TORONTO—The Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra’s sole performance at Roy Thomson Hall on Oct. 23 made a big impression on Jason Cyrus and Kari Tolppanan.

“It was beautifully well done,” said Mr. Cyrus, a visual merchandiser who works for Gucci designing store windows.

“The artistry of the orchestra was really beautiful to see, especially with the violins and the second violins and the harp. It was just cohesive together. You get a really good sense of Chinese culture too. It was really, really well done.”

He said he felt excited having seen the performance.

“Very excited. And very calm. It was a beautiful experience to sit and see the musicians play, just to hear the sound and you could feel the emotion as they were playing and singing. You can feel it. You can feel it. It was beautiful. It’s almost like electricity. You could feel it coming from the orchestra towards you because of the passion that they put into playing the piece. It was really well done.”

Mr. Tolppanan, a landscape designer with his own company, praised Fiona Zheng’s rendition of “Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso.”

“Especially I liked the violinist. She was excellent. It was a very difficult piece and she played it very well,” he said.

“I always love to listen to music played by excellent musicians. It lifts up my spirit. I feel happy afterwards and I’m thankful that there are such good musicians in the world.”

Mr. Cyrus said the music also left him feeling happy, and he admired the passion of the musicians.

“It takes a lot of effort and passion for artists to learn music and to play music and to do it so well and when you put that energy into playing, it creates an energy,” he said.

“And I feel like when an artist is so passionate and they put it into their music you can feel it. It’s like when someone cooks a really good meal, you can feel their passion and their love when you taste it. It’s the same thing with music, and I felt like they did that today.”

‘Really Beautiful and Relaxing’

Housewife Helena Carvalho said she found the performance had a calming effect after having some traffic woes on the way to the theatre.

“It was really, really beautiful and relaxing,” she said. “Very relaxing. To be honest with you, I was a bit upset on my way due to the traffic that was going on, but you know what? Once you sit there and you listen to the music and it’s very soul-searching basically. I found that it relaxed me and you sort of reflect a lot on your life, the music itself, and that’s how I related to it.”

She said at times she felt happy, and at times she was moved to tears.

“You know when you hear something very mellow and you sort of reflect a bit on your life and you sort of relate and your tears start coming. You know what? Music is universal and it creates a lot of different moods and emotions and one piece could be a very happy piece for someone else and another person it could touch something personal and brings tears to their eyes. So that’s how I felt.”

The New York-based orchestra had just returned from its first tour of Asia and presented two concerts at New York’s Carnegie Hall before playing in Toronto, its only stop in Canada.

When it returns to Toronto next year, Ms. Carvalho said she plans to see it again.

“I see they are coming back and I am definitely going to come back.”

Reporting by Dongyu Teng and Joan Delaney

New York-based Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra comprises musicians from the four Shen Yun Performing Arts touring companies. For information about the October performances, visit: ShenYun.com/Symphony

The Epoch Times considers Shen Yun Performing Arts the significant cultural event of our time and has covered audience reactions since the company’s inception in 2006.