Retired Chinese Workers, Musical Education, and Participant-Observation in The Beijing Sunshine Wind Band Art Troupe

Abstract

The Beijing Sunshine Wind Band performs in community concerts in Beijing year round. The band began in 2007, founded by Lin Yi and her husband Zhao Yinglin. Lin Yi underwent cancer surgery in 1995 and recovered to form the band of around 100 retirees. Members begin musical training in retirement, and as adult learners practice hours gaining musical profi ciency. The music is Chinese and in jianpu numerical notation, but all of their instruments are Western woodwinds, brass, and percussion. The band performs at national events, museums and libraries, and toured Taiwan, Korea, Hong Kong, and Macau. Concert bands are civilian versions of military bands. Their marches include “The People’s Liberation Army March,” and lyrical songs such as “My Country” from a 1956 fi lm. Their performances draw revolutionary sentiments in suites such as The Red Detachment of Women, and the band performs songs from post-Mao decades, such as “Dare to Ask the Way,” from the television series Journey to the West. Trevor Herbert stated that concert bands serve communities as “rational recreation.” The goal of this article is show how a Chinese national concert band reached and created healthy lifestyles for retired workers recovering from cancer and other disabilities.