Introduction

Aimusic.us is an American government-awarded arts institution, giving music performances, classes, and international festival in San Jose, California. Starting from the artistic director Gordon Lee’s studio in 1994 and as Firebird Youth Chinese Orchestra (FYCO) in 2000, Aimusic promotes Chinese heritage as an integral part of Silicon Valley’s multicultural fabric by training students to play traditional instruments, share their musical gifts with the community, and develop a life-long appreciation for the vital role of arts.

Teamwork is the foundation for Aimusic.us pursuing its art goals. Members help each other especially when encountering great challenges and difficulties. On March 11, 2020, The White House declared that Santa Clara was one of two most serious counties suffering from Coronavirus in the nation. Within only three days, all classes were smoothly transferred from on campus to the internet without missing a single activity. There were many hours of intense communication and coordination among sectors after the city shut-down notice. Despite the steep learning curve, staff, teachers, parents, and students worked together with a community spirit to develop the best solution possible.

Serving the community is Aimusic’s responsibility. Before the pandemic, more than 40 performances were held at public schools, libraries, city halls, community centers, senior homes, cultural organizations, and high tech companies in Northern California every year. Since the pandemic, more than ten community performances continued to be held online each year. The music performed includes Chinese classical, folksongs, regional operas (Xiqu), musical storytelling (Quyi), Buddhist, Taoist, and court music. For more than a century, imitations of Western music have gradually taken away the stage from traditional music. This increasing difficulty of identifying authentic cultural heritage begs for the conscientious artists to preserve and pass on the true traditions.

Being authentic and natural is the artistic pursuit of Aimusic. No matter in a concert hall or a gymnasium, all solo, ensemble, and orchestra performances are done in natural sound. In 2010, Gordon’s commissioned symphonic suite for the Erhu, Pipa, and Sheng Young Impressions of the Old City was premièred, an arguable first for Chinese solo instruments to play with the Western orchestra without using amplifiers. Natural sound performance requires strong skills. For decades, Aimusic has pursued scientific performing techniques to produce relaxed and crystal clear, but penetrating sounds. Teachers’ seminars are held regularly so wind, string, and plucked instrument artists share their experiences and improve together. Online classes and meetings have made it even easier for the teachers to exchange ideas and learn from each other.

Integrity and fairness are the standards of Aimusic’s conducts. Board of trustees are mostly parents of FYCO graduates. They have witnessed tough challenges for the organization over the years, and helped Aimusic overcome the difficulties one after another. The board is considerate towards the students and their families by making the tuition far below almost all music classes and youth orchestras in the San Francisco Bay Area. In musical instrument classes, teaching artists provide every student with equal educational opportunities, while the online ensemble classes further expand the possibilities of personalized learning and performing. In 2008, Aimusic established a scholarship system, which is transparent and fair from application to review. The education not only cultivates students’ artistic talents, but also hone their critical thinking ability, independent personality, cooperation level, and leadership skills. The unique perspectives and experiences from the program have enabled many high school graduates to enter their ideal universities as desired. Some even formed their own Chinese music groups on campus, spreading the Aimusic- FYCO spirit far and wide.

Thanks to its uniqueness and integrity, Aimusic.us has been the 1st minority group to play the American National Anthem at an NBA game, the 1st Chinese orchestra from the West to visit China and Taiwan, the 1st Asian cultural group holding an annual international arts festival to celebrate the Chinese music heritage especially during the pandemic, and the 1st youth group to collaborate with various symphony orchestras in California. Aimusic is one of the very few Asian-American cultural groups that receive awards from the government up to the federal level. Arts Council Silicon Valley proclaimed Aimusic as a “local treasure,” and National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) praised the program as “one of the very few ensembles in the United States dedicated to educating young people, their families and communities through traditional Chinese music, and is carrying out its mission with great success.” Aimusic-FYCO is featured on newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations like ABC, NBC, KQED, KTSF, KICU, KTEH, CCTV, Hong Kong Phoenix, Taiwan United News, and Phoenix North America.

Mission

Aimusic is dedicated to celebrate and preserve rich musical heritage of China; contribute to the multicultural artistic diversity of the region; and nurture students with a loving heart to serve others with traditional music.