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After a lifetime of farming, members of a village orchestra arrive in Beijing with their French horns and trumpets - and a new outlook on life. Deng Zhangyu catches up with an unlikely band.

Three years ago, they were famers cultivating their land with hoes and sickles. Their daily life was all about planting corn and raising their families. Late last month, however, the 16 farmers from a village in Chongqing performed with the China National Symphony Orchestra at the Beijing Concert Hall, unveiling their new identity - the farmer orchestra from Beidou village.

Before the concert, Zhou Yongshu firmly gripped her French horn to her chest, hands shaking a little. The dress shirt and pants she wore were bought from a wholesale market. It's the fourth time Zhou wore her most expensive clothes.

Like her band companions from the village, Zhou was ignorant of musical notation until very recently. She couldn't tell the difference between a trombone and a trumpet, and she'd never heard of Beethoven before 2011. After less than three years' learning and practicing, Zhou can play more than 20 melodies.

The Beidou Village Farmer Orchestra performed two songs with the China National Symphony Orchestra and another two on their own at the Beijing Concert Hall on March 10.

"It's like a dream! I never thought that I could have the chance to perform on such a big stage," 43-year-old Zhou says.

In 2011, the China National Symphony Orchestra visited Beidou village as part of a program to take culture to rural areas. The orchestra decided to help set up a local wind band: It donated the instruments needed and provided regular classes for farmers in the village.

At first, many people applied to learn but quit quickly due to the difficulties of playing the instruments. There were only seven farmer players who never gave up from the original group, says Yang Xiaogang, head of Beidou village, a mountainous place one-hour drive from Chongqing.

"All the villagers are farmers. Most of them know nothing about music, let alone the Western instruments," the village head says.

Before Zhou started to learn to play her French horn, her only knowledge of music was folk songs she heard on TV. The only thing related to music she did besides her farm work was dancing with a group of people in public places, an exercise popular across China.

Zhou has to do the housework and cook for her family of five. During the growing season, she has to help with farm chores. Like her neighbors, she spent her spare time playing cards or mahjong with other villagers.

"I thought that was all my life. But playing the French horn opened another door for me. I suddenly found my interest and my passion for life," Zhou says.

Yang Xiaorong, captain of the orchestra, says there were moments when everyone wanted to give up.

Many villagers complained about the noise the musicians made when they practiced together, says Yang. Some said the band's music sounded like cows mooing.

"When we started, many couldn't even blow the instruments. Even now, we can only read numbered musical notation," says the captain, who plays the drum in the band.

Yang is the oldest player, age 63. He has two sons, a driver and a chef. All his life, he has been a farmer, a carpenter and a migrant worker. He says no one in his family ever dreamed of playing in a band.

Yang wears a 120-yuan ($19) swallow-tailed coat whenever he has the chance to play on a stage. He stands squarely, with confidence in his eyes.

"I'm very proud of myself. It's difficult for the young to learn a musical instrument in three years. I did it and I love my band," Yang says.

Every week, players of the band practice together two or three times. They often meet early in the morning, practice for about three hours and go home to work in their fields.

The band has expanded from seven to 16, including nine different instruments. They have performed publicly three times, but this opportunity in Beijing is their biggest stage. In fact, most of them are visiting the capital for the first time.

After the farmer orchestra's rehearsal, players from China National Symphony Orchestra applauded loudly.

"Their performances are not perfect, but very passionate. That's what impresses us the most," says Tian Shaoming, an oboe player in the professional orchestra.