Shenzhen autistic group gives harmony an enticing and inspiring voice

GUANGZHOU — "Twinkle, twinkle, little star, which one is your eye … " The enchanting melody, sung by a group on the autistic spectrum, is as reassuring as the starry sky.

With the sounds of various musical instruments in perfect harmony and the gentle voice of their teacher humming a merry tune, the group is immersed in the world of music in a classroom at the Sunshine Cultural and Sports Center in Nanshan district, Shenzhen.

Yet when the performance ends, they act shyly, looking quietly at their instruments.

The Aite ensemble, however, connects these people with music and love. Its members are all teens and adults, aged 15 to 39.

The musical journey of this ensemble started with the mother of one member.

At 20, Beibei started to learn piano, for which he showed great talent and passion. With the efforts and company of his mother, Sun Lili, Beibei made something of himself in competitions and on TV.

"Many people got to know Beibei through music and gradually came to understand the autistic community. I wondered if we could bring those with autistic spectrum disorders together and connect them in the world of music," says Sun.

The idea of creating an ensemble was born in 2013.

It was a bumpy ride at the time when it started. There was no training space or teacher. Sun decided to use her home as a classroom and invited Beibei's piano teacher in to lead the ensemble.

As it takes longer for autistic people to process information, their mothers must memorize all the key points in class and practice the musical pieces with their children at home until they have a good command of all the chord changes and scales.

The ensemble soon secured its first performance opportunity in 2013. It was on a concrete open-air stage in a village with a sparse audience. Wearing full costumes in searing heat, the ensemble members brought their first musical piece to the audience.

"Our kids can cooperate too. They're amazing kids," Sun says. She still remembers the members' sweat-soaked shirts and the mothers' eyes filled with tears of joy.

Gradually, the ensemble became better-known. By hosting their own "Star Concert", the members stepped onto a bigger stage.

The first "Star Concert" was held at the music hall of the Futian District Culture Center in Shenzhen. The venue, with a capacity of 300 people, received bookings from over 700.

Those with the condition, often called "children of the stars", finally got to shine on stage in front of hundreds.

The Aite ensemble started to use donations to run public music courses for people with autistic spectrum disorders in Shenzhen, allowing them to make valuable connections.

In 2018, Xiaodai, at the age of 13, took part in public keyboard lessons hosted by the Aite ensemble. "Xiaodai was an early beginner at the piano at that time but had been learning wind instruments, so the teacher let us try it out," his mother says.

This attempt made him one of the key members of the ensemble.

Once Xiaodai could only play the ocarina solo in front of his mother, but now he can play skillfully with his friends as a team.

Although he is shy at expressing himself verbally, he is brave enough to stand on every stage at every performance, said Xiaodai's mother.

Expanding from one to 12 members, the Aite ensemble has undergone a difficult yet impressive 10-year journey. The voices of the "children of the stars" are heard by more people now.

"We have performed more than 100 times so far. The audience can feel that we are making progress," says Sun. "Parents of autistic children from other places have come to Shenzhen to learn our model, hoping that music will connect their children with the world."

Xinhua