I thought the trip was going to be a pleasant week-long break from a school year that lasts a good two months longer than it does in the West. However, a day before the gigantic chorus was to begin rehearsing "Gloria all Egitto" from Act II of Verdi's opera Aida, I was asked to teach them to sing in Italian and to help prepare them musically as well.

Fortunately, the students, the vast majority of whom had never spoken one word of Italian, absorbed the language amazingly quickly. And I was glad to have contributed something to the fine concert that followed, especially since I had my room, board, and airfare all covered by the schools! This was something I could not imagine occurring in America.

The finest thing about the festival, however, might not have been the great music, shopping, scenery, cooler-than-Beijing temperatures, or even the scrumptious seafood. While the music students were making fine music together they were also making new friends and learning about other people's culture.

I myself met music students from Xinjiang and the cities of Wuhan and Guangzhou that I continue to communicate with. It was interesting how much this experience was a smaller version of the 2008 Games it was supposed to anticipate.

I was also amazed at how open all these students were to one another's differences: Muslims, Buddhists, Taoists, Christians, and Jews shared the stage on several occasions.

It is showing an appreciation for the huge diversity of its enormous population.

Jesse Weiner studies conducting at the Central Conservatory of Music

(China Daily HK Edition August 20, 2002)