【Approaching the artist】
Guangming Daily reporter Zhang Yun
Wang Hongbo bright pictures
As an opera actor, he is Fernando in “Women’s Heart” and “The White Fool” in “The Wilderness”. As an opera vocal director, he participated in the creation of many opera works such as “The Poems of Mulan”, “The White-Haired Girl”, “Little Erhei’s Marriage”, “Yimeng Mountain” and “The Story of Ma Xiangyang Going to the Countryside”. He can understand the pain of having a dream that cannot be fulfilled, so instead of a lively stage, he finally chose a deserted podium – to be a guiding light and a stepping stone for young people who have music dreams, and let his artistic life teach and Learn to bloom in the interaction.
He used to be a schoolboy who was full of endless yearning for music, and he had endured hardships and hardships for his music dream; he once ignited his artistic dream, but at the crossroads of his life, he chose a three-footed podium. I have devoted myself to educating people for 20 years, and my love is full of fragrance. While diligently exploring the true meaning of art, he also engraved an oath of no regrets in art education. He is Wang Hongbo, a tenor, vocal educator, professor and doctoral supervisor at the China Conservatory of Music.
Wang Hongbo likes to sing since he was a child. “The Boatman’s Number”, “Little Poplar”, and “The Legend of Wooden Fish Stone”, one after another of the classic songs, he will come with his mouth open, and he can easily win the championship every time in the campus singer competition. The seeds of art were planted in Wang Hongbo’s heart. He was determined to become a singing artist when he grew up.
The young Wang Hongbo came from an average family, his parents were laid off, and his life was tight. After graduating from high school, Wang Hongbo left his hometown and went to Beijing to take the art exam alone, but he was repeatedly dropped due to his weak vocal foundation. Frustration did not overwhelm this boy who loves to sing. In order to make up for the shortcomings of vocal music knowledge, he started a cram school in Beijing. Without a place to live, he rented a shed for 30 yuan a month next to the school; without living expenses, he worked odd jobs and set up street stalls. After four years of hard work, he was admitted to the Voice and Song Department of the Central Conservatory of Music with the tenor first place.
Although he entered the university as he wished, compared with those students who were admitted from the high school attached to the Conservatory of Music, playing the piano became Wang Hongbo’s weakness. The teacher described his hands as “like wooden sticks”. In order to catch up, as long as there is no class, Wang Hongbo practiced in the piano room, and even his fingers were beating in his sleep. Looking back at the bumpy study experience, all the hardships, sins, and detours that I have gone through are precious treasures in Wang Hongbo’s view.
The attraction of the stage is huge for everyone who studies music, and it is the dream of students of the Conservatory of Music to be able to release their talents on the vast stage. However, Wang Hongbo, who had already stood in the center of the stage, finally chose the three-foot podium. He said: “My road to study was not easy, and I can feel the pain of having dreams but not being able to realize them. I am willing to be a guiding light and a stepping stone for young students who have music dreams, so that my artistic life can be The interaction between teaching and learning is extended.”
In the piano room No. 236 of the Voice and Song Department of the China Conservatory of Music, Wang Hongbo has more than 40 lessons a week. From eight in the morning to nine in the evening, his class schedule was packed, and he could only take a nap at noon. Facing the full workload, he did not feel tired at all, but immersed and enjoyed it. Every growth and progress of the students made him feel very happy. “Every student is my child. In order for them to learn and earn, I have to pay more.” He wrote in a circle of friends. Wang Hongbo’s requirement for himself is to “be a teacher who understands”. The so-called “understanding” means that when guiding students, they can not only point out problems, but also solve problems, and guide students to “sing for love”.
Due to the very bumpy personal experience of studying, Wang Hongbo empathized with the helplessness of some students who had no way to study. After more than 20 years of teaching practice, Wang Hongbo has explored a scientific way of vocal music education, instructing groups of young students and solving problems.
In Wang Hongbo’s view, “sound” in vocal music is technology, and “music” is self-cultivation, both of which are equally important. In teaching, he repeatedly emphasized that on the one hand, we must build a solid foundation, and we should not always think about taking shortcuts or innovating for innovation; on the other hand, all technologies serve emotions and works, and the best vocal works must be emotional And rich, full of flavor. Wang Hongbo pointed out that in order to achieve such an effect, singers must not only have basic musical theoretical accomplishments, but also have corresponding humanistic knowledge reserves, so that the songs they sing can avoid “a thousand songs” and “a thousand songs blindly”.
“I think about vocal music every day, and I am very excited every time I see the students’ progress.” Wang Hongbo likened the teaching of vocal music to making sculptures. A teacher is like a sculptor. If you want to carve a good work, not only the material must be good, but the sculptor must also have the skill.
In recent years, in addition to preaching, teaching and solving doubts, Wang Hongbo has also appeared on various stages many times to practice the educational concept of “serving national art” with actions. When recording “Father’s Eyes”, he choked up several times and talked about his gratitude and longing for his father; in order to sing the theme song “Relying on the Soul” of the TV series “The People’s Prosecutor”, he conducted in-depth research and humbly asked for advice. With his singing, he vividly showed the dedication and responsibility of the prosecutor’s group; when he sang “Sail Away”, he sang for the new era with a vast and majestic voice and unmarked interpretation… In addition, “When the Maple Leaf Turns Red” The catchy melodies such as “Landscape Love”, “Health is Blessing”, “The Most Beautiful World“, “Thinking about the Red Beach”, “Chinese Spring” and “Mother is Like a Flower” also left a good memory in the hearts of the audience.
Time goes by, but the original intention does not change. Every short transition between the podium and the stage made Wang Hongbo more persistent in his choice, and it also gave him a deeper feeling for the development of Chinese folk music: using vocal music as the carrier, using scientific, high-quality, contagious good voice In order to inherit and develop the excellent traditional Chinese culture, and then tell Chinese stories well, let Chinese culture go to the world.
“I have been doing this all my life, devoting all my energy to teaching vocal music, hoping to light up the road of art for children who have music dreams.” Speaking of this, Wang Hongbo’s face was filled with a happy smile, his eyes twinkling. With a firm light. This is not only his sincere promise to the years, but also his warm encouragement to those aspiring young people who are about to embark on a musical journey.
“Guangming Daily” (page 13 on March 30, 2022)
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责编：孙宗鹤 ]