Sophomore design (CEGR 2154) for civil engineers performed two songs in German and Japanese at their second-ever concert.
A typical day in EPIC is quiet. Engineering and computer science students go between classes or do homework, and many are there for the entire day.
On Nov. 14, civil engineering students dressed in green polos and shirts lined up in the EPIC (Energy Production and Infrastructure Center) Atrium and began to sing, first in German and then in Japanese.
The performance, “Music from the World: A Multi-Disciplinary Student Concert,” was a collaboration between UNC Charlotte’s Sophomore Design (CEGR 2154) for civil engineers, The Charlotteans Women’s Glee (MUPF 1123) and Prominent Chinese Americans (CHNS 1512) classes. Each class sang songs in different languages from around the world. The concert was a scheduled event in Charlotte’s International Education Week.
For civil engineers, the concert aimed to build collaboration, a global mindset and other necessary skills for the field.
“Everyone is surprised with the concert because engineers don’t sing. But, the reason we do this is to build teamwork,” said Dr. Shen-en Chen, professor of sophomore design. “Since the last time we did this concert, I noticed that our engineering students are better able to make teams and work together. And after my class, I also noticed many of my students sitting at the tables [in EPIC] talking and working with each other, which is good to see. They all take the same classes together, so this is important for them for more than just my class.”
The sophomore design class began practicing for the concert at the start of the fall semester and received guidance from other faculty and exchange students to learn “Die Gedanken sind Frei” and “Aiwa Kazu.”
November 2023 was the second-ever concert with civil engineering students, the first being in spring 2023.
Left to right: Dr. Yongling Gorke, Ginger Wyrick and Dr. Shen-en Chen
The idea for the concert came from Chen and Ginger Wyrick, professor and director of The Charlotteans. Dr. Yongling Gorke, assistant director for international education in the Office of International Programs, joined the second concert with her Prominent Chinese Americans class.
“This is actually the second time that the two of them [Chen and Wyrick] are doing a concert and the first time for me,” said Gorke. “This time, our three courses are going to join hands and present this mini-concert called ‘Music from the World.’ I feel very fortunate and honored to be able to work with those two because, on the one hand, they’re very experienced, and on the other hand, they’re very encouraging and motivating.”
Gorke’s Prominent Chinese Americans general education class introduces students to culture and language through engagement with Chinese culture in the United States. Gorke chose three Chinese songs for her class to perform, each in a different dialect (Mandarin, Cantonese and Hokkien).
“So unlike Dr. Chen’s class, where he focused on different regions because he’s trying to convey the importance of having a global mindset for engineers, my course very much focuses on one type of culture: Chinese culture,” said Gorke. “But I try to demonstrate that there is a lot of diversity within Chinese culture. And I want my students to see through different dialects.”
Prominent Chinese Americans (CHNS 1512) performed three Chinese songs in different dialects: Mandarin, Cantonese and Hokkien.
Gorke, a Mandarin and Cantonese speaker, helped her students pronounce the lyrics of “Rose, Rose, I love you” (Mandarin) and “Happy Every Year” (Cantonese). The Hokkien song “Strive to Win” was the most difficult to perform, but it had an important meaning.
“The third song is called ‘Strive to Win’ or ‘No Pain, No Gains’. That song originated in Taiwan, and it’s very popular in the Southeast Asian region like Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, where there are a lot of Hokkien speakers,” said Gorke. “Then, the meaning, you can probably guess from the title of the song, is about hard work and the significance of hard work in order to become successful. And I also tell my students that, you know, this song very well illustrates the spirit of the early Chinese immigrants, like other immigrants, who came to the U.S. with practically nothing. And they worked very hard to build a life here.”
The Charlotteans are UNC Charlotte’s student Women’s Glee group and focus on vocal technique and sight singing. The group is open to all female students and performs music from the Renaissance through contemporary composers.
The Charlotteans performed three songs: “Hotaru Koi” (Japanese), “Bashana Haba’ah” (Jewish) and “Bonny Wood Green” (Irish). Wyrick conducted the Women’s Glee and organized the performance of “Sarasponda,” an Irish song, where all three classes came together to sing.
The Charlotteans, directed by Ginger Wyrick, performed a Japanese, Jewish and Irish song at the multi-disciplinary concert.
Wyrick has previously worked with the Office of International Programs to teach music in cross-cultural environments.
“[Wyrick] taught one of our music residential programs for Tohoku University in Japan, I believe, in 2021,” said Gorke. “At that time, Tohoku University wanted to do a music program, and we invited Professor Wyrick to teach for us. And so since then, she’s, you know, very supportive and very committed to cross-cultural learning. It’s not a coincidence that these two very dedicated, very motivated faculty members [Wyrick and Chen] joined hands in creating this concert.”
Chen, Wyrick and Gorke met at the Global Learning and Internationalization Institute (GLII), where Chen and Wyrick participated in the 2022 inaugural cohort. Gorke serves as a member of the GLII organizational committee as a part of the roles within the Office of International Programs.
GLII is an annual faculty development initiative focused on supporting faculty in the internationalization of their teaching and curriculum. Faculty involved in the initiative are encouraged to create “international/global learning experiences and opportunities for all students on campus and abroad.”
“It is essential to provide our faculty with development opportunities and resources that support them in integrating global learning and intercultural competence considerations in their teaching and course design. UNC Charlotte is incredibly fortunate to have such engaged faculty committed to advancing the internationalization of their teaching, engagement and research,” said Joël Gallegos, associate provost for international programs at the Office of International Programs, following the inaugural GLII initiative in May 2022.
While GLII does not directly interface with students, the goal is to reach students through the work done by faculty.
“A lot of our faculty have an interest in wanting to be more global. They want to internationalize their teaching,” said Gorke. “Some of them already have an international footprint, like they go to conferences and have collaborators across the world. But one important aspect is how you can turn your international experience or relationship with different academic colleagues into your classroom in a way that benefits the students. This is one very important aspect of GLII. We give faculty members some tools and theoretical framework, but also homework to think about how their course can be internationalized. What module would you change, or what content would you add.”
GLII came out of the Office of International Programs to support the University’s Strategic Plan 2021-2031, “Shaping What’s Next,” and working towards becoming a top-tier research institution.