The Philadelphia Orchestra will send a group of 10 musicians to China this fall, continuing a partnership with Chinese audiences that dates back more than 50 years. The ensemble will travel from Oct. 10 to 18, with concerts and residency activities planned in Qingdao, Beijing, Shanghai, and Hangzhou. The trip is part of the Orchestra’s yearlong 125th anniversary celebration.
In 1973, under the direction of Eugene Ormandy, The Philadelphia Orchestra became the first American orchestra to perform in China. Since that historic visit, the Orchestra has returned 13 times, most recently in 2024. The Orchestra has developed deep, impactful connections throughout China through concerts and residencies that serve as a cultural bridge.
“The Philadelphia Orchestra and the people of China have cooperated on musical engagement for over 50 years,” said President and CEO Ryan Fleur. “We look forward to continuing to build bridges across borders and cultures through musical collaboration, artistic dialogue, and friendship, as we honor the longevity of this relationship through generations.”
The residency will include both formal concerts and community engagement. Highlights include a side-by-side performance with the Qingdao Symphony Orchestra of Beethoven’s ‘Symphony No. 6’ — the same work performed during the Orchestra’s historic 1973 visit—alongside pop-up performances in Qingdao and Beijing. Also, Philadelphia musicians will join forces with the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra and lead chamber music sessions for students at ShanghaiTech University.
The tour will conclude in Hangzhou with a joint concert with the Zhejiang Provincial Symphony Orchestra at the Grand Canal Theater, featuring Mason Bates’s ‘Spring River Flowers by Moonlight.’ The piece, premiered by the Philadelphia Orchestra in 2024, will be performed as part of the Liangzhu Forum, which also includes a special video presentation filmed at the UNESCO-listed Archaeological Ruins of Liangzhu City.
