1990: Starting from Baojia Street

The two chatted for a while, and Zhou Yan stood up to leave. Yu Songlin tried to persuade him, "It's lunch time. Why don't you leave after lunch?"

Zhou Yan declined with a smile, "You're welcome, captain, I have something to do when I go back. I should come here often in the future, and I won't miss out on eating in the group's canteen."

"Our cafeteria is definitely not as good as your studio." Yu Songlin said with a smile, "Yu Jia mentioned your studio's cafeteria several times, praising the food in your cafeteria to the sky, even her mother said I'm jealous."

Zhou Yan joked, "Then she still goes home too often. Next time I take them abroad to stay for a while, she will know that the food at home is still delicious."

"Haha, that's true. Okay, since you have something to do, I won't force you to stay. I'll take you out."

"Commander, please stay, I can go by myself."

……

During lunch, Yu Songlin saw Wang Ciheng and Wei Yuru sitting together and walked over with a smile.

"They're all here."

"Captain."

Wang Ciheng said, "Zhou Yan did mention this matter. I will follow the arrangements within the group."

Wang Ciheng lost his reserve at this time, "Captain, I definitely want to give it a try."

This is He Jianguo’s experience.

Before going abroad, He Jianguo was also uneasy, always afraid of showing his timidity after going abroad. But after actually experiencing it, he became very confident.

Tang Feng also realized that what he just said was inappropriate, so he added, "Yes, if there are two, it will definitely get better and better. Not to mention Europe and the United States, I still feel that Neon is very promising. The songs in "Mysterious Country" are particularly popular in Neon, which shows that Neon is very interested in our folk music."

"Me?" Wei Yuru looked surprised. She didn't expect that there was something about her involved.

"Okay." Yu Songlin nodded and looked at Wei Yuru, "Yuru, what about you? What do you think?"

"Yes, Zhou Yan asked me to borrow you and Ciheng."

I didn't expect it to be so efficient, so I mentioned it to the group leader.

Knowing that Wei Yuru and Wang Ciheng were going to the United States, Tang Feng was quite envious, "It would be great if our group can tour abroad someday."

"This is a good thing. Naturally, there will be no restrictions on you in the group. As long as you are willing to go, the group will definitely support you."

Hearing Yu Songlin say that Zhou Yan wanted to borrow someone, everyone looked at Wang Ciheng. Zhou Yan just said this in the concert hall.

"Zhou Yan is also here this morning. How was your communication?" Yu Songlin asked.

The Chinese Orchestra has had almost no opportunity to go abroad before. Although both of them have sufficient performance experience, it is a brand new experience for them to perform in the United States with the Piano Youth Orchestra this time.

"Zhou Yan's concert in London during the summer vacation seems to also have a folk music program, right?"

He Jianguo glanced at Tang Feng and said to himself that this guy was still young and would not discuss anything. In the current situation of the folk band, it would be good if it could develop well in the country, and he was still thinking about touring abroad.

"Captain, we understand."

That kind of confidence is something that people who have never experienced it cannot understand.

He Jianguo smiled and said, "The leader is right, we were just discussing the rehearsals ahead."

In fact, Yu Songlin didn't feel it deeply himself, but he realized this deeply with his daughter.

Although Yu Songlin tried to make up for it, the pressure had already been put on him. Wang Ciheng and Wei Yuru looked at each other and saw the pressure in each other's eyes.

"Well, I also heard that Zhou Yan's performances at Neon are always sold out, and their folk band's performances are also very popular."

"really."

At this point, Yu Songlin felt that he had sung the tune too high, so he added, "But you don't have to be too stressed. Just treat it with a normal mind and perform to your due level."

"This shows that Zhou Yan is very dedicated to the promotion of folk music."

Yu Songlin nodded and said, "Yes, every time we return to the stage."

"Don't worry, captain, we have a good communication. Junior Brother Zhou Yan is a person who is easy to get along with. I have dealt with him before in school." Tang Feng said.

When he went abroad, he discovered that foreigners did not have more arms or legs than they did.

Yu Songlin nodded, without being polite, and sat down directly in the middle. He looked around first and confirmed that they were all members of the folk band, and then said, "You should pay attention to this program. It is not just a Spring Festival Gala program. And it’s also a collaboration with Zhou Yan. As you all know about Zhou Yan, he is no less popular than those well-known pop singers, and our program may become the most discussed performance program.”

He Jianguo has been abroad and participated in relatively large performances. He smiled and said, "The unknown always makes people worried, but once you experience it once, you will be different."

As soon as he saw Yu Songlin coming, Tang Feng immediately gave up his seat and sat on the edge.

When they were chatting at home, Yu Jia also mentioned that after going abroad, she discovered that their performance could also conquer foreign audiences. Therefore, she developed a kind of self-confidence in culture from the inside out.

Yu Songlin smiled and said, "Didn't Ciheng and Yuru make a good start? Things will get better and better."

Yu Songlin waved his hand, "If there are no special circumstances, you must go this time. This can be regarded as a task given to you by the regiment."

Although the overall music atmosphere and level in Europe and the United States are indeed higher than those in China, it is not bad at all to send these outstanding players abroad to compete on the same stage with those foreign musicians.

This happened suddenly, and Wei Yuru didn't know how to answer for a moment, "I..."

"In that case, the matter is settled. Someone from the Piano Youth Orchestra should contact you later. There must be procedures to go abroad. This time you two follow Zhou Yan to perform abroad, not only on behalf of you personally, but also on behalf of yourself. It represents our folk band, and even more broadly, it represents our Chinese folk music.”

After Yu Jia performed abroad with the Piano Youth Orchestra, her stage performance level improved very quickly, and her whole aura when sitting on the stage became different.

Hearing that Yu Songlin said this, Wei Yuru nodded and said, "Captain, I have no problem."

"Actually, I'm not worried about this. As Tang Feng said, Zhou Yan is a very easy to get along with. He is talented, very low-key, and very experienced in dealing with people." After praising Zhou Yan, Yu Songlin continued, "Later He came to my office again and chatted with me for a while. In addition to the program, he also said one thing, which was that he wanted to borrow people from our group.”

Yu Songlin also nodded and said, "Jianguo is right, that's the truth."

Everyone was chatting, and the more they chatted, the happier they became.

They were very excited because Wang Ciheng and Wei Yuru were going to the United States.

Although only the two of them are going now, at least they can see hope.

……

For a period of time after that, Zhou Yan would spare two hours every day to go to the folk orchestra and rehearse "Memory of the Forbidden City" with the orchestra.

One of the better things about the rehearsal of the folk orchestra is that the concert hall is basically used casually, because there are very few programs that the orchestra has to rehearse recently.

Their orchestra uses the venue in the morning, and the folk music chorus uses it in the afternoon. The folk music chorus does not have rehearsal tasks every day. Normally, the members do not come to the concert hall to practice their voices. They have their own practice room.

I have to say that you still need to practice and learn more about musical instruments.

Zhou Yan's bamboo flute level has not improved much in the past few years, but after practicing with Wang Ciheng and the others for a while, he even feels like he is about to make a breakthrough.

Wang Ciheng studied under the master and was good at innovation. He did a lot of research on the interplay of Qudi and Bangdi techniques. During rehearsals, Zhou Yan learned a lot from him.

He pioneered new bamboo flute techniques such as "jamming" and "rolling", and very boldly applied the long continuous vocalization and big jump that the small bangdi is good at in the performance of the Qudi. These things impressed Zhou Yan Benefited a lot.

Even because of these new techniques developed by Wang Ciheng, Zhou Yan also made modifications to his previously written "Secret Fragrance Floating", and some modifications were made to make the song better use these innovative techniques. This made Wang Ciheng extremely happy. In fact, he created new techniques to make his playing more expressive, but not all pieces of music are suitable for these techniques.

In many songs, if these techniques are deliberately used, it will put the cart before the horse.

But Zhou Yan's tailor-made pieces for these skills brought these skills to the extreme.

In fact, Wang Ciheng himself usually does this kind of thing. In the end, all performers have a creative heart, and Wang Ciheng is certainly no exception. However, his composition level is not up to Zhou Yan, so the effect cannot be achieved.

Experts can tell if there is anything wrong as soon as they take action. After Zhou Yan's tune was modified, Wang Ciheng felt very comfortable playing it.

The orchestra also has dedicated composers, but to be honest, the level is not as good as Zhou Yan's, at least in the creation of flute music, and basically the composers in the orchestra will not compose specifically for Wang Ciheng.

From the time Wang Ciheng learned the bamboo flute until now, he has never fought such a wealthy battle.

Only then did he realize how lucky it was to have a master composer collaborate with him.

Later, Wang Ciheng became more and more fond of the piece "Dark Fragrance Floating" and practiced this piece every day outside of rehearsals.

During this time, Zhou Yanke not only changed "Dark Fragrance Floating", but also "Missing Through Time and Space".

In order to make this piece more suitable for Wei Yuru's Zhongruan performance, Zhou Yan made some adjustments on the basis of the original piece. Compared with the original "Missing Through Time and Space", the revised version has a more complex tune and uses more techniques.

The reason why she was able to improve was because she had a lot of communication with Wei Yuru during this period, and her understanding of the Zhongruan instrument became deeper.

What Zhou Yan did was seen by He Jianguo and the others.

They could see that Zhou Yan really did good for their band and was not just being polite, so they had more expectations for Wang Ciheng and Wei Yuru's trip to the United States, and at the same time they were full of gratitude to Zhou Yan.

Perhaps, after this time, folk music can really go outside.

……

In mid-November, Zhou Yan and the others went to the Spring Festival Gala studio for the first time.

Solitaire is a solo rehearsal. This time is relatively free. Generally, as long as the studio has a schedule and the actors have a schedule, they can go.

The Chinese Orchestra and Zhou Yan were both in Yanjing, and since Zhou Yan had more time in November, he went there early. It was easier to book a venue at this time, because rehearsals for most of the programs had not yet started.

During the process, Wang Ciheng and Wei Yuru also took time to go to Zhou Yan's studio to rehearse with the Piano Youth Orchestra. Everyone in the orchestra was very happy for the arrival of these two masters.

Whether it is Wang Ciheng or Wei Yuru, they are quite famous in their respective fields, especially Wang Ciheng, who held a bamboo flute solo concert a few years ago.

You can definitely learn a lot by rehearsing with them.

The two of them were also very happy to see these young students in the orchestra. This group of students is not only very capable, but also full of energy and hope.

Especially the students in the folk band are completely different from the students studying folk music they have seen before. The aura of these students who have experienced large-scale performances abroad is still different.

They also saw the hope of folk music in these students, so when communicating with the students, they naturally spared no effort to teach them.

Until December 9th, rehearsals for "Memory of the Forbidden City" were suspended because the Piano Youth Orchestra was leaving for Los Angeles.

On the afternoon of December 10th, the plane landed in Los Angeles.

Bregman was so interesting that he personally brought people over to pick up Zhou Yan and the others, and even treated everyone in the band to dinner that night.

In fact, there is no need for Bregman to invite the band members, because these people have nothing to do with their company during their trip to the United States. But this guy knows how to be a good person. He knows that Zhou Yan values ​​​​this band very much and spends some money to hire band members. If you have a meal, you can get closer to Zhou Yan, so why not do it.

Zhou Yan is not only talented, but also wealthy. Bregman would be stupid if he didn't know how to win over such a person.

If Columbia wants to enter the Chinese market, it has been one step behind Warner before. Now if it wants to catch up, it must put some thought into it, and in Bregman's view, Zhou Yan may be that key figure.

The remake of "The Sixth Sense" is just the first step in their cooperation, and they will definitely have more opportunities to cooperate in the future.

The next morning, the rest of the orchestra stayed in the hotel to rest, while Zhou Yan rushed to Columbia Company early in the morning to handle the soundtrack work for "The Sixth Sense".

Zhou Yan had a very full schedule when he came to the United States this time.

After all, the cost of traveling to the United States is very expensive. It would not be cost-effective to hold only one or two concerts, so we decided to hold three concerts, starting from the 13th to the 15th, for three consecutive days, one per day.

However, there is one downside to the three shows being held together, and that is that it is difficult to sell tickets.

And this time their concert is scheduled to be held at the Chandler Theater, which has nearly 3,200 seats. The three concerts combined have nearly 10,000 tickets.

It turns out that tickets didn't sell particularly well either.

The first show sold the most tickets, but so far, only a little over 2,000 tickets have been sold, and there are still more than 1,100 tickets that have not been sold.

The next two games were even worse. Only 1,600 tickets were sold for the second game, and only over 1,400 tickets were sold for the third game.

However, Zhou Yan and the others were not particularly panicked. Under normal circumstances, some tickets would be sold before the concert started.

It is estimated that the first game should be able to sell 2,400 to 500 tickets. This attendance rate is almost 80%, which is not bad.

If the next two games can eventually sell 2,000 tickets and achieve an attendance rate of 60%, it will actually not be a loss.

It can only be said that compared to Zhou Yan's previous concerts, the tickets this time were not sold out well. This is also the first time Zhou Yan's concert has not been sold out.

Of course, this was what they had calculated in advance. Their goal this time was to sell 7,000 tickets. As long as they could achieve this goal, it would not be a loss.

And making money is secondary. The key is to be able to perform three concerts at the Chandler Theater, which is a good resume.

This time Zhou Yan will stay in the United States for just over a week. In addition to three concerts, he also has to complete the soundtrack for "The Sixth Sense" and will go to Toronto to participate in "Sense and Sensibility" on the 12th. Premiere.

Toronto is not close to Los Angeles and requires a half-day flight. After attending the premiere, he had to rush to Los Angeles immediately, otherwise it would affect the concert the next day.

In other words, on the 12th, Zhou Yan basically ran away on the road.

Compared with Zhou Yan, the rest of the orchestra has it much easier. They only need to prepare for three concerts.

When he arrived at Columbia, Zhou Yan first met Martin Brest, the director of the American version of "The Sixth Sense".

Martin Brest was in his forties and in his prime, but his hair was already bald.

Martin Brest was very happy to see Zhou Yan. He held Zhou Yan's hand and said with a smile, "Y, welcome to Hollywood, we have been waiting for you for a long time."

Zhou Yan was also very happy to meet Martin Bryce, because Zhou Yan liked his movie "Scent of a Woman". At that time, Zhou Yan agreed to hand over the film to Columbia and agreed with them to hire Martin Bryce. Te Lai directing has a lot to do with it.

"Mr. Brest, I'm so sorry. I should have come earlier."

"It's not too late. I'll take you to watch a movie now." Brest was very cheerful in doing things. He didn't hesitate and wanted to take Zhou Yan to watch a movie.

After all, he also knew that Zhou Yan had a tight schedule this time.

Zhou Yan was certainly happy to see him happy, and he didn't want to waste time.

After going to the screening room, the staff had already put the film in place and showed it directly to Zhou Yan.

Zhou Yan sat down, took out a notebook and pen from his bag, and prepared to start recording. Although it was a remake and many of the soundtracks did not need to be touched, Zhou Yan did not play around and still took it seriously. (End of chapter)