WSU Chamber Orchestra Tours China (May 15 - 23)

Chamber Orchestra Prepares for a Concert Tour in China

Who: Weber State University Department of Performing Arts
What: WSU Chamber Orchestra on tour
When: May 15-23, 2011
Where: China!

On March 22, 2011 the Weber State Chamber Orchestra will begin preparations for a nine-day concert tour of China. The tour runs from May 15 though May 23. The orchestra will perform concerts in Tianjin and Shanghai after an initial stop in Beijing where they will tour the Forbidden City, Tianamen Square and other sites. The orchestra members will also take a special trip to climb the Great Wall.

The WSU orchestra program’s association with schools in China began in 1999 when president Yang of Shanghai Normal University was visiting the WSU campus as part of an exchange development trip. During his tour of the campus he attended a rehearsal of the Weber State Symphony Orchestra. This led to an invitation for the orchestra to perform a series of concerts at Shanghai Normal University and other venues in Shanghai the following year.

In 2005 the orchestra was invited back and at that time performed concerts in Beijing, Xi’an, and Shanghai. During this trip they had an opportunity that is rarely offered to visitors. They were allowed to walk and view up close among the terra cotta soldiers that had been excavated in Xi’an.

This May’s trip to China involves only the chamber orchestra instead of the full symphony orchestra. Thirty-seven players will make the trip, along with several spouses and members of the department music faculty. On this trip faculty members Yu-Jane Yang, piano; Shi-Hwa Wang, violin; and Viktor Uzur, cello will be featured as guest artists, and as such will perform the Beethoven Concerto in C for Piano, Violin and Cello with the orchestra.

The orchestra will perform concerts at the Tianjin Music Conservatory, Tianjin Normal University, and Shanghai Ocean University. Before leaving Shanghai the members of the orchestra will tour several sites in and around the city of Shanghai.

This trip is made possible by generous contributions from the College of Arts and Humanities, and the WSU’s Student Fee Committee.