeheartedly. The boy spent three months learning a song. After six months， Ge Zichen was able to speak and laugh. After one year of taking vocal lessons from Zen， the boy was back to school. Now he has already passed the level-7 vocalist test designed for children.

4

In February 2018， Zeng quit from the college and became a vocal teacher at Zhejiang Disabled People Art Troupe. His parents strongly objected to his resignation from a respectful and stable job， saying the family had put all the resources in him and now he gave up the good job at the college. He convinced his parents that it was a noble work. The troupe has made special arrangements so that he can finish the doctoral study in Ukraine and that he can work a theoretical research project for the troupe. Zen is not alone in dedicating his time and energy to the cause of making life better for disabled people. “So many teachers here are dedicated to the special education for the physically challenged people. These events and people are a tremendous force that attracts me. Otherwise， how can I identify with them and work with them？” explains Zen in an interview with us.

For Zen， the doctoral study is not at all for professional qualification or honor. During his study in Ukraine， he has not only given free lectures on Chinese music but also has found time to visit schools and institutions for the physically challenged in Ukraine. He wants to gain experience and insight.