Manger School Brass Band celebrating Children’s Day in Shanghai

School brass bands have a long history in Norway and compared to its small population, Norway is the country in the world with most active brass band players. School brass bands are also indispensable elements of every Norwegian Constitutional Day celebration. With this in mind is it not surprising that Norway at Expo was very happy to have Manger School Brass Band aboard for the celebration of Norway’s own day at Shanghai World Expo – The Norwegian Pavilion Day.

The 36 band members, aging 12-19 years, had an intense but exciting schedule in Shanghai. And the experiences from China definitely made a deep impression on the Norwegian kids and gave them an experience of a lifetime.

The Norwegian Pavilion Day on May 28 was celebrated with an exciting cultural program and visits from many prominent guests. To perform the Norwegian National Anthem at the official flag raising ceremony in honour of HRH Crown Prince Haakon of Norway was therefore a natural highlight of the trip. Every other country’s national anthems are performed by a Chinese military brass band and it was something quite exceptional that Manger School Brass Band was given this honourable task.

Europe Square on the Expo Site was the location for their next big performance, and the band demonstrated once again why it is considered one of the best brass bands in Norway and Europe, Their fun and lively performance was definitely something that caught the Chinese audience attention. Both Chinese national media CCTV and Dragon TV were there to cover the occasion. The performance was followed by a parade down the main street on the Expo site, with thousands of people gathering on both sides of the avenue to get a glimpse of their new Norwegian favorites.

The band’s two performances on International Children’s Day on June 1 were also followed with great interest from Chinese music lovers.  A total of 1,500 spectators had found their way to the venues located on the Puxi side of the Huangpu River, and broad coverage from Chinese media was a pleasant surprise for the Norwegian youths.

Before heading back to Norway, Manger School Brass Band also had the chance to interact with like-minded local kids at Chao Chun Elementary School. This workshop proved to be a perfect occasion for learning and cross-cultural exchange.