New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ Philadelphia Orchestra Association) In a first-of-its kind collaboration, Philadelphia Orchestra musicians joined with members of the Shenzhen and Macao orchestras and more than 100 choristers in a stunning performance of Ode to Humanity, Wednesday, February 4, at the Venetian® Macao's Venetian Theatre in China.
The
Pearl River Delta Residency Week's focus is on sharing music and the people-to-people exchanges that occur as a result of these encounters, which provide a cultural bridge between the musicians performing together. The Ode to Humanity performance occurred during The Philadelphia Orchestra's
Pearl River Delta Residency Week, (Feb. 3-9), a series of concerts, master classes, side-by-side rehearsals, and community performances in Macao, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong.
The Orchestra's Macao-born assistant conductor, Lio Kuokman, led the performance of Ode to Humanity, which is composed by Wang Ning and pays tribute to 2,000 years of Confucianism and expresses the core values of Chinese human civilization through music. Audience applause was so sustained after the concert that as an encore Kuokman and the musicians performed a portion of Ode to Humanity's final movement.
"When The Philadelphia Orchestra visits China, we witness firsthand how music can transcend cultural boundaries and touch people wherever they live. It is a privilege to share our music, and make music, with citizens and musicians across China," said Philadelphia Orchestra President and CEO
Allison Vulgamore.
"Since 1973 the Philadelphians have been foremost in bringing together different cultures and peoples through the magic of music," said Ambassador Nicholas Platt, the diplomat who helped facilitate the Orchestra's historic 1973 Tour of China and who joined the ensemble as an adviser on the Residency. "At last night's performance of Ode to Humanity, musicians and singers from disparate orchestras and cities in the
Pearl River Delta region coalesced around The Philadelphia Orchestra. The result was a diplomatic virtuoso performance, and a complex triumph of people-to-people artistry."
The Venetian Macao is the Presenting Sponsor of the
Pearl River Delta Residency.
Master classes are being taught during the Residency by Orchestra First Associate Concertmaster
Juliette Kang, Principal Percussion Chris Deviney, trumpeter Anthony Prisk, and cellist Alex Veltman.
The Residency began with a performance by an Orchestra string group for residents of an elder care facility and a side-by-side rehearsal with the Macao Youth Symphony.
