The Suzhou Chinese Orchestra from Suzhou New District, East China's Jiangsu province, comes to the third stop of its tour in Japan, the city of Kanazawa, on Sept 17. [Photo/snd.gov.cn]
The Suzhou Chinese Orchestra from Suzhou New District, East China's Jiangsu province, came to the third stop of its tour in Japan, the city of Kanazawa, on Sept 17, according to local media reports.
Kanazawa is a renowned historic and cultural city in Japan. In 1981, Suzhou city and Kanazawa became sister cities and in the following 38 years, the two have maintained close economic and cultural ties.
Before the concert, Yukiyoshi Yamano, mayor of Kanazawa, met the orchestra members and expressed his hope for further exchange with Suzhou in the areas of historical and cultural preservation as well as adolescent development.
At seven o'clock, the Chinese Music, Suzhou Style concert started with a passionate Gallop.
The joint performance between Suzhou Chinese Orchestra and the local Angel Chorus was the highlight of the whole concert.
Accompanied by the Suzhou orchestra, children sang Japanese nursery rhyme Sunset Fades and Chinese folk song Jasmine Flower.
A 13-year-old Japanese chorus member said in an interview after the show that it was an unforgettable experience for him to perform with a Chinese orchestra and Jasmine Flower is so much a beautiful song full of Chinese style.
In order to sing the Chinese song, he and 17 other people had kept practicing the language for the past two months and his father who often travels to China on business also helped him with his pronunciation, according to the boy.
Pang Kapang, conductor of the orchestra, said that Tokyo will be the next and final stop of their Japanese tour, and an investment promotion activity organized by Suzhou New District will be held in addition to the concert.
Co-founded by the Suzhou municipal government and Suzhou New District in 2017, the Suzhou Chinese Orchestra aims to promote traditional Chinese culture by integrating Chinese folk music into orchestral performances, as well as reinterpreting and expressing traditional Chinese music through the symphonic format.
The orchestra has staged performances in 14 cities in more than 10 other countries around the world, including the United States, Russia and Germany, and received rave reviews from critics.
