Modern Chinese orchestra

“Chinese orchestra fuses traditional music with modern elements“

Modern Chinese orchestra is a national or folk orchestra in mainland China. Amateur Chinese
orchestras are commonly found in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia where they may
be organized by clan associations, community centres and schools, and some professional
orchestras are also formed. It is a mixture of Chinese and Weste rn music. The Orchestra has
expanded rapidly during the last 26 years.

All of them refer to the same type of orchestra made up

of Chinese instruments, but partially formed
according to Western orchestral principles to
represent both traditional and modern Chinese taste
and identity. As a result of modernization, Western
music was introduced to the Chinese public through
Christian churches, Western-style military bands and the
newly established school system. Intellectuals who
were trained in the new music system began to think
and hear music in terms of Western intonation and
harmony, and came to prefer musical instruments as
well as large orchestras. After years of effort by
scholars and musician to modernize Chinese
instruments, techniques, and music, the modern Chinese orchestra finally arrived in the mid
1930s. Today, Chinese orchestras can be found throughout greater China and in overseas
Chinese communities around the world. Despite its relatively short history, Chinese orchestra
is now well established and proudly representing Chinese culture in countries all around the
world.
The modern Chinese orchestra typically consists of four main sections: bowed-strings,
plucked-strings, wind and percussion, which
incorporate traditional and modernized
Chinese instruments as well as suitable
western instruments. Many of the Chinese
instruments are modified versions of
traditional instruments. The Orchestra
continues to develop research on Chinese
traditional and contemporary music to achieve
the best acoustic effects through reforming
instruments.

In 2001 a new Guinness World Record was set by the Orchestra when about a thousand Hong
Kong citizens played at a mass performance entitled Music from a Thousand Strings. The
official entry was made as the largest number of people performing the erhu at the same time.
From the 1950s on, this new type of orchestra went through numerous transformations in
China and Taiwan until it finally reached the form we see and hear today.
The modern music gave musicians much more freedom to improvise. The compositions are
more open and complex, full of changing forms.

To bring the colourful world of Chinese music to the people of Hong Kong, the Orchestra
organizes more than one hundred regular and
outreach concerts every year, as well as mass
activities and arts festivals. The orchestra has
made phenomenal efforts in promoting
Chinese music via various ways. This type of
orchestra can be encountered in all urban
areas including overseas Chinese
communities. Unlike traditional folk
ensembles whose function is for gatherings of
musical friends or to accompany seasonal
activities, the modern Chinese orchestra is for concert performance, just like its counterpart in
the West. The Orchestra has given over 2,000 performances to date. It also goes on regular
overseas tours, having performed in Australia, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Mainland
China, Taiwan, Macao, Canada, the United States, Holland, Austria, Germany and the United
of Kingdom.

Everyone loves the show whether they are

Chinese or international young or old. the
Orchestra gives performances in schools and
organizes instrumental classes for different age
groups. This Orchestra is also taking itself to
the classroom before the concerts. In public
school in Washington they put on a
performance to introduce youngsters to the
classics. The group is also going to incorporate
40 of these children to join them on stage.

They fused traditional music with some modern elements we used some very modern visuals
to show how the music is alive. The Orchestra wants to make sure the ancient songs and the
traditional instruments that have survived thousands of years can stay relevant in an age of the
internet cell phones and video games.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEWcPsqDIx4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JKxIPDHqO4