It’s Time to Celebrate My Culture

I had always thought that I could sing songs only for my friends, that was it.

And when I came to Australia nine years ago, the early conversations that I had with a few locals made me believe my sharing circle might become even smaller.

“Have you ever listened to any Chinese music?”

“No, because I can’t understand what they are singing.”

Hearing that made me feel sad.

But now, guess what? I have done four performances so far since this July and I have 3 more lined up. What a change!

That’s why I am here. I want to share with you my growth and three special moments, hoping in the end, we can all celebrate our unique cultural identities together. I discovered this through my singing journey. So, with thanks to the people I encountered along the way, let’s first turn the clock back to a music festival that I went to last year.

Moment 1

At that time, I was at a very low point. I wasn’t interested in anything much. One of the main reasons, I guess, is self-realisation. I felt stuck about my personal worth and direction in life. I had always heard people saying that we all have our special qualities or callings to bring to this world. I thought mine was media, so I had been trying so hard: spending hours and hours at home, editing interviews for my podcast Inspirations in My Backyard, doing a community radio show Songcatcher, and writing my blog Qian’s Aussie Diary. But, in return, I hadn’t received many responses. Also, I started to lose interest in doing all those things, especially my podcast. It felt only like pure hard work. I became very desperate and confused, almost losing hope in life.

That realisation forced me to start to search again.

One day, on the way back from a writing retreat, Rose, one of my writing friends at the Norwood Writing Club, asked me what I liked to do in daily life. “Singing and listening to music,” I told her.

“What kind of music?” she asked.

“Pop, folk, traditional, country, acoustic, and bluegrass.”

“Oh, there’s a bluegrass festival called Wirrina Bluegrass Festival, maybe you should check it out,” she suggested.

So I went.

Not only that, to challenge myself and save money, I had volunteered to be an MC. I am so glad I did that because the friends that I made through MCing led me to a new path.

But, back to the festival, I had noticed there was an Open Mic session. People wrote down their names to sing and that interested me. But… there’s always a But.

I had never sung at a music festival in Australia before. Scary. Also, I could only sing Chinese songs, so people might not be interested, as they couldn’t understand the lyrics.

So, I told Caz and Thea, two of the organisers of this festival, about my hesitation.

“No,” they urged. “You shouldn’t worry about that. Wirrina Festival is all about community and we love world music. Please, please do it.”

After pondering a bit more, I talked to myself, “Qian, it looks like there will be only a very small crowd and no one knows you are here. So, give it a shot.”

Ok. That Sunday afternoon, I went to the session tent. Looking around, there were only five people sitting there. What a relief. But interestingly, at the same time, some part of me felt a bit disappointed. Aren’t we complicated human beings? Maybe, deep in my heart, I wanted to share my music and talent with people. Anyway, it’s a great practice opportunity. “Always start small,” I told myself.

To make sure I wouldn’t forget the lyrics, I decided to bring my phone with me to the microphone. So, during my singing session, I was looking at my phone most of the time, which didn’t feel too bad. I even noticed a familiar feeling coming inside. It was like the times that I sang songs to my friends during our class break at school all those years ago.

So did the audience like my performance? Yes, they did. They smiled and applauded. Moreover, in the audience, a pleasant surprise arrived. I saw the guy whom I met only a few hours ago appeared halfway through my performance and stayed till the end. He clapped as well, looking very genuine. He was also a musician, and I felt a tiny attraction toward him. That’s why I didn’t have many interactions with any of the other people afterwards. I just walked straight to him after I finished my singing. That was a sweet moment, even till now.

After the festival, Chris whom I met at the festival contacted me, “Hi Qian, I think you should come to this open mic at the Palmer Hotel, because I believe the musicians there will be very interested in hearing your Chinese music, especially the traditional tunes. And I could accompany you with my mandolin if you like.”

Musicians. Wow, that would be a good testing time. But with accompaniment? I felt nervous because I’d never done that before. Yet at the same time, I was also curious. So, the challenge was accepted again.

Moment 2

The session was held in the hotel’s back garden, with lots of trees and flowers surrounded. I felt freedom. This time the crowd was bigger, around 20-30 people. After listening to a few songs, we walked away for our rehearsal. But Chris's mandolin didn’t feel like a right fit for the songs that I wanted to perform. I also didn't know the universe might have a different plan.

When we were walking back to the venue, feeling a bit down, David, a friend of Chris’s, offered to accompany me after hearing out attempt. He told me he had always done that for his partner.

But it was only an hour away from my turn, and I felt it was a bit risky. However, thinking he was a very experienced musician, I accepted his offer. This was a casual performance anyway. So, we walked to a bus shelter and started our rehearsal.

I was glad I did. Maybe that was the reward for being fearless.

Our performance went very smoothly, which was beyond my expectation. Because when I was at school and university, I always couldn’t sing well with the accompaniment music. Feeling the need to compromise my singing just stressed me out.

Also, this time I had more mental space to talk to the audience afterwards. The feedback really warmed my heart, from both the audience and performing musicians, “Thank you so much for your singing and sharing the music and culture from your country with us.”

“You were so charming when singing on the stage.”

“What a wonderful ending for this afternoon’s open mic session.”

“You are the highlight today. You should come to tonight’s jam session.”

Wow, another invitation. These made me wonder, “Maybe singing Chinese songs is something special that I can offer in Australia.” And the jam session gave me more affirmation.

It was in early January, but still a bit chilly. A full moon gave the night a peaceful touch.

The location was on the grassland, close to an oval. People were sitting in a circle on their camp chairs and holding different instruments under the moon. They were all wrapped up but looked very relaxed and happy. Looking at myself, I didn’t have any instruments with me, and I only started to learn to play the piano a few months ago, so straight away I felt very unqualified.

While I was deep in thought, one person suggested, “Qian, help yourself to these snacks and fruit.” That welcoming tone made me feel relaxed. Hearing I hadn’t had anything to eat yet, Liz, another lady quickly rose up to her car and started to prepare pancakes for me.

“Let’s sing something related to the moon because today’s moon is bright and beautiful,” a person sitting opposite me proposed. Everyone agreed and started to take turns sharing and singing.

I hadn’t heard of any of those songs before, but it was lovely to have a music education moment.

Good time always passes quickly. Too soon, it was time to leave.

“No, you can’t leave right now,” someone sang out, with a hint of firmness.

“Ah?”

“Because you haven’t shared your song yet. Sing us a Chinese song about the moon please.”

Ah, sure. It turned out to be a music request. People wanted to hear my singing and music from my country. That was very cute and special. After a few seconds, I picked this one, 月亮代表我的心 (My Heart is as True as the Moon), a classic Chinese song.

It was so quiet; I could only hear my singing voice. When I finished singing, another round of applause followed. Then you could hear me humming the tune all the way back home.

So, what more can I do？

Moment 3

I went to a bigger festival, the National Folk Festival in Canberra. While I was MCing, one of the performers asked me, out of the blue, “Can you sing us a few lines of a Chinese song?” Sure, I did. And afterwards, two strangers came to me, “You should do something about it. Have a Chinese culture immersion session through music and storytelling. Because at the major festivals, people are curious about Chinese music, but there is not much presence. You can fill the gap.”

So, when I got back to Adelaide, I thought of forming a Chinese band. Introducing traditional Chinese musical instruments and sharing Chinese songs. But the journey hasn’t been that easy. Now, I am open to all the instruments. So, if you know anyone who might be interested in joining my band, please do let me know.

Also, I contacted the City of Adelaide Council and the City of Burnside to have a cultural celebration for (中秋节) Mid-Autumn Festival, the second most important festival celebrated in Chinese culture. I told them I could sing, read a poem, tell a couple of stories, and do some cultural quizzes around this festival. And they liked the idea. So, I did two in one day, one for each council and the audience loved them.

Did I feel nervous? Of course. It was my first time, but I had a fundamental belief to support me and assure me, “In Australia, people love seeing different cultures. What I am going to do is just be there to share my culture, like what I have always been doing. So, I am actually doing everyone a favour. That’s the best place to start!”

Therefore, I have a vision now: “I want to inspire more people to do what I am doing. If we can all share something about our own cultures, wouldn’t that be beautiful?”