Members of the choral group Dong Singers, clad in traditional attire, host an interactive session with students of Shanghai Conservatory of Music. Photo provided to China Daily

The singers have made Dong people take pride in their tradition, he adds.

Standing in the classroom of Shanghai Conservatory of Music, the singers were dressed in traditional clothing made of hand-dyed cloth, complete with elaborate silver headwear and neck pieces.

With confidence and natural composure, they taught a piece and led students to sing with them.

The band also performed at the Festival d'Automne in Paris in 1986 and the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington DC in 2014, according to Mu, the curator.

Mu has been promoting Dong music for years, and for now, he is working on a collaboration between Dong Singers and an all-female choir from Bulgaria.

"The two styles of singing share much in common and would attract wider audiences if they performed together," he says.