The Heart of the Valley Children's Choir took an international tour that changed their perspective, and their lives, forever

By Jake TenPas/Photos by Bob Loewen
The Entertainer

As Justin Huddleston stood in front of China's Forbidden City, an imposing fortress built from 1406 to 1420 by servants of the Imperial Family, one thought rose above all the others in the chorus of his mind.

"This is where they filmed ‘Shanghai Noon,' " he recalls, speaking of the Jackie Chan/Owen Wilson action comedy.

OK, so perhaps it's not the deepest thought in the world. Give the kid a break. He's 15; he's allowed to indulge in idle thoughts from time to time.

Even when he's standing in front of an ancient historical monument like the Forbidden City.

Huddleston was just one of about 130 teens and adults that took part in the Heart of the Valley Children's Choir's trip to China from June 25 to July 6 for concerts in Beijing, Xi'an and Tianjin, in addition to a healthy dose of sight-seeing, cross-cultural pollination and just a smidgen of good, old-fashioned goofing off.

Leading this educational expedition was the choir's diminutive yet spunky commander-in-chief, Carol Nelson, who had a simple, noble goal for taking the kids to China.

"I want them to not be afraid of the world, of kids from other countries, and the only way to do it is to go," Nelson says of her motivation for the trip. "Music is a big thing for me, but the biggest thing is education."

Judging by the kids' reactions to their time overseas, Nelson's mission was a smashing success.

One night, while the choir was dining with children from Xi'an, HVCC member Jessica Graff, 17, found herself at a table with two children who couldn't speak much English. Being that she only speaks the limited Chinese the choir was exposed to as part of their preparatory studies for the trip, the trio was forced to come up with a new way to communicate.

Instead of stumbling through their limited foreign vocabularies or lapsing into an uncomfortable silence, the kids decided to play a game of Pictionary, using toothpicks to make designs on the table and pointing to objects in the room when they didn't know the correct word for them.

Meanwhile, across the room, two girls sitting at a table with Jessica's brother, Evan, 14, asked him if he had any siblings. When he replied that he did, they seemed shocked and asked if they could take a picture with Evan and his sister.

"The Chinese people were so nice, so kind, all of them," sums up Tyler Morse, 15, of his time travelling there. "Before I left, I thought we wouldn't be welcome. They'd be like ‘You're Americans!' "

In a world where international relations have become increasingly strained over the course of the last five years, it's hard to blame a kid for that kind of assumption. But as the entire group learned, stereotypes often break down on an individual level.

"It was a shock to get over there and see how nice people are," recalls Huddleston. "But it was even more surprising to see how rude L.A. people were when we returned."

In addition to numerous performances, including ones with the Tianjin and Common University choirs, the kids also had free time to get out and see the areas they were visiting. From taking in kung-fu demonstrations and seeing the Great Wall of China, where workers were busy setting up the approach ramp for an upcoming skateboard exhibition, to lightning-paced rickshaw rides through the back alleys of Beijing, the trip included plenty of opportunities for the kids to experience Chinese culture outside the confines of a group setting.

Which lead to more than a few humorous cultural clashes.

"We got a good taste of Chinese music while we were there," says Jordan Miles, 17. "And a good taste of Chinese food," he finishes sarcastically.

After eating around 32 straight meals of Chinese cuisine, which Miles says is not much different than the version we get over here, he's decided to take an extended break.

"I'm done for a while," he says with confidence.

Another point of contention for the students were the public toilets, which were basically just porcelain holes in the ground, sometimes without toilet paper. Fortunately for the majority of the teens, "The chaperones were smart and carried toilet paper," Huddleston says. "We were very thankful."

But the one aspect of China that all the kids agreed was the most frightening was the traffic.

"They have traffic lights," observes Morse, "But I don't see that they serve a purpose." When asked to expand on what made the traffic situation so unbearable, he paints a picture of a gridlock of bikes, cars and pedestrians filling every intersection with seemingly no regard for traffic lights, signs or even huge trucks bearing down upon them.

Miles, who saw a bicyclist clipped by one of the tour buses, echoes these sentiments: "Seeing what we have here and what they have there, I'm glad we have turn signals, and I'm glad we don't try to fit five lanes of traffic into two."

Still, despite the interminable plane trips, incessant smell of cigarette smoke and occasional close rickshaw scrapes, the teens seemed to be in agreement on one point.

"The whole tour was incredible, a once in a lifetime experience," sums up Huddleston, echoing the thoughts of the others.

Nelson agrees, and with good reason. After the choir's performance in Xi'an, the site of Chinese unification 2,200 years ago, she was given the key to the city by Sheldon Poon, the head of music celebrations in China.

"I was in a constant state of total awe," she says, remembering the honor that only five months before had been bestowed upon Jackie Chan, and before that, former president Bill Clinton.

"They were constantly giving us presents, offering me palatial rooms. Every single detail was perfect," she muses affectionately. "They treated us like royalty."

For information about the Heart of the Valley Children's Choirs and obtaining a video of the group's trip to China, go to

www.hvcchoir.com.