Shaanxi Philharmonic Orchestra Shaanxi Philharmonic Orchestra

The Shaanxi Philharmonic Orchestra (originally referred to as Provincial Orchestra of Shaanxi), one of the four most competent orchestras with reputable history in China was founded in April 10, 1957. 60 years of its evolving history together with the dedication of several generations of remarkable musicians has contributed a significant amount to the development of Symphony and choir industry in western China. In October 2012 the orchestra was officially incorporated into Xi’an Academy of Music.

ShaanxiPhilharmonic Orchestra has performed massive works of symphony and choirincluding world classics as well as original compositions written by localtalents. The Orchestra has delivered themed concert series such as Beethoven’snine symphonies, commemorating the 150th anniversary of Tchaikovsky, the 250thanniversary of Mozart and so forth. It was also the first orchestra to performFeste Romane, masterpiece of illustrious Italian composer Ottorino Respighi inChina and to achieve the creation and performance of a series of symphonicworks featuring Chinese western ethnic customs， among which the representativesymphonic suite Tang Dynasty (composed by the director of the orchestra Mr.Bingyuan Cui) is later known as the music work that best represents the music spiritof Xi’an city. The Orchestra has also worked closely with the Xi’an film studioin the recording of numerous decent film music including River without buoys,Life, Old well, the Xi’an Incident and other 100 movies.

In April2008, Shaanxi Philharmonic Orchestra was invited to the first session of the"Spring of Chinese Symphony" show season held by the Ministry ofCulture – Art Division, the National Theatre and the Chinese MusiciansAssociation performing Glowing Red Morningstar Lilies, the themed concertfeaturing symphonic work of Shaanxi；same year in December theorchestra was again invited to the National theatre to perform 2 more symphonyconcerts, Shaanxi Customs and World Classics. In doing so, the orchestra playedan important role in helping raise awareness of Shaanxi music and uniting thepeople. As the first music group in the Northeast of China who made its way tothe National Theatre, Shaanxi Philharmonic Orchestra not only presented theirsolid expertise in music composition to the audience of the capital city butalso impressed them especially with the First Symphony by Jiping Zhao, thesymphonic suite Tang Dynasty by Mr. Bingyuan Cui and other original works.

In the first music season of year 2013 – 2014, with approximately 20 various themed concerts, the orchestra made its appearance as a fast growing emerging strength in front of the mass music lovers and fully accomplished the mission of “merging the great elegance with the easily approachable genre, let joy be accompanied with depth，let  solemnness and recreation complement each other and let the nation embrace the world” by stressing the fundamentals of “Authoritative guidance, professional training, internationalized makeover and beautifully delivered rendering” . The music season had the distinguished conductor Mr. Xincao Li as its music director and had world class top composers and musicians on board. With the innovative interpretation of numerous western classic works and original creations, the audience witnessed a new milestone in the development of this emerging orchestra.

The secondmusic season of Shaanxi Philharmonic Orchestra in year 2014 – 2015 came alongvigorously as expected, during which the orchestra also observed its 58thanniversary. After years of hard work, the orchestra has won the approval ofthe public with their professional demeanor and musical expertise and hasraised their awareness in Shaanxi province and the whole nation. The openingthemed concert “New Symphony of the silk road” was performed in the nationaltheatre in October 29th, 2014 and achieved grand success. The New Symphony ofthe silk road themed concert is a boutique cultural item of the year of Shaanxiprovince affirmed by Provincial Party Committee Propaganda Department. Theconcert brought together masters like conductor Mr. Lie Zhang, soprano andvocal music educator Ms. Ningjia Zhang and wind music performer Mr. Lei Han inthe performance of well – known pieces of eminent composer Mr. Jiping Zhao andMr. Bingyuan Cui, which was covered by China Culture Daiily, Beijing MusicWeekly, Shaanxi Daily, China Business News, Culture and Art Newspaper and othermedia with tracking reports. Meanwhile, the concert was also on CCTV News,commenting that “the New Symphony of the Silk Road concert has resurrected thethriving society of Tang Dynasty，thevision of a harmonious existence of all nations together in pursuing a commonprosperity at the starting point of the silk road”. This was also reproducedlater by more than 30 media such as Shaanxi Provincial People's GovernmentNetwork, Shaanxi media network, Shaanxi propaganda network, Shaanxi CulturalIndustry Network, Xian TV official website, Netease News, Reuters etc. Theapplauses at the concert hall also spoke for themselves about being highlyrecognized and approved by the audiences.

In June 19, 2015, Shaanxi Philharmonic Orchestra went as the first music group from the west of China to Shanghai and performed the symphony suite Glowing Red Morningstar Lilies by celebrated composer Mr. Bingyuan Cui in the best symphony hall, the newly constructed Shanghai Symphony orchestra concert hall. The performance was a great hit and was highly complimented by celebrities in the music industry such as world – class conductor and music director of Shanghai Symphony orchestra Mr. Long Yu and director of Chinese symphony development fund Mr. Guangxian Chen and was covered by mainstream media such as CCTV News.

In thepast half century, the orchestra has worked closely with renowned conductorslike Mr. Delun Li, Mr. Liangkun Yan, Mr. Zhongjie Han, Mr. Geshun Ma, Mr,Hongnian, Yang, Ms. Xiaoying Zheng, Mr. En Shao, Mr. Guoyong Zhang, Mr. XincaoLi, Mr. Yi Zhang, Mr. Yongyan Hu, Mr. Li Zhang, Mr. Lie Zhang etc. andprominent performing artists such as Mr. Chengzong Yin, Mr, Shikun Liu, Mr.Shucheng Shi, Mr. Lang Lang, Mr. Bingsun Yang, Mr. Lina Yu, Mr. Zhongguo Sheng,Mr. Jian Wang, Mr, Feng Ning, Mr. Mengla Huang, Mr. Shen Gao etc. andestablished singers such as Mr. Changyong Liao, Ms. Bixia Wu, Ms, Liping Zhang,Mr. Yuqiang Dai, Mr. Hualun Mo, Mr. Song Wei etc. With these cooperatingexperiences, not only did the orchestra built a profound friendship withChinese and foreign masters, it also managed to brought the local cultureespecially the local music works onto the international stage in front ofuniversal recipients.

Today Shaanxi Philharmonic Orchestra embodies the essence of Chinese western music culture and keeps fascinating people in Shaanxi and other western area with these whole new cultural experiences. Time ain’t stopping and neither is the journey of the orchestra. We have a reason to believe that with the support of everyone and the hard work with all musicians in Shaanxi Philharmonic Orchestra, going to concerts will eventually blend in the local life as a common cultural activity and Shaanxi Philharmonic Orchestra will be there with everyone all the way, to communicate and to grow together. Soon the orchestra will be a rock in mid – stream in the development of Chinese western symphony. It will carry on the mission of establishing a model of elegant art and thrive from there.