Growing up in southern China, Liu Bingyao had studied yangqin for a decade before coming to study at Mount Holyoke College. She had even traveled to the US in the seventh grade to perform, but her primary focus was always on her schoolwork. Music was an extracurricular activity.

从小在中国南方长大的刘冰瑶在来曼荷莲学院之前已经学习扬琴达十年之久。她甚至在七年级时曾来过美国表演。但她主要的精力还是放在学习上，音乐只是一项课外活动。

But then last fall, she founded a college Chinese music ensemble, bringing Chinese music to South Hadley, Massachusetts.

然而，在去年秋天，她成立了一支校园中国音乐乐队，将中国音乐带到了马塞诸塞州的南哈德利镇。

The turn of events began in Liu's first semester, when she took a course in ethnomusicology and rediscovered her culture and the music of her childhood. Though she came to college expecting to study anthropology, she's now majoring in music.

事件的转变源于刘的第一个学期，那时她正在上民族音乐学课程，重拾了自己的文化和童年的音乐。尽管她最初来到学校是打算学习人类学的，但她现在主修音乐。

"My goal is to get Chinese music and Chinese instruments onto the stage to show everyone what we have,” she said. “We have something beautiful here, and I want to share it with everyone."

她说：“我的目标是将中国的音乐和乐器带到舞台上，继而向所有人展示。”“我们拥有美好的音乐，我希望能和所有人一起分享。”

Being able to study her own music in an academic setting has inspired Liu, said music professor Adrianne Greenbaum.

音乐教授阿德里安娜•戈林鲍姆（音译）表示，能够在一个学术环境中学习自己国家的音乐鼓舞了刘。

"Bingyao does not sit around waiting for opportunity to knock,” Greenbaum said. “ She learned and explored, and that’s what her education here taught her.”

戈林鲍姆说：“冰瑶不会只坐着等待机会来敲门。她会主动学习和探索，这正是这里的教育所教会她的。”

The course Liu took was taught by Olabode Festus Omojola, a professor of African music.

刘的课程是由非洲音乐学教授奥拉博德•费斯图斯•奥摩杰拉（音译）讲授。

"Ethnomusicology is about how music is part of the culture and how culture shapes music,” Liu said. “In the class, we talked about music from different parts of the world — India, Africa, Japan, Indonesia — but no one talked about Chinese music.

刘表示：“民族音乐学是关于音乐如何成为文化的一部分以及文化如何影响音乐的。在课堂上，我们讨论来自世界各地的音乐，比如，印度、非洲、日本和印度尼西亚，但是没人提及中国音乐。”

"I thought, ‘I should do something to bring this music to this area,’” she said.

她说：“我认为，我应该做点事情，将中国音乐带到这个地方。”

She turned to Omojola for assistance.

她向奥摩杰拉寻求帮助。

"She said she was thinking about setting up a Chinese ensemble, and asked whether I [thought] that would be possible,” the professor said. “I said I’d speak with the department. She was already contacting students on campus and encouraging them to bring their instruments to campus in the fall.”

这位教授表示：“她说她正考虑组建一个中国音乐乐队，向我咨询这是否可行。我回答说会和系里领导商量一下。她已经联系校园里的其它学生，并呼吁他们在秋季学期时就将乐器带到校园来。”

Although the ensemble is not for school credit, the music department was able to hire a master musician to serve as its director.

尽管组建乐队不是为了学分，但是音乐系还是请到了一名音乐大师来担任乐队指挥。

Of the ensemble's 14 members, six play the guzheng. Other students play the pipa and three kinds of Chinese flutes: bamboo, vertical and cucurbit. Liu plays the only yangqin. The ensemble now performs at campus events.

这个乐队共有14个成员，其中有6个演奏古筝，其它成员演奏琵琶以及竹笛、萧、葫芦丝这3种中国笛子，而刘只演奏扬琴。现在，这个乐队会在学校的一些活动中演出。

"Coming to Mount Holyoke, I feel like I've gotten closer to the culture I grew up with," Liu said. "Before I came here, I took it for granted. But now I have a different perspective. I can see how precious the environment I grew up in is."

刘表示，“自从来到曼荷莲学院，我感到和这一伴我成长的文化变得更为紧密。来这之前，我把它视为理所当然。但现在，我有了不同的看法，感受到了自己成长的环境是多么珍贵。”