Carnegie dream comes true

In a celebration of musical talent, cultural exchange and educational enrichment, a Chinese symphony orchestra has been launched and is set to embark on a transformative journey to the United States.

The Beijing Youth Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of conductor Lyu Jia, will perform at the famed Carnegie Hall in New York on Aug 4.

On Friday and Saturday, they staged two concerts at Beijing's National Centre for the Performing Arts and the Beijing Performing Arts Centre, warming up for the US performance.

The upcoming concert will be part of the new summer concert festival — World Orchestra Week, which was launched by Carnegie Hall. In celebration of international youth orchestras, "the initiative brings five youth orchestras from Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America to New York City for high-level music making with some of today's most internationally renowned artists plus cultural exchange activities among the orchestras over the course of one week", the hall's official website states.

Besides the Beijing Youth Symphony Orchestra, four other ensembles will be featured in the festival, including the National Children's Symphony of Venezuela, the Africa United Youth Orchestra, the European Union Youth Orchestra and the Afghan Youth Orchestra. These five orchestras, along with Carnegie Hall's National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America and NYO2, a free orchestra program that joins with the NYO, will perform at Carnegie Hall from Thursday to Aug 7.

In addition to public performances at Carnegie Hall, the community of more than 700 young musicians from around the globe will take part in cultural exchanges and communal music-making experiences throughout the week.

"This unique event not only showcases the vibrant musical prowess of China's youth but also underscores the power of music education in fostering global understanding and collaboration," says conductor Lyu, who is the artistic director of the Beijing Youth Symphony Orchestra and the music director of the NCPA in Beijing.

During the concert on Aug 4, Lyu will lead the Beijing Youth Symphony Orchestra to perform Chinese works, including Selections from Chinese Sights and Sounds by composer Bao Yuankai and Pipa Concerto No 2 by composer Zhao Jiping. Veteran pipa (a traditional four-stringed Chinese lute) player Wu Man will join in the concert. The concert will also stage Tchaikovsky's Symphony No 5 in E minor, Op 64.

According to Lyu, the Beijing Youth Symphony Orchestra, co-launched by the Beijing Municipal Education Commission and the NCPA in June, consists of about 130 young people aged from 14 to 24.

It gathers students from three schools in the capital: the Central Conservatory of Music, the High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China and Beijing 101 Middle School.

"These young people learned to play music as children and they represent the culmination of years of dedicated training and a passion for music," says Lyu, adding that the music pieces to be staged at Carnegie Hall will showcase Chinese musical traditions and the young musicians' ability to interpret Western classics.

"With our training and their hard work, they sound like a professional symphony orchestra," he adds.

During a recent rehearsal at the NCPA in Beijing, Lyu led the Beijing Youth Symphony Orchestra to perform Bao's Selections from Chinese Sights and Sounds, including Dui Hua (Dialogue on Flowers), a piece combining symphonic music with Chinese folk elements. Under the guidance of the experienced conductor and principal musicians of the China NCPA Orchestra — the resident symphony orchestra of the NCPA — these young musicians have honed their skills, mastering classical compositions and contemporary pieces alike, preparing to showcase their talents on an international stage.

"The young people remind me of my experience of performing in a youth symphony orchestra when I was a student," says Li Zhe, the concertmaster of the China NCPA Orchestra. "Unlike professional musicians who spend hours every day together to do rehearsals and perform onstage, these young people face great challenges because they perform together as a new symphony orchestra. What they need to do is to listen to one another and learn to work as a team.

"They practice hours at home alone, which may bring them great technique. But when they perform together, they need to follow the conductor and work with other musicians in their sections with one shared goal of producing harmonious sounds," says Li. "For this upcoming concert, they represent Chinese youth, which will broaden their perspective, enable them to meet new friends from around the world and nurture a lifelong appreciation for cultural diversity."

Tan Chai Suang, the associate principal French horn player with the China NCPA Orchestra, says, "Being part of a symphony orchestra teaches children the value of teamwork, collaboration and discipline. They learn to listen to others, follow instructions from conductors and contribute to the collective effort of creating music, fostering empathy and social skills.

"The rehearsals also allow these young people to be exposed to music works that they may have never performed before."

Cui Bingxuan, 14, plays violin in the Beijing Youth Symphony Orchestra. The student at the High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China has experience playing with her school's symphony orchestra abroad but it will be the first time that she performs at Carnegie Hall.

"I watched lots of videos of musicians performing at Carnegie Hall and I cannot believe that I will perform there," says Bingxuan. "What makes us very proud is that we will perform Chinese music works there."

Su Qi, the concertmaster of the Beijing Youth Symphony Orchestra, who is in his first year of pursuing a master's degree as a violinist at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, says that, "rehearsals started in May and because we all have our school classes, we tried to make the best use of our spare time to make sure the rehearsals go well".

"Many of the members (of the Beijing Youth Symphony Orchestra) don't know one another and we became friends during the intensive training and rehearsals. We will make more friends during our days in the US."