Conductor: ‘The quality of sound is beautiful’
By Peter Benedetti On February 14, 2010 @ 2:15 pm In Special Section | No Comments
NEW YORK—David Dworkin, conductor, clarinetist, and educator well known for his work with gifted young musicians, attended Shen Yun Performing Arts on Feb. 14 at Radio City Music Hall. As a conductor, he was quick to focus on the merits of the music.
“The quality of sound is beautiful. The rhythmic structure is wonderful. It’s so precise. And the conductor—of course, I’m a conductor—I know how difficult it is to be so precise for a show like this,” said Dworkin.
“Everything is very well in synch. Everything is very good.”
Mr. Dworkin, a graduate of The Juilliard School, has performed with the American Symphony Orchestra and the Metropolitan Opera. He has conducted music and acted as an Artistic Consultant for PBS. He has also conducted the New Jersey, Vermont, and Manhattan Symphony Orchestras.
This wasn’t Mr. Dworkin’s first time seeing Shen Yun. He attended the show in NY State University's Purchase College last year and decided to come back to see the all-new program for 2010.
“Today, one of my students, Jennifer, is playing in the orchestra. It’s a wonderful show. It’s spiritual. It’s colorful. It’s rhythmic," he said.
Shen Yun features one of the world’s largest interactive backgrounds. It interacts with the entire show to create the scenery and works in sync with the music, costumes, and lighting, in order to set the atmosphere. The show consists of Chinese classical dance and opera, accompanied by a live orchestra playing original scores synchronized with each dance piece.
"I think the orchestra is just wonderful," declared Mr. Dworkin.
The Shen Yun Performing Arts Orchestra is unique in the world in its blending of western and eastern instruments' sound. When asked what he thought about this unique fusion, Mr. Dworkin said: “I love that sound. I love the sound of the Chinese instruments together with the Western instruments. It’s beautiful, and a wonderful experience, and even my grandson loved it!”
“We took him this year, because it was so spectacular last year,” he revealed.
Not only the music, but the dance of Shen Yun impressed Mr. Dworkin.
"The dancers are just superb,” he enthused.
Additional Reporting by NTDTV.
Shen Yun Performing Arts will be performing three more shows at Radio City Music Hall on Saturday, Feb. 20th and Sunday, Feb. 21st.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. For more information, please visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
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