The American woman and her Chinese husband trying to popularize children’s music in China

“Children’s music” is not merely folk songs and nursery rhymes, say Rebecca Kanthor and her husband, Liú Jiàn 刘健. They are the founders of the Hand in Hand International Children’s Music Festival, which brings bands that specialize in children’s music — in every genre, from jazz to rap to even heavy metal — to China.

Kanthor, currently in the middle of Hand in Hand’s seven-city tour through China, wrote this piece for us about her mission. “[Liu Jian’s] dream is to bring Hand in Hand to 100 cities in China,” she says. “I used to think he was crazy, but after seeing the response we get from families here, I believe we can do it.”

—Anthony Tao