Zhang Qian

    zhqcindy@163.com

    A concert was organized at the Chinese University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen at the university’s campus in Longgang District last Friday as the school’s way of saying thank you to the community, with municipal and district leaders, principals from key schools, CUHK alumni, parents and students in attendance.

    The concert was a mix of Chinese and Western classics and popular music. Performers were composed of several different choirs, including a choir from Hongling Middle School, the CUHK-SZ student choir, a staff choir and an orchestra from the university. The concert began with a chorus comprised of all four groups.

    According to Xu Yangsheng, president of CUHK-SZ, the concert was put on to show the university’s gratitude for all the sponsors that support the students through scholarships. Nearly a quarter of CUHK-SZ’s student body receives scholarships.

    Xu said that without the donations and other forms of support from the community, many students from needy families would not be able to come to Shenzhen from remote areas and pursue their dreams.

    Following the opening song, a well-known organist, Fan Zhaoxin, played the pipe organ. Fan broke a world record by playing the classic song “Flight of the Bumblebee” in only 73 seconds earlier this year.

    A group of talented students from the university opened the second half of the concert by creatively performing a medley of English pop songs such as “Just the way you are” and “A thousand years.”

    The university also invited Alan Tam, one of the most famous and influential singers in Hong Kong, to the concert. Tam sang two of his most well-known songs in Cantonese and led a choir in singing a song of friendship at the end of the concert.

    It has been more than a year since the Chinese University of Hong Kong set up the Shenzhen campus and started recruiting students. The university now has more than 1,000 undergraduate and graduate students from all around the China and other countries.