Established in 2020, the Wuxi Chinese Orchestra is a national cultural troupe from the city of Wuxi.The Orchestra’s Artistic Director Deng Jiandong is one of China’s exceptionally talented modern erhuperformers, National Class One Performer and recipient of the State Council’s allowance. The Orchestra’sChief Conductor Sun Peng is a contemporary young conductor and champion of the First InternationalConducting Competition for Chinese Music. The Orchestra’s Principal Guest Conductor is the acclaimedconductor Tsung Yeh. The Orchestra has also hired Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra’s Artistic Directorand Principal Conductor for Life Yan Huichang as Principal Artistic Advisor, and renowned composers GuGuanren and Wang Jianming, as well as famed pipa virtuoso Wu Yuxia as orchestral consultants.
The Wuxi Chinese Orchestra heralds from the southern city of Wuxi, the cradle of Wuyue culturespanning three millennia, the “city of erhu”, and the “city of traditional Chinese music”. Wuxi is home toa rich and ancient musical culture that has produced countless talented artists throughout the ages. TheWuxi Chinese Orchestra strives to achieve “sophistication, technical skill, cooperation, and quality”, andits maxim is “pursuing excellence, taking a unique path, embracing diversity, and becoming a well-roundedbrand”. These form a positive mechanism that is guided by creation, focused on performance, and foundedon practice.
Since its establishment, the Orchestra has created era-defining works that represent the cultures of Wuyue,Taihu Lake, and southern China as it strives to carry forward and uncover the essence of local musicalculture and showcase uniquely local artforms. The Orchestra has held numerous concerts, including itsfirst concert ‘Glorious Liangxi’ and hundreds of performances of the epic symphony for Chinese orchestratitled ‘Bright Procession’, an original composition which extols the centennial anniversary of the foundingof the Chinese Communist Party. The Orchestra was invited to join the 39th Shanghai Spring InternationalMusic Festival, and the 2nd ‘Spring of Chinese Music’ hosted by the National Centre for the PerformingArts. The Orchestra oversaw creative planning for the concert series ‘Four Seasons of Music’, ‘SundayMusic Appreciation Workshop’, and ‘Musical Festivities’, and has commissioned several original works,including The Second Erhu Ensemble: Sentiments of Taihu Lake, and Chinese symphonies Poems of Liangxi andThe Grand Canal. The Wuxi Chinese Orchestra has received warm welcomes at cultural exchange events inAustralia, Laos, Canada, Mauritius, France, Portugal, Russia, and Turkey.
In the future, the Orchestra will invite more exceptional composers from around the world to craft piecesthat convey the unique style of Wuxi as it strives to bring the elegant ‘Sounds of Taihu Lake’ to audiencesin China and abroad, contributing to the promotion of southern Chinese culture and adding new spice toChinese musical traditions.
