Coronavirus stymies music grad’s return home to China

It had taken awhile to organize his final conducting recital for the Performer’s Certificate program which he completed in December, but Chen finally pulled it together on February 6 in Hole Memorial Auditorium directing a small group of string players. Just 10 more days and he would be on board an American Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Hong Kong where he planned to board a Cathay Pacific flight to reach Henan province. The last leg of the journey would bring him to the city of Xinyang where he lives with his parents in a 22-story apartment building. But the fast-spreading and deadly coronavirus, or Covid-19, that had been occupying so much of the news cycle was ahead of him. 

A couple of days before his recital, Chen received an email that his flight from Hong Kong into Zhengzhou, China was canceled. With his flight from L.A. to Hong Kong still intact, Chen planned to fly to his first destination and then travel six or seven hours by bullet train to reach Xinyang. But on Feb. 6, the day of his recital,  American Airlines informed Chen that his flight out of Los Angeles was also canceled. Entry into China was slamming shut in the wake of the deadly epidemic which originated in Wuhan, capital of China’s Hubei province. On Feb. 11, American Airlines announced its suspension of all flights from Dallas-Fort Worth and Los Angeles to mainland China and Hong Kong until April, “due to lack of demand.”

Chen began to consider extreme options – his mother, who had been battling cancer, and his father were counting on his return. “I really want to come back on time because mom sick at home,” he said. “I want to spend time with her.” So he investigated flights to Moscow, Russia followed by a road trip over the border into China, only to discover that the border crossing fee had become exorbitantly expensive at around $7,000. Further fueling his anxiety was the fast approaching February 20 deadline that would conclude his 60-day immigration grace period. Overstays by even a day can incur a ban of three or more years on any future travel to the U.S. after returning home.

The Office of International Student Services at La Sierra University, which had been helping Chen with his travel arrangements, stepped in with a plan – Chen could apply for a one-year work permit, called optional practical training, that would allow him to remain legally in the United States and pursue either employment or an internship within his field of study. Left with no other viable options, Chen headed to a local bank on Feb. 11 to purchase a $410 money order for the permit application fee. The paperwork was submitted online that day with a required work start date of Feb. 20. 

Also a trumpet player, Chen is now looking for work as a music tutor through educational organizations in the Chinese communities of Rosemead and surrounding towns. The 32-year-old lives in Rancho Cucamonga. Teaching is the job he would have done had he been able to go home at the expected time. During a visit to China last summer he had secured a future position as a high school orchestral conductor. He hopes it will still be available to him, Chen said.

For the love of music

Initially Chen wanted to study computer science when he enrolled at Zhengzhou University, but a first experience singing sacred music in a choir proved so impactful that he changed his major to music. At the age of 20, he took up the trumpet, delved into learning the piano and drums, and eventually focused on conducting. He completed his undergraduate degree and through the sponsorship of an American teacher, traveled to the United States in 2013. He enrolled on a scholarship at the American Chinese Evangelical Seminary in the San Francisco area to study sacred music.  

While attending the seminary, Chen connected by way of a mutual friend with a La Sierra University music student and cellist. Chen attended the student’s cello recital and decided to apply for the Performer’s Certificate program in conducting.

While studying in the United States, Chen has played drums in praise bands at various churches. He currently plays at the Irvine Canaan Christian Community Church and Harvest Chinese Christian Church in Ontario, and has performed with musicians at the La Sierra University Church. While at a La Sierra, he also played trumpet in the university Wind Ensemble and traveled with the group for its debut appearance at New York City’s Carnegie Hall.

Monitoring the situation

In the meantime, Chen continues to watch for daily coronavirus updates issued by the Chinese government and to think about his family and their daily struggles. His sister is also at his parents’ home where she came for a visit from Shanghai during Chinese New Year. She has been prevented from returning to Shanghai and her work in e-commerce due to the virus outbreak. Chen’s friends have also been impacted. The grandfather of a high school friend enrolled at the University of Southern California died from the virus. The friends discuss the epidemic in an online chat group. “We are afraid,” Chen said.

Chen said he has advised his parents to stay home and not venture out. Residents of his city must remain indoors. Streets are mostly empty except for health workers and others who have permission to travel. Every two days, one member of each family in his parents’ apartment building is allowed to leave their apartment and pick up needed grocery items that have been delivered to the building’s ground floor.

Chen noted that the situation brings to mind a Chinese saying,– ‘you don’t know tomorrow where you will wake up.’ Mostly he is looking forward to a ‘tomorrow’ that permits his return to his homeland and a teaching position that allows him to educate young people in sacred music. “The music that comes from church is very beautiful,” he said.