SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Trumpeter Delivers High Praise to Shen Yun’s Orchestra

Feb 22, 2025

MILWAUKEE, Wis.—Shen Yun Performing Arts entertained a delighted audience at the Miller High Life Theatre on Feb. 22 that loved many aspects of Shen Yun’s 2025 production.

Musician Dale Elenich especially enjoyed the music from the live orchestra, and Shen Yun’s sound production. For him, it all seemed to work together.

“The coordination of all the pieces that went into this are fascinating,” Mr. Elenich said. “Well done, well rehearsed, well thought out.”

It was Mr. Elenich’s first time at a Shen Yun performance and the music intrigued him.

“I’m a musician myself, so obviously I tend to watch, listen, and be a little more critical of what I’m hearing on the score, on the performance, and how it blends.

“There’s an interesting balance between the live musicians and some of the other instruments, and the singing. Overall, it’s magnificently put together. Talent everywhere. There’s no weak points at all,” he said.

Shen Yun’s live orchestra, combining Eastern and Western instruments, accompanies the dancers, vocalists, and musicians on stage with original music. This intrigued Mr. Elenich, who plays the trumpet.

“The traditional Chinese instruments are fascinating in how they’re featured. I’m not familiar with the instruments or how they’re played, which ones are fretted, which ones are open strings, and how they use the effects. I’m new to all this,” he said.

“What comes to mind is the use of the instruments, the balance, where the melody is going, how it’s coordinating between sections, how it’s being conducted, and where it’s being put into the soundtrack of the story,” he said.

With his musical background, Mr. Elenich tends to hone in on the sounds more than the movements on stage. “I’m more critical than some others,” he said, “so sometimes I get distracted by the music and I miss what’s happening on the stage. Shame on me.

“I’m separating the music a little more than I probably should. Everything that I’m noticing now is fantastic and is well thought out.”

“The soprano was excellent,” he said.

Mr. Elenich had special words of appreciation for the musicians: “Thank you for your discipline. I noticed how attentive they are [and] how they’re poised in a ready position.

“They did all their tuning backstage, preliminary. I mean, they did the traditional tuning with the oboe at the beginning but all of them were balanced well. All of them are virtuosic. [They] blended, listened, and played well.

“Congratulations to the great musicians,” he said.

Reporting by Yeawen Hung and Yvonne Marcotte.

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.