Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra opened its seven-city tour with an evening that saw four encores and several minutes of standing ovation from an ecstatic audience at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall Friday.

“I loved it. It was beautiful, really unique show,” said concertgoer Dr. Jason Wemmers who attended the Washington performance last night. “Loved the versatility of the orchestra, and it was really nice to see some of the classical Chinese instruments. I hadn’t seen them in concert before.”

The concert featured all-original music from the Shen Yun production, masterpieces by Beethoven and Tchaikovsky, instrumental soloists, and Shen Yun’s vocal soloists.

The orchestra combines the exquisite beauty of Chinese music with the precision and grandeur of the Western symphony orchestra. Alongside Western brass, woodwinds, and strings, it incorporates traditional Chinese instruments like the 4,000-year-old erhu, the heavenly pipa, and a range of percussion instruments.

“It blends very well together… It’s absolutely wonderful,” said Neil Chambers at the season premiere last night. “It should never be missed.”

For many audience members, the performance was their first chance to see ancient Chinese instruments played live. For regular Shen Yun fans, it was a rare opportunity to hear the music they love, usually performed from the orchestra pit while accompanying the dance, take center stage. The fantastic acoustics of the Kennedy Center Concert Hall made the experience that much more sublime.

The Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra is now getting ready to perform at New York’s Carnegie Hall next Saturday, before heading to Boston, Texas, and California.

Audience quotes courtesy of The Epoch Times.

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