Feature: Concert themed ancient Chinese poetry held in U.S. to celebrate upcoming Lunar New Year

Artists from iSING! Suzhou International Young Artist Festival and the Philadelphia Orchestra jointly present a concert to celebrate the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year in Philadelphia, U.S. state of Pennsylvania, Jan. 6, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhang Mocheng)

PHILADELPHIA, the United States, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- A concert featuring ancient China's Tang Dynasty (618-907) poems was held in Philadelphia, U.S. state of Pennsylvania on Friday night to celebrate the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year.

Entitled "Echoes of Ancient Tang Poems," the 1.5-hour-long concert attracted more than 2,000 audience and brought the Tang Dynasty to life with 15 ancient poems reinterpreted by young international composers.

The concert, presented jointly by iSING! Suzhou International Young Artist Festival and the Philadelphia Orchestra, was also held to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the orchestra's historic 1973 tour of China.

Chinese Consul General in New York Huang Ping, who made remarks before the show, said the Philadelphia Orchestra has become one of the most popular foreign orchestras in China since the ensemble's trip to China. He said the stories between the Philadelphia Orchestra and its Chinese partners showed that "people-to-people exchange is a constant driving force for China-U.S. relations."

Nikil Saval, member of the Pennsylvania State Senate, said the orchestra's China tour "was the beginning of a decades-long, still evolving cultural exchange."

Artists from iSING! Suzhou International Young Artist Festival and the Philadelphia Orchestra jointly present a concert to celebrate the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year in Philadelphia, the United States, Jan. 6, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhang Mocheng)

Founded in 1900, the orchestra was the first U.S. orchestra to perform in the People's Republic of China. Since then, its frequent visits to the Asian country have served as a bridge for bilateral cultural, educational and people-to-people exchanges.

"We are very proud to see these relationships grow and continue to flourish, exemplified again by this evening's events," said Matias Tarnopolsky, the orchestra's president and CEO.

"The concert was magnificent," said Jennifer Lin, a local documentary director told Xinhua after the show. "The poetry was beautiful. The singing was beautiful, and the orchestra was fantastic."

"It's lovely. I love Eastern music and I love seeing the different sounds, and coupled with the singing, the beautiful singers," said a physiotherapist from the suburb of Pennsylvania by the first name of Julian.

The 33-year-old said the concert has helped him learn more about Chinese culture and hopefully there will be more such events to come.

Friday's show was also the first leg of the North American premiere of Echoes of Ancient Tang Poems. Its second and final U.S. performance is in New York on Saturday evening.