The following post was written by Brian “Raydar” Ellis of the Ensemble Department, who is among the faculty, students, and Office of Admissions staff traveling in China to promote Berklee’s auditions and interviews. This marks the first time Berklee has sent a student ensemble to China.

Wow! What an experience this has been so far!  The people have been so nice. The food, so unique and flavorful…the architecture, inspiring and innovative.  And oh yeah, the music is pretty cool, too.

We’ve been in China almost a week, and have had the opportunity to share musical culture with some incredibly talented people.  The other day, we performed and lectured at Minzu University.  In between our sets, Chinese musicians played selections representing their proud history.  You can really hear the beauty of many centuries passed along in song.  We were honored to be able to trade styles back and forth with each other.

Brian "Raydar" Ellis, far left, and Stephen Webber with students, from left to right, Vanessa, Aries, and Nick.

Today we will play a concert at Dulwich College, which seems to be a school full of geniuses.  Stephen [Webber], the students (Aries, Vanessa, and Nick), and I held some workshops there the other day, which was a LOT of fun, but today we’re looking forward to getting down!

We’ll be back with more pics and updates, so ’til then…stay tuned!