More than 50 Chinese students made their debut as the Bard Youth Chinese Orchestra (BYCO) on Friday night at Bard College in New York's Upper Hudson Valley, treating the American audience to melodic works with uniquely Chinese elements rarely performed in the US. "In the past few months, we've been recruiting students who want to come to Bard College for the five-year undergraduate conservatory program," Martin said. The teachers at the summer academy are some of the best traditional Chinese music teachers from the CCOM, said Cai, including Yu Hongmei, dean of the Chinese music department at CCOM, and 10 other distinguished professors from the CCOM. The students from China studied and rehearsed for two weeks on the Bard campus and had two concerts, one at Bard and one at Harvard University. "The first time I saw her in the same room with me, my heart started beating so fast," Liyanaarachchi added.