PSMEF’s Chinese music program introduces students to the joy of music through in-depth, sequential instruction in traditional Chinese instruments, opera, and folk songs, taught by Chinese music experts. Students also learn to play songs from other cultures and popular Western pieces on Chinese instruments. PSMEF currently serves 160 students a year through its school residencies and after-school enrichment programs at public schools in Oakland and San Francisco and its core after-school/weekend program, the Great Wall Youth Orchestra (GWYO)—originally held at Laney College in downtown Oakland and now scheduled to relaunch in a new rehearsal space at the Shoong Family Chinese Cultural Center (SFCCC), in Oakland Chinatown, in Fall 2025. In June 2025, PSMEF will also pilot its first summer program for its orchestra students, also scheduled to be held at SFCCC.

Currently, there are 80 students (grades 1-12) enrolled in the weekend youth orchestra, which gives them a chance to continue their music studies beyond the school residencies and hone their performance skills. In 2023, GWYO took part in the Music in the Parks Festival in San Francisco and won the award for Best High School Orchestra in Northern California–the first Chinese music education program to win this award.

Over the years, PSMEF’s groundbreaking Chinese music program has drawn national and international media coverage, as well as support and recognition from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and California Arts Council (CAC). GWYO students have represented Oakland through regional concerts and national tours, bringing Chinese music to new and diverse audiences through performances in Washington, DC, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Portland, Sacramento, and Spokane. In December 2024, the GWYO traveled to China as part of PSMEF’s first international cultural exchange tour, giving two performances for Chinese audiences at a Sino-American Friendship Concert at Shijiazhuang University near Beijing.