Music education for disadvantaged children

The Liszt Institute in Beijing has had enjoyed a remarkably fruitful relationship with the Chinese Sunshine Foundation, which helps improve educational means for children of rural guest workers living in poor conditions. As such, we launched a special project this school year. A choir was formed, led by our Kodály Pont instructors in two schools, teaching the children of guest workers from the countryside, later recorded and broadcast in the form of a documentary in Chinese media outlets. According to the plans, significant changes in the musical development of children can be predicted as early as a year after the project begins, as a result of Kodály method used by the Liszt Institute. In addition to musical development, healthy spiritual development of children is also strongly promoted, with integration into the community also being a key topic during choir sessions. As developing choir classes is one of the newly set state guidelines, the Chinese authorities have launched arts education in several schools and foundations, an initiative in which the Beijing Liszt Institute has taken a lion’s share.