NEW YORK—James Griffin, a classical music radio broadcaster from Australia, organizes international music tours for people in his region who appreciate music. On Saturday evening, their group was in New York, and attended Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra’s concert at Carnegie Hall.
The group’s itinerary has included the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
“We like the traditional Chinese music very much—beautiful instruments—the erhu, and the other traditional instruments, mixed beautifully with the Western-style music,” Mr. Griffin said after the concert Saturday.
The Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra is the world’s only orchestra that combines both classical Western and Chinese instruments as its permanent members.
Mr. Griffin said his group had been happy that one of Shen Yun’s conductors, Leif Erikson Sundstrup, is Australian. “We didn’t know that before hand when we came, but that was a nice surprise.”
He added that the program book enabled them to understand the traditions behind the pieces of music.
Mr. Griffin also said he had been to Shen Yun Performing Arts’ classical Chinese dance performances in Australia. “I like Shen Yun. [It’s] very good,” he said.
Shen Yun Performing Arts is an internationally acclaimed classical Chinese dance and music company based in New York.
Until last year, the Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra was heard only as an accompaniment to the Shen Yun dance performances. This changed last year when the orchestra held a concert at the Carnegie Hall. This year, the Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra has embarked on a seven-city tour across the United States.
With additional reporting by Tracey Zhu and Sarah Matheson
Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra is on a seven-city tour with performances in Washington, D.C., New York, Boston, Houston, Dallas, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, from Sept. 27–Oct. 22. For more information, visit Symphony.Shenyun.com