Hopkins-Nanjing Center Student Band

Student blogger Sam Olson, Master of Arts in International Studies ’20, introduces the student band and discusses how it adds to the student experience and the Hopkins-Nanjing Center’s mission.

 Band playing at the Mid -Autumn Festival barbeque

Outside of the classroom, the Hopkins-Nanjing Center hosts a variety of student groups that enrich student life, such as basketball, the dragon boat team, and moot court. Although maybe not as well-known as some of the other groups, one activity in particular that enhances the student experience and reinforces the Hopkins-Nanjing Center’s cross-cultural environment is the student band.

To get a better picture of the student band, I talked with Sam Smith (MAIS ’19, Energy, Resources and the Environment) who has been a member of the band for the since last year. Sam said that at its core, the band is a way for Chinese and international students with a shared passion in music to come together to relax, build camaraderie, and have fun. Although some students bring their own instruments, the Hopkins-Nanjing Center provides some equipment as well, including a drum set, bass and electric guitars, keyboards, and microphones. Throughout the year, the band plays at student events, such as the Mid-Autumn Festival barbeque, Halloween Party, New Year’s Party, and end-of-year spring barbeque. In addition to events at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center, the band sometimes volunteers to play at local clubs in Nanjing. Once, Sam said the band even got an invitation to play in Shanghai!

 

Aside from providing entertainment for the community and around Nanjing, the band also facilitates cross-cultural interaction in several ways. For instance, the band strives to have a strong representation of Chinese and international students and provides groups the opportunity to play in front of crowds and teach each other how to play a variety of instruments. The band also integrates this into the music they play. “We want our sound to be as unique as the Hopkins-Nanjing Center,” Sam emphasized in our talk. One avenue that he is exploring to further this goal is by incorporating more Chinese instruments into performances, as well as experimenting with using traditional Chinese instruments to play popular Western songs, and vice versa.

Overall, the band is an important avenue for cross-cultural engagement outside of the classroom. I encourage all students to join a student group or activity during their time in Nanjing. It not only provides a break from studying, but also is an unparalleled opportunity to engage with the Hopkins-Nanjing Center’s bilingual, multicultural community. One of the Hopkins-Nanjing Center’s strengths is that its unique environment takes what would be an ordinary group at any other institution and transforms it into an opportunity for cross-cultural learning and enrichment.

Written by Samuel Olson, Master of Arts in International Studies ’20