COSTA MESA, Calif.—“It’s probably the best day of my life,” said Charles Terry, on Saturday, Oct. 19, after the Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra performance at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall.
Mr. Terry owns a local architecture business, which builds hotels in California.
“I really enjoyed everything,” he said. “This is a wonderful show and I’m glad that they can bring other instruments of the world into the music.”
One hallmark of Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra is its use of both Western classical and Chinese instruments, blending them both to create a unique sound. The orchestra performs original compositions which draw upon the rich culture of China’s 5,000 years, as well as performing some classics from the Western repertoire.
Mr. Terry was at the show as a birthday gift from his wife, Jacqueline, who also enjoyed the performance.
Mrs. Terry said the music brought images to her mind, that it was at times “lively, I could just almost visualize maybe a horse galloping.” She also said that some of the pieces played by the orchestra had a calming effect.
Mr. Terry agreed: “calming and joy.”
“It was a great opportunity that they brought this to our Orange County so we could hear it,” he said.
Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra is on a seven-city tour, of which Costa Mesa is the next-to-last, with the last performance in San Francisco next week.
‘Very moving’
Also in attendance on Saturday was Mark Brauer, who works in IT network and systems management.
“Very uplifting, it makes you feel good,” he said, describing the music. “It is very moving. I am a little embarrassed to say this I actually cried a little bit.”
The music of Shen Yun is drawn from China’s ancient culture, “Shen Yun is further unique in that its repertoire draws upon five millennia of history, with an array of legends, regions, and peoples from which to find inspiration, reviving themes and melodies from ancient times,” explains the orchestra’s website.
“It was just the sound quality,” said Mr. Brauer, explaining what moved him. “The sound that they were producing. It kind of caught me off guard—I wasn’t expecting to feel like that.”
Reporting by Theresa Liu and Ben Bendig
Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra is on a seven-city tour with performances in Washington, D.C.; New York; Boston; Houston; Dallas; Los Angeles; and San Francisco, from Sept. 27–Oct. 22. For more information, visit Symphony.Shenyun.com
