Chinese Music School Sees Amazing Growth, Training New Generation of Worship Musicians
"I think...[our school] is different from other music schools. It is not because [we had] exquisite skills or much intelligence, but the biggest difference is that there was love. There was real acceptance and encouragement, and the real presence of God."
(China)—A Chinese Christian composer, given the moniker "John" for security reasons, opened a music school in Beijing in 2000, and has seen "amazing growth" since then. He says he hopes to see his students mature into China's newest generation of Christian musicians, saying the school remains to "train young worship leaders for house churches" so that "the holy music of churches will get developed...and attract more people to come in." Students, he says, come from virtually every corner of China and often perform around the world.
As reported in the Christian Post, in 2005 John brought his prodigies to Singapore to perform before an audience of ten thousand people. Eight hundred people at the concert later became believers.
"I think...[our school] is different from other music schools," a soprano named Ning later recalled. "It is not because [we had] exquisite skills or much intelligence, but the biggest difference is that there was love. There was real acceptance and encouragement, and the real presence of God."
"Because of...[the school] I began to desire to seek the Lord and make a relationship with Him; that's the biggest benefit for me," said a female student.
According to the article, favorite selections at the concert include the Canaan hymns—hymns commonly sung in house churches through China, entirely composed by a musically-illiterate peasant girl named Xiao Min.
