WASHINGTON D.C.—Serge Khrichenko, an award-winning guitarist and music teacher, attended the Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra performance at Washington’s Kennedy Center on Oct. 12.

For Mr. Khrichenko’s musical ears, the performance was something special, “I really enjoyed this beautiful performance.”

According to Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra’s website on the orchestra’s structure, “First, the Western orchestra serves as a foundation, accentuating the distinct sound of Chinese instruments. Second, the bedrock of soul-stirring melodies from the ancient Middle Kingdom is fully brought to life by a Western symphony. This is what makes Shen Yun’s music unique and is a new frontier in classical music.”

Mr. Khrichenko said, “I love the combination of classical and Chinese beautiful music … The orchestra is wonderful. They played great, clear, clean, everything is fantastic. It’s interesting.”

He especially loved the instrument that “sounds like a woman’s voice … Wonderful. I really enjoyed it.”

He was referring to the erhu, a Chinese instrument, with origins dating back to 4,000 years ago. The Shen Yun website explains, “The erhu is incredibly expressive, capable of imitating sounds from chirping birds to neighing horses. An alto instrument with a middle-high musical range, its melodies can be tender or sonorous.”

Adding that he was touched by the performance he witnessed that afternoon, Mr. Khrichenko also praised the vocalists who use the bel canto technique to sing Chinese text.

“Beautiful soprano, beautiful. And the gentleman [tenor Tian Ge] singing ... great, absolutely.”

Reporting by NTD Television and Heide B. Malhotra

Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra is on a seven-city tour with performances in Boston, New York, Washington D.C., Toronto, Chicago, Miami, and Sarasota, through Oct. 27. For more information, visit www.shenyun.com/symphony