Inspired by his spirituality, respected Chinese tenor Guan Guimin hopes to convey a message of peace and compassion to his audience.
On tour with New Tang Dynasty's Chinese New Year Spectacular, Mr Guan sings two songs "Extolling the Return" and "Finding Myself," which he says are based on his sense of spirituality found through practising the meditation discipline of Falun Gong.
Via an interpreter Mr Guan told The Epoch Times his songs focus on the meaning of life and he hopes that the audience will ask themselves "who am I," "what's the origin of your life?"
Mr Guan said he began practicing Falun Gong in 1996, the same year that he immigrated to the United States from China.
Falun Gong is a mediation practice that consists of five gentle exercises of which one is a meditation. The core principles of the practice are truthfulness, compassion and forbearance.
In one of his songs, "Extolling the Return" he sings:
"Compassion awakens us,
Truth brings light to the world.
Abiding by the good way,
back to our true selves."
Mr Guan's initial rise to celebrity status was through recording film soundtracks as a soloist with the China Film Orchestra in the late 1970s. His popularity grew during the 1980s and 1990s. By integrating bel canto technique with Chinese vocal methods, Mr Guan is said to have mastered a wide range of styles and performs them with great ease and clarity of diction.
Prior to practising Falun Gong, Mr Guan said he used to focus on the audience's reaction and the applause, but now it's completely different he says, with his wish now to express all the good things from the bottom of his heart.
In responding to the question of how he felt about feedback from Australian audiences, which described the Spectacular as "very special," "gentle" and "peaceful," Mr Guan gladly remarked that this is the normal response.
The Epoch Times is proud to join with New Tang Dynasty TV and Sound of Hope Radio in co-sponsoring NTDTV's Chinese New Year Spectacular ( http://shows.ntdtv.com. )
*In 1999 China's ruling Communist regime instigated a brutal persecution against Falun Gong because of the spiritual practice's increasing popularity among millions of Chinese. The persecution continues to this day.
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