On the evening of December 23rd, more than 70 musicians and 70 Shenzhen children's musicians and choirs from the Hong Kong City Chinese Orchestra, together with a total of 150 musicians, staged a large-scale concert funded by the National Arts Fund - "Music in Pengcheng, Love for China" at the Grand Theatre of Longgang Cultural Center, led by contemporary conductor Hu Bingxu, famous conductor and erhu player Cheng Xiurong, and guest conductor Wei Chengfa.
The concert's "Victoria Harbour Nocturne" kicked off with a light, undulating music that seemed to spread out the night view of Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong. "Freedom in the Mountains and Clouds" was originally composed for the solo guzheng performance, and the orchestra uses multi-layered sounds to express the artistic conception of the ethereal mountains and clouds. "Four Seasons - Winter" echoes the recent cold wave, using music to depict the heavy snow and skiers galloping, showing the broad and magnificent side of winter. The first half of the performance ended with the magnificent "Erhu Concerto - Xin Qiji".
In the second half of the concert, the ensemble "Yunnan Style", the ensemble "Eight Horses", the flute concerto "The Legend of the White Snake" and the ensemble "TV Theme Suite" were also staged. Among them, the ensemble "TV Theme Song Suite" is also conducted by Mr. Hu Bingxu, a national treasure, and the suite includes popular TV drama hits composed by Gu Jiahui, including: "Laughing Marriage", "Xiao Li Flying Knife", "Heaven and Dragon Slayer", "Book of Swords and Enmity", "Shanghai Tang", "Lu Xiaofeng" and so on. When the familiar melody sounded, the audience instantly dreamed back to the golden age of Hong Kong film and television dramas.
The encore program "Moonlight Nursery Rhyme Suite" is performed by the choir of Longcheng Senior High School (Group) Longcheng Junior High School and the student children's choir of Longgang Foreign Chinese School (Group) New Asia School, accompanied by the Hong Kong City Chinese Orchestra and the Longgang District Musicians Association Longsheng Chinese Orchestra Youth Troupe. The children's voices are childlike and blended at the same frequency, which also reflects the cultural inheritance and integration behind Chinese music.
Following performances in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, the City Chinese Orchestra will continue to hold concerts, lectures, seminars and other series of activities in Zhuhai and Macao in 2024.
Written by: Nandu reporter Yan Peng