On the afternoon of 22 November 2025, the One Journey in Four Space cross-cultural music concert, organised by the HBU-UCLan School of Media, Communication and Creative Industries, was held as scheduled at Hebei University's C5 Building. This concert centred on the theme of "seasonal cycles and life reflections", presenting the connections between seasons, memory, and culture through a unique artistic narrative that integrated music, dance, and audiovisual arts. Simultaneously, different forms of performances were arranged at various locations within the School, creating a rich sense that "music is all around us, and we are also part of the performance". The live audience experienced a magical musical journey and enjoyed a wonderful experience.
This performance brought together the creative and performing talents of Chinese and international faculty and postgraduate students, demonstrating distinct cross-cultural characteristics. The School's MA Music Students delivered brilliant performances through artistic forms including piano, cello, erhu, bangzi, violin, and dance. The live audience experienced joy, emotion, and warmth across different venues. The works were created by international faculty members Dr Paul Greene and Dr Isabel Benito Gutiérrez, with enthusiastic guidance and selfless support provided by the School's external expert, Teacher Li Jian from Baoding University.
The concert opened with "Lighthouse", created by the School's international faculty member and MA Music programme leader Dr Paul Greene, with visual design by the School's Media programme leader Richard Parkinson, completed collaboratively. Sunset Longings presented the emotional world and oceanic imagery of lighthouse keepers through combined audio and visual elements, where light, shadow, vocal lines, and emotions intertwined within the work, creating an immersive artistic atmosphere.
Subsequently, "Memory of Heritage and Space" presented the flow of culture through time and space via three cross-cultural works. Tong Mingyue adapted music based on the imagery of "山有木兮(Shanyoumuxi)" from the 越人歌(Yurenge), constructing a fusion of classical poetry and contemporary auditory experience through cross-instrumental orchestration. Dr Isabel Benito Gutiérrez's composition Baoding: Old Tunes Reimagined reassembled local bangzi elements with instrumental structures, showcasing the modern regeneration of traditional folk art. A Colourful Bach in Kaikoura depicted the rhythm of the ocean through colourful musical language, naturally connecting Western compositional techniques with Eastern emotional textures.
"Migration and Reflection" unfolded with the dance work逐光吟(Zhuguangyin), where two dancers used light and graceful movements to present a visual expression of Jiangnan poetry, symbolising humanity's eternal quest for hope, self, and spiritual belonging through figurative actions following light.
The concert concluded with an erhu solo, its prolonged and melodious melody seemingly reverberating through the space, serving as both a farewell and a reflection, leaving a meaningful resonance for the entire performance.
The One Journey in Four Space cross-cultural music concert used art as a bond to present the deep interweaving of seasons, memory, and culture. Through collaborative creation by cross-cultural teams, it demonstrated the possibilities of integrating Chinese and international arts, while also highlighting the School's broad vision and innovative practices in international art education cooperation. As an exploratory practice in "telling China's stories and spreading China's voice", the concert not only enriched campus cultural life but also conveyed a warm, open, and thought-provoking aesthetic experience to the audience.
