Six graduate students and four faculty members traveled to Guangzhou in southern China March 9-21 to help the South China University of Technology establish a chamber music program.

While students at the China university focus on preparing for solo careers, not all are familiar with Western chamber music. The UNT team led workshops, master classes and concerts to teach students about ensemble performance and collaboration between players, and chamber music in particular. The group also brought along $5,000 worth of music as a gift to the Chinese students and faculty to start a chamber music library at the university.

UNT faculty members Susan Dubois, Nikola Ruzevic and Terri Sundberg worked closely with the China university’s faculty members, while the UNT students shared their expertise with their counterparts on the South China campus. The UNT student group consisted of the Bancroft String Quartet — made up of doctoral students Michelle Paczut on viola, Szemoke Jobbagy on violin, Ross Gasworth on cello and master’s student Samuel Park on violin — and doctoral students Reuben Allred on piano and Kellie Quijano (’03 M.M.) on clarinet. The project was directed by Gene Cho, professor of theory and ethnomusicology.

The residency was made possible by a $30,000 grant from the U.S. State Department, Cultural Affairs Division.

Read about their experience in China and view photos from the trip >>