China Traditional Orchestra Guangdong
The China Traditional Orchestra Guangdong is among the greatest Chinese music performing groups in China. It is a professional Chinese orchestra with high-ranked title performers and elites from different music conservatories. For decades, the Orchestra has been committed to offering refined and excellent Chinese music and has made significant contribution in succeeding and developing Guangdong music, Chaozhou music and Handiao Opera. With its advantage in the Southern Chinese cultural heritage, the Orchestra has won numerous awards at home and abroad through composing, arranging and performing Southern Chinese music. Its members also won gold, silver, bronze and excellent performance awards in competitions such as the National Soloist Competition for Chinese Traditional Music, the Shanxi International Gong and Drum Festival Art Competition, China National Competition for Guangdong Music, and the Guangdong Art Festival.
The Orchestra has performed in Europe, America, Asia and Africa as well as Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan on behalf of the country and the province. Its has also been invited to international activities including the China Arts Festival, Tokushima Folk Art Festival of Japan, Singapore Arts Festival, Hong Kong Youth Art Festival, Macao International Music Festival, Lisbon Music Week, Portugal International Exposition, Celebrations for the 1997 HK Reunification and the 1999 Macau Reunification, the 45th National Anniversary Festivities. In 2002, the Orchestra was invited to the Guangdong Culture Week in Poland with the Provincial Cultural Delegations. Later, it was invited to the Japan Folk Art Festival in 2004 and to the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand with the Guangdong Economy and Trade Delegation in 2005. The Orchestra gave series of concerts featuring cultures of South China Region and received wide acclaim from the media and critics from around the world.
In order to attain a higher level of excellence, the Orchestra cooperated with many virtuosi including Hu Bingxu, Zhang Shiye, Wang Fujian, Liu Shun, Qu Chunquan, Zhang Lie, Wang Huiran, Min Huifen, Wang Guotong, Liu Dehai, Li Xiangting, Li Qi, Li Zhengui, Yan Xuemin, Feng Shaoxian, Hu Tianquan, Jiang Kemei, Shen Cheng, Yang Jing, Wang Zhongshan, Wang Caiyun. Besides, the Orchestra is engaged in recordings and exploring new musical frontiers. Among the many recordings it has made, Bouncing Chinese Melodies released by the Guangzhou Baile Studio won the Best Orchestral Performance Award in the 2nd Gold Album Award in China in 2005. Later in the same year, a grand concert in which modern repertoires were played Variations on Southern Tunes won the Class One Award, which was the only class one award in the music and dance section, in the 9th Guangdong Art Festival. In May 2006, the same program participated in the 4th Beijing Modern Music Festival as commissioned works of the Orchestra and performed in the Beijing Concert Hall. The concert caused quite a stir in Beijing and the performance was described as ‘paving the way for the development of Chinese music and revealing the spirit of relentless effort of the Cantonese people. In the future, the China Traditional Orchestra Guangdong will make continuous effort to promote Chinese and Guangdong Music.
