Streets come alive with the sounds of music

There was a music-themed evening city walk on Saturday for 30 people from the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. Led by staff of the archives department at the orchestra, they visited a series of historical buildings. "Walking in the shade of sycamore trees along the Fuxing Middle Road, to Fenyang Road, Huaihai Road and Wuyuan Road, we would pass by the German-style little 'music castle' on the premises of Shanghai Conservatory of Music, the former residence of pioneering Chinese composer Nie Er, the Shanghai Yueju Opera House, and a large number of important historical buildings," says Hu Yanqiong, a staff member with the artistic archives department at the orchestra.

A regular part of the festival program since 2016, MISA Students' Ensemble gave a concert under the baton of Zhang Jiemin, a resident conductor with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, on Sunday. This year more than 600 students aged between 10-16 applied to join the ensemble. The 44-piece ensemble went through intensive training and rehearsal with professional musicians of the orchestra for 10 days, before presenting a formal concert at the Shanghai Symphony Hall.

"More than half of the kids had no experience playing in an ensemble," Zhang said before the concert. It takes long and systematic training to be part of an ensemble, but playing with others brought new fulfillment to young musicians such as Li Yichen, a 14-year-old clarinet player. "When you play in an ensemble, you need to learn to communicate with other members with your body and sight, instead of just being a shining star under the stage light by yourself. It feels great to be part of a team."

The ensemble played Serenade No 13 for Strings in G Major by Mozart, Sicilienne from Pelleas et Melisande by Faure, and Symphony No 40 in G Minor by Mozart at the chamber hall of the Jaguar Shanghai Symphony Hall on July 16.