I became a music industry godfather by writing confidantes.

Chapter 109 Cricket

With the selection finalized, Yang Du's task for the day was considered complete.

He originally planned to go straight home, but Zhou Huaimin, the head of the vocal music department at the Central Conservatory of Music, refused to let Yang Du go back just like that.

While packing up the documents, Zhou Huaimin waved to Yang Du, repeatedly trying to persuade him to stay. Not only that, he also took out his phone and called Huo Xintong over.

The Central Conservatory of Music and the Beijing Conservatory of Music are only two streets and a mountain apart, so they are very close.

Seeing this, Yang Du knew he couldn't refuse and agreed.

The location is a Shandong cuisine restaurant near the Central Conservatory of Music, where braised sea cucumber with scallions is a specialty.

There weren't many people at the dinner party. Besides Yang Du and Huo Xintong, there were only Zhou Huaimin, Wu Peng, and Wu Peng's mentor, Pi Wu.

A very rare surname.

After a cup of tea, the conversation inevitably turned to the Central Conservatory of Music.

The Central Conservatory of Music hosts a dinner party, and the Beijing Conservatory of Music attends. Putting this combination together without discussing the Central Conservatory of Music would seem odd.

"...So, to sing songs with traditional Chinese elements well, we still have to rely on the Central Conservatory of Music. Yang Du's decision to come to the Central Conservatory of Music this time to select singers for 'Pipa Xing' was very wise."

Zhou Huaimin chuckled and directly looked down on another higher education institution that was not present: "If you go to the Central Conservatory of Music, when the songs are released, given their style of treating everything as bel canto, whether the final product will be 'Pipa Xing' or 'Pipa Waltz', haha, that's really hard to say."

Haha, everyone burst into laughter; those words really hit home.

Huo Xintong nodded at Zhou Huaimin and said with a smile, "Vocal music naturally has regional and cultural characteristics. The people at the Central Conservatory of Music study scientific singing methods every day, and have long lost their local flavor."

"That's right, you have to adapt to the situation," Pi Wu, the disciple of that national team member, agreed. "Bel canto singing opera does have its unique advantages, with that chest resonance complementing the high notes perfectly. But singing Chinese songs is a bit of a mismatch, lacking a certain charm."

Yang Du immediately understood, realizing that this was a classic moment where people would badmouth each other, a way to quickly build social rapport.

So he put down his drink and naturally joined the conversation.

"The teachers are right. The vocal theory system of the Central Conservatory of Music is not wrong in itself, but the problem is that they always try to put that system above our traditional aesthetics."

"This condescending arrogance is very uncomfortable, as if our local music system is a wild path, born wrong, and only their bel canto can save Chinese music."

"Well said." Those few words struck a chord with Zhou Huaimin, and he looked at Yang Du with increasing admiration. "Art has no standard; what is national is also international."

Everyone chimed in, each contributing their own comment; the two universities have always had a lot to say about the topic of crickets from the Central Conservatory of Music.

Although it is generally said that bel canto despises folk music, and folk music despises popular music, on the other hand, bel canto also despises both folk and popular music while being equal.

Zhou Huaimin criticized: "Blindly copying Westernization and forcing our feet to fit the shoes is undoubtedly like the story of the man from Handan who tried to learn how to walk but ended up losing his own roots. Without roots, there is no point in talking about art or soul."

Wu Peng sat next to Pi Wu, listening quietly most of the time. Only when he was diligently pouring tea for everyone did he show some of the familiarity he had shown with Yang Du before.

Yang Du tilted his head slightly, lowered his voice, and said in a tone only the two of them could hear, "Now we, the members of the Central Conservatory of Music and the Beijing Conservatory of Music, are sitting together playing crickets with the members of the Central Conservatory of Music. Before, did any of you members of the Central Conservatory of Music ever play crickets with the members of the Central Conservatory of Music?"

"Cough cough—"

Wu Peng looked somewhat frightened and guilty, and quickly protested, "No, I swear!"

Very good, this number four is quite clever, it seems like it has been keeping quite a few crickets.

After several rounds of drinks and dishes, Huo Xintong, Zhou Huaimin, and Pi Wu, all seniors who had known each other for many years, inevitably brought up the central figure of the day, Yang Du.

This is actually normal. If Wu Peng had achieved what Yang Du has today, he would definitely be the center of attention right now.

Zhou Huaimin put down his cup and asked, "Speaking of which, Lao Huo, if I remember correctly, this year's Feitian Awards should be nearing the submission stage, right?"

"Yes, it's almost the end of October now, and the application materials should all be being submitted one after another." He then turned to Yang Du and asked, "Has 'Today is Your Birthday' been submitted for review?"

"It's been submitted for approval," Yang Du replied with a smile. "The CCTV station is in charge of submitting it for approval. Director Li mentioned it to me before."

"That's good, that's good." Huo Xintong's smile widened. "Your chances are pretty good this year."

Most people are familiar with the Golden Bell Awards and the Golden Music Awards. The former is a national music industry award, while the latter is a purely commercial award.

But in fact, there has always been a saying in the music industry about the three major awards.

The last one is the Feitian Award, officially known as the China Music Feitian Award. It is organized by the Publicity Department, the Federation of Literary and Art Circles, and the Musicians Association, and has a long history of sixty years.

The reason why there is not much discussion on the Internet is actually quite simple: the Feitian Awards mainly favor mainstream music, folk music, and serious music, and rarely recognize popular music in the conventional sense.

The average netizen is not familiar with him because the things they like are rarely within the scope of the Feitian Awards, so there is naturally no discussion about him.

Over time, even its popularity declined.

However, its value is undeniable, given that it represents national-level recognition.

In certain specific occasions, the Feitian Award trophy carries more weight than the Golden Bell Award, and is incomparable to commercial awards like the Golden Chart Music Awards.

"Today is Your Birthday" has received a very positive response from all sectors of society. It is difficult for this kind of patriotic song to achieve anything at the Golden Bell Awards and the Golden Chart Music Awards. The Feitian Awards are the main stage for it.

Pi Wu couldn't help but gasp. If Yang Du could win a national-level official award like the Feitian Award at the end of the year, it would be an extremely rare achievement in the entire history of Chinese music.

Moreover, a Flying Apsaras Award trophy is not just an honor for Yang Du personally. Considering Yang Du's status as a student, shouldn't his alma mater, Beijing Conservatory of Music, put up a banner to celebrate?

When the time comes, we'll issue a notice on the official website, saying that these are all teaching achievements of Beijing Conservatory of Music, achievements that the principal, vice-principals, and other leaders can include in their year-end reports.

Thinking of this, Pi Wu couldn't help but think of the China Musicians Association, one of the organizers of the Feitian Awards, and said meaningfully, "It seems like the China Musicians Association's Outstanding Young Musician of the Year award is coming up soon, isn't it?"

Huo Xintong couldn't help but laugh when she heard this.

"Of course, the academy has already held a meeting to discuss it, and they will definitely promote Yang Du this year. It's good to become famous as early as possible."

"Go to hell." Zhou Huaimin laughed and cursed, suddenly feeling a little jealous. What a promising talent! Why did he apply to Beijing Conservatory of Music back then?

The meal was a pleasant one for both host and guests.

After the event ended, Huo Xintong called out to Yang Du.

"There's progress on the 'Gong Xi Fa Cai' project."