ORANGE PARK, Fla.—Many ensembles have tried to combine instruments from different cultures, but very few have been successful. Shen Yun Performing Arts has fused the sounds of East and West in a way that is pleasing to the ear and soul.
“The orchestra was phenomenal,” said Joel Malin, a mental health counselor and musician.
“Hearing the different instruments that have such a unique sound compared to what we’re used to hearing from traditional American orchestras was very interesting,” he said.
“I’ve never seen one. I’ve heard it, but I didn’t know what it was. It’s very similar to the sound of a violin, but it seems like it had a lot more expression to it. With a lot of the glissando, like the swooping up to different notes and everything, it was very beautiful,” he said.
The erhu is an ancient Chinese instrument. It has thousands of years of history, and it is known for its ability to mimic the human voice.
“The erhu, when it came in at one point, it sounded so much like the human voice and it definitely catches your attention,” he said.
“Both of them, the singers, had a lot of power, definitely had a lot of power whenever they did their performance,” he said.
“Everybody was synchronized, they were in unison, and all the movements were very beautiful,” he said.
His wife, Christiana Malin, a clinical laboratory manager, said she was very impressed with the dance that portrayed the story of Falun Dafa practitioners being persecuted for their faith in China.
“That was very eye-opening. Very interesting to see that that’s still going on over there,” she said.
“I would say it’s faith, belief, and conviction placed into art form,” Mr. Malin said.
