INCHEON, South Korea—With the clock ticking past midnight, over 100 fervent fans gathered at the Incheon International Airport, some wearing traditional Korean dresses, remained upbeat about what they would soon see—members of the New York-based Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra, which will kick off the Asian leg of its 2017 global tour on Sept. 17.
- Members of Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra at the Incheon International Airport on Sept. 16, 2017. (Quan Jinglin/The Epoch Times)
Based in New York, Shen Yun Performing Arts is a classical Chinese dance and music company that has a mission to revive China’s divinely inspired culture. Shen Yun’s five different touring companies travel the globe each year with all new programming of dance and music performances.
Shen Yun’s music is unique, in that it is performed by orchestras that combine traditional Chinese instruments and classical Western instruments.
In response to many theatregoers who wanted to hear the music of Shen Yun, Shen Yun formed the Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra, which debuted in 2012.
“Since this is the first visit of the Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra in South Korea, we feel extremely excited and look forward to the presentation,” said Milen Nachev, the orchestra’s conductor.
As for how Shen Yun is able to produce such a unique production, Mr. Nachev elaborated that “traditional Chinese instruments and the original instruments forming the western symphony orchestra is the power of Shen Yun.”
Two Chinese string instruments that are present among the full orchestra are the pipa and the erhu, with the former being a plucked instrument that evokes “a sense of celestial realms” and the latter, also known as the Chinese violin, sounding as if it can “mimic the human voice,” conveying a wealth of feelings, according to Shen Yun’s website.
“All these combined together create unique sounds,” said Mr. Nachev; the result is that the production “creates this incredible feeling of emotional impact to the audience.”
Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra will grace the stage at the Korean cities of Daegu and Goyang, before traveling to Taiwan to embark on a 10-city tour, and finally returning to North America, with performances in Toronto, Boston, New York, and Washington, DC.
