A musical journey from China to Mexico to Tucson to Arkansas

Proving that music builds bridges across oceans, Chinese violist Tiezheng Shen lives in Tucson and teaches classical viola music to Mexican students in central Arkansas.

Shen (since moving to the U.S., he goes by his surname for simplicity), graduated from the University of Arizona in August with a master’s degree and Doctoral of Music Arts degree. He works as a sound engineer at MindPlay, a Tucson-based educational software company. He has about 10 students ranging from elementary to high school age at a private Tucson studio, and also is an adjunct viola professor and recording studio manager at his alma mater, the University of Central Arkansas.

Every two weeks, Shen travels from Tucson to UCA to teach Elizabeth Calixto Muñoz (Ely) and Maria Paulina Casa González (Paulina), two Mexican students on full scholarship at the university. While the students are studying in the United States, their dedication to furthering their music studies elevates the Arkansas music program, said Stephen Plate, chair of the UCA music department

“When we have students (like Ely and Paulina) they are also increasing us ... They already were world-class students, and Shen has a lot with them coming along before they got here,” Plate said.

For Shen, his professorship is a full-circle life moment, as he is extending the same opportunities that were afforded to him 15 years ago when Israel “Izzy” Getzov, professor of music and director of orchestras at Arkansas, brought him from Shanghai, China, for higher learning.

Beyond borders

Conway, Arkansas, a town of 60,000 residents, may seem like an improbable place for foreign artists to thrive. But as Getzov points out, it’s the very premise of how music is passed on: through time and across continents.

“It’s an art form you have to pay forward,” Getzov said. “To get the opportunity to inspire young people in a way we were inspired through music is something very special, and intergenerational and international. It’s the meaning of music.”

Shen met Ely and Paulina through his annual trips to Mexico City. What started as an invitation from Maestro Angel Medina of Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México to teach master classes and perform as a guest artist for students who could not afford international travel, quickly evolved into ViolaVoice, the largest international viola festival in Central and South America.

Shen admits he was initially wary of traveling to Mexico; the nightly news painted a mixed picture of travel across the southern border, and he was worried about the language barrier. But his preconceptions vanished when Medina met him at the airport. From that moment to departure, Medina, his family, and his friends welcomed Shen with a spirit of, “Mi casa es su casa,’’ or “my house is your house.”

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Shen considers his master classes the most rewarding part of his trips. While they were supposed to be by-appointment-only, and last a couple hours in the afternoon, Shen extended the sessions for any students who wanted a consultation after noticing the personal sacrifices many artists took to attend his classes.

The term “struggling artists” took on a new meaning to him, as he witnessed his Central and South American friends endure financial hardship to pursue music professionally. One student rode an eight-hour overnight bus from interior Mexico just to attend Shen’s master class. He also consulted with a student with posture problems that could be corrected with a new, higher shoulder rest that cost $40 US dollars, which Shen learned was the equivalent of the young woman working for an extra two months.

“I just bought it for her and that’s why I started to bring the used strings, shoulder rest and resin to Mexico to give to anyone who needed it,” Shen said. “It’s a very small thing.”

The viola community in Mexico is small and collegial. Musicians stay in touch via a Facebook group, Sociedad Mexicana de la Viola. There, they exchange repertoire, build community and share their performance experience, all in the hopes of broadening and developing the Mexican viola experience to expand beyond the country’s borders and to showcase their country as a world-class talent in viola repertoire. Shen’s student, Paulina, hopes to return to Mexico City after graduation to pass on the legacy of 20th-century European composers like Paul Hindemith, who she is studying under Shen.

Maestro Medina of Mexico City says he always thinks in the “voice of the viola,” a voice that is often overlooked as a solo instrument for its more popular counterpart, the violin.

Interestingly, Shen points out that the viola’s “sound register is the closest to the human voice. We hear comfort in the voice of the viola.” It is also a universal voice and language Shen, Ely and Paulina have mastered and communicate fluently in. While bits of their verbal communications are lost in translation; once they pick up their bows, the barriers melt and no translation is needed.

In our current environment of tense cross-border relations, Shen’s story is particularly striking: A Chinese violist looking to advance his own musical ambitions brings Mexican students back to his Arkansas alma mater to keep the spirit of 20th-century European composers alive. His musical journey plays out through generations, over continents and through the global musicians who have touched his life.