DALLAS—“You don’t have to go to China now—let them come here, and you feel like you’re there,” said Mr. Amon Denur, former owner of Denur Textile Corp., of the Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra after seeing the performance in Dallas Tuesday evening.
Mr. Denur attended the performance with family and friends at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center.
“We love it,” said Mrs. Polly Denur, who had a career in real estate. “I love the sound of the music.”
“The music is so beautiful,” Ms. Zelda Siegel agreed. “I feel like I’m transported back to China.”
The New York-based Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra does what no other orchestra has succeeded, blending East and West and combining traditional Chinese instruments into a full symphony orchestra.
“I just think [the] selections have been marvellous. I’m enjoying this so much,” Ms. Arlene Leibs said. “I love the selected pieces—they’re powerful and they’re lyrical.”
“They’re so beautiful I’m floating,” said Mrs. Denur.
The performance’s selection included classical pieces by Beethoven and Tchaikovsky, and original compositions like “Creation” by Jing Xian, which has influences from the Tang dynasty.
“‘Creation’ was gorgeous,” Mr. Denur said. “The concert was as if you were being transported—an explosion—the universe being created—and the sound was really authentic. It was, at the time, like I heard it myself.”
“Wonderful, it’s so exquisite,” Mrs. Denur said.
“I love the way it flows,” Ms. Siegel said. “I love the music and the way it flows, it makes you feel calm.”
“‘Creation’ is based on an ancient legend that human culture was brought to earth by heavenly beings,” the program reads. “The piece begins in heaven, where gods and goddesses answer a call to descend to the world and establish civilization.”
Ms. Ilene Green, a docent of several museums in the Dallas area, was surprised how new and enjoyable the original pieces were.
“It’s so unlike me to like something new,” Ms. Grene said. “It’s just fabulous; it’s wonderful. I like the tempo of the music, of every piece.”
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