On July 10, Qingdao held the evening party named “The City’s Symphonies”  in celebration of the glorious three decades of symphonies in Qingdao. The Qingdao Symphony Orchestra, the Symphony Orchestra of Qingdao Song and Dance Theatre, the Qingge Teenagers Symphony Orchestra, the Symphony Orchestra of Ocean University of China, the Qingdao Comrade-in-arms Symphonic Chorus and other troupes made splendid performances. Lv Siqing, a famous violinist, returned to his hometown and played once more Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai (The Butterfly Lovers), a classical song he played in the premier performance of Qingdao’s first symphony orchestra three decades ago.

Qingdao’s first symphony orchestra was founded on May 12, 1994, unfolding the growth of symphonies in Qingdao. Over the three decades, Qingdao’s symphonies, which play a pivotal role in building the city’s cultural image as an “island of music”, have gone beyond the city’s territory and become geared to international practices so that melodies from Qingdao are heard across the country and on the global arena.

(Mi Jingyu)