Leslie Bigelow holds a bear souvenir and her favorite American treat her family brought with them when she returned from Beijing.

For the UW students who went to China as part of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Orchestra, the experience was a once in a lifetime opportunity that will be hard to top.

“It’s hard to put it into words,” says Maddie Rauzi of Woodinville. “It was just so amazing and overwhelming in many ways. Being there with all the Olympic pageantry was wild, but then being able to see these ancient historical sites was incredible, too.”

For Rauzi, performing with the orchestra at Tiananmen Square was one of the most memorable moments of the trip. This was a great honor for the orchestra as it was the first and only foreign group to gain permission to play in this special locale.

The group, which was made up of students from the U.S., China, Australia, Japan and Europe, also performed on the Great Wall of China and outside the Olympic soccer venue in Tianjin.

Originally, the plan was for the orchestra to play during a half-time show at one of the soccer games, but this was nixed due to security issues.

“There were some amendments to the plans,” commented Dr. Brad McDavid, Director of Athletic Bands at UW and conductor of the Olympic Orchestra. “Some performances originally scheduled were cancelled or modified to reduce protest possibilities or for other security concerns. We just had to adapt to the situation and be flexible.”

All of the performances, according to McDavid, went smoothly, and his initial concerns about the ability of the different groups to meld quickly dissipated after the first rehearsal. He said that all of the students came well prepared, which made his job easier.

Maddie Rauzi embraces her brother while her father looks on.

The audiences for the performances, albeit small due to restrictions on numbers, were excited and enthusiastic. McDavid added, “The Chinese people don’t see many bands play, unless they’re in a military parade, so the band culture is relatively unique over there. They seemed to really enjoy the music that we played, particularly the numbers from around the world.”

For McDavid, standing on Tiananmen Square, an area of such historical significance, while conducting an international group of students, was a definite highlight of his career. “The experience was very moving and I know it was equally so for the students,” he commented.

Natalie Husmann, also of Woodinville, enjoyed meeting the Chinese students, who she says were thrilled to interact with the Americans and very intrigued by them. They sought out opportunities to try and practice their English and always asked the American students about their impressions of China.

“They really liked to take photos with us, too,” adds Husmann. “It seemed like they hadn’t seen too many foreigners before and we were a novelty to them. We actually got a lot of stares when we would walk down the street.”