Whether it’s sung on different continents, in different countries or in different languages, music is music.

“If you sing Chinese music, it’s different [than American music], but learning music from different countries is all the same,” Ching-Mei Lee, chairwoman and teacher for Taiwan Normal University in Taipei, Taiwan, said. “Music is an international language.”

Throughout the past few years, Lee has worked to share her language with musicians in different parts of the world. She has performed and taught master classes in Vienna, the United States and various places in Taiwan.

For the past three weeks, ISU students have benefited from Lee’s musical prowess. Lee has led a total of five master classes.

“I help the [vocal] students with what they’re working on,” Lee said.

During her time in Ames, Lee has also given solo performances featuring Chinese music “from China’s contemporary composers,” Lee said.

Lee enjoys singing Chinese music, but she also enjoys the traditional classical European and American repertoire sung by American vocalists.

As the chairwoman of the biggest music department in Taiwan, which is attended by 250 undergraduate students, 100 graduate students and 50 full-time faculty members, it’s important that she knows her music.

“I sing German lieder, and I sing opera arias,” Lee said.

Although she has learned lots of different languages from her wide knowledge of musical repertoire, her best language is her native Mandarin language. And in the past, ISU students have even traveled to Taiwan to listen to her and her colleagues teach it.

“Iowa State University and Normal University are sister schools,” Lee said. “We have many exchange programs. We have our professors visiting [ISU], and we have ISU professors visiting Normal University.”

In the past, music professors Donald Simonson, David Stuart and Robert Molison have traveled to Taiwan to perform and teach at Normal University.

When Simonson and Molison were in Taiwan, Lee said the two professors sang American songs by composers such as Gershwin and Ives. During the “American” performance, Lee sang a piece by Samuel Barber, who Lee credits as her favorite American composer.

But tonight’s performance won’t involve anything remotely American.

During Lee’s solo show, she will sing nine songs, four of which will be from modern poems, and five of which will be traditional Chinese poems composed in a contemporary style.

The fact that Lee didn’t plan any American music for her program isn’t a reflection of her feelings for American music or America in general.

“You people here are so wonderful,” Lee said. “Since the first day I’ve been here, everyone in the music department has been so great to me. I’m very grateful, and it’s a pleasure to be here.”

Lee’s performance will start at 7:30 p.m. at the Martha-Ellen Tye recital hall. Admission is free.