On the evening of November 17, the "Ordinary and Great" concert featuring Rakhbari and the Beijing Symphony Orchestra took place at the National Centre for the Performing Arts, marking the closing chapter of the First Taihu Classical Music Festival hosted by the Beijing Symphony Orchestra. Over the eight-day festival, audiences enjoyed an immersive experience surrounded by classical music at various venues including the Beijing Symphony Orchestra's new address, the Taihu Stage Art Centre of the National Centre for the Performing Arts, and the Beijing Beitou Taihu Performing Arts Hotel.

As the first municipal arts troupe to settle in Tongzhou, the Beijing Symphony Orchestra is bringing art like a refreshing stream to enrich the cultural life of citizens and add more colors to the performing arts landscape of the sub-center.

Classical music unlocked in various ways

The first Taihu Classical Music Festival was positioned as "a festival for classical music lovers," offering 11 "art menus" covering eight different formats, providing diverse ways for citizens to approach classical music.

In the concert hall of the Beijing Symphony Orchestra's new address on the 11th, renowned conductor Xia Xiaotang and Beijing Symphony Orchestra performers led online and offline audiences through a 5-hour "music marathon," showcasing the charm of strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion. On the 12th at the Taihu Stage Art Centre, Beijing Symphony Orchestra's resident conductor Li Haoran joined renowned singers Xue Haoyin, Guo Chengcheng, and Hu Yue in a talk-and-performance session, leading audiences into the world of classic operas.

"This was my first time watching such a long concert, but I didn't find it boring at all because we had such professional artists explaining to us," said Ms. Li, who watched the "musical marathon." What impressed her most was the musician playing the theme music of Xinwen Lianbo, making her instantly remember the instrument, the trombone. Ms. Li, a Tongzhou resident, had previously taken her child to the National Centre for the Performing Arts and Beijing Concert Hall for performances, but due to the long round-trip time, they could only go occasionally. "In recent years, Tongzhou has not only the Taihu Stage Art Centre but also the Beijing Performing Arts Centre. Now, such a professional troupe like the Beijing Symphony Orchestra has come right to our doorstep."

Li Changjun, director of the Beijing Symphony Orchestra, said that this festival focused on accessibility in terms of event setup. "Long, short, sung, acted - we hope to attract citizens with various down-to-earth formats. Besides regular performances, there were also fun activities. We wanted citizens to know that classical music is not that far from everyone." The "fun activities" Li Changjun referred to were the "WeChat Friends Circle Dialogues: Games and Classical Music," where Zheng Yang, composer of the symphony version of Honor of Kings, and other game music composers shared their creation stories, gaining many young fans.

Experience hall lets citizens "become conductors"

During the festival, the Beijing Symphony Orchestra's new address in the Taihu Performing Arts Town was officially unveiled, giving the orchestra its own home and providing citizens with a window to experience symphony offline.

On the afternoon of the 15th, Aunt Wang and her daughter came from Haidian District to the Beijing Symphony Orchestra's new address to watch conductor Rakhbari rehearsing with the orchestra. Aunt Wang had participated in a community choir but had never been inside a symphony orchestra. Seeing Rakhbari guiding the musicians on breath control, she sought advice from the conductor after the rehearsal on the relationship between breathing and playing. "After listening to him, my understanding of music is different now," Aunt Wang said excitedly.

After the rehearsal, Aunt Wang and dozens of audience members went to the Capital Symphony Experience Hall on the first floor of the orchestra. This is the first symphony experience hall in China open to the public free of charge. Through multiple holographic experience projects and interactive exhibition devices, visitors can pick up a baton and imitate the conductor's movements to "direct" the orchestra; they can also wear VR glasses to place themselves among the orchestra members and see the expressions of each musician by changing positions; they can also enter the "Symphony Treasure Box," play a violin or sing a song, and the system will record it, adjust the recording through automatic error correction, and generate a unique musical work belonging to them.

"Currently, only Phase I content is open, and the experience hall will be further upgraded in the future to increase its technological content," Li Changjun revealed. The orchestra also plans to open a café in the experience hall where citizens can enjoy coffee and music, making classical music more down-to-earth.

Artistic achievements to benefit the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region

As a professional troupe with deep artistic productivity, the settlement of the Beijing Symphony Orchestra in Taihu has greatly activated the artistic energy of the Taihu Performing Arts Town.

"With the support of Tongzhou District, this festival leveraged multiple venues in Taihu, including the Taihu Stage Art Centre of the National Centre for the Performing Arts and the Beijing Beitou Taihu Performing Arts Hotel Theatre," Li Changjun said. The orchestra is also applying for a new performance space license for the concert hall at its new address and plans to hold regular events in the future, attracting audiences with artistic activities different from traditional concert halls. "Since it's called a performing arts town, multiple entities in the town must form a cohesive force to provide audiences with artistic products of different content and formats, enriching Tongzhou's performing arts landscape with the refreshing stream of art."

The festival also attracted audiences from Dachang, Hebei Province. Li Changjun plans to extend the influence of future Taihu Classical Music Festivals to the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. "From next year, the festival is planned to be held during the National Day holiday each year, inviting orchestras and artists from Tianjin and Hebei to perform or setting up special events in Tianjin and Hebei, so that the artistic achievements of the capital can benefit audiences in the three regions."