“As a musician, I was really stunned by the [orchestra] and how they coordinated the music. Everything was perfect. I enjoyed the bassoons, flutes, and the piccolo—they really set the scene,” he said.
“It reminded me of an old black and white movie where all you had to do was listen with your eyes shut, and you could tell what was happening, whether it was a tense scene or a love scene, and it was magnificent. Took you up there and made you feel what they were doing.”
Seamlessly blending the grandeur of a Western orchestra with the ethereal beauty of Chinese melodies, Shen Yun musicians produce a profound emotional range that captures the depth of the human experience.
Mr. Leachman loved the orchestra’s fusion of the East and West. A bass player who has played in various groups and musicals, he understood firsthand how difficult it is to reach a perfect balance.
“They did an excellent job. Excellent. It had enough of the feeling of [a classic] symphony, and then they added the [traditional Chinese] music to give it originality. They weren’t trying to take away the old music or just dump the new music on it. It was actually complementary,” he reflected.
Starla Kramer, Mr. Leachman’s companion for the evening, was so moved by the performance that she couldn’t hold back tears. Longing to see Shen Yun since its 2023 tour, Ms. Kramer suggested this trip, and she was “absolutely not disappointed.”
“This is beautiful. It was so touching and so beautiful, I will never forget this,” she expressed, thoroughly moved by Shen Yun’s narrative-based dance, which raised awareness about the persecution faced by people of faith in present-day China under communist rule.
“I cried, and I cried,” Ms. Kramer said. “It was the most beautiful thing—I would give anything to see this on Broadway.”
For its 2024 touring season, Shen Yun’s eight equally-sized companies will be performing in over 200 cities across five continents. Met with wide acclaim since its establishment in 2006, the company can be expected to return each year with a brand-new set of choreography and musical compositions.
