SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra Unlike Anything You’ve Ever Heard

Oct 27, 2016
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Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra Unlike Anything You’ve Ever Heard
Daniel Reip at the Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra performance at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall on Oct. 26, 2016. (NTD Television)

WASHINGTON—“It’s amazing; it’s artistry. I loved every second, it was great; fantastic.” The superlatives kept coming from Daniel Reip, a professional trumpet player and music teacher. He had just seen Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra.

Reip attended the Kennedy Center performance at the urging of his former classmate Eric Robins, who plays in the orchestra. “You have to come. You have to see it,” Robins had told him. “And I’m glad I did,” Mr. Reip said.

“So unique. No one else is doing this. No one; I mean, incorporation of East and West,” Mr. Reid said.

Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra is comprised of both the Western instruments, which provide a rich foundation in the original compositions, and Chinese instruments, which carry the melodies and give the pieces their unique Chinese flavor.

Mr. Reip felt the combination of the two was ingeniously accomplished. He mentioned the Chinese two-stringed instrument, the erhu. “When you hear this [instrument] with the symphony orchestra, it’s unlike anything you’ve ever heard,” he said.

The Orchestra also includes in the program a few Western classics. This year Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, by Camille Saint-Saëns, a classic hallmark of violin virtuosity, caught Mr. Reip’s attention.

His mother was a Suzuki violin teacher, and so Mr. Reip has played violin since he was three and a half years old.

Fiona Zheng performing Camille Saint-Saëns' famed Introduction and Rondo capriccioso, at Washington's Kennedy Center Concert Hall, on Oct. 26, 2016. (Lisa Fan/Epoch Times)
Fiona Zheng performing Camille Saint-Saëns' famed Introduction and Rondo capriccioso, at Washington's Kennedy Center Concert Hall, on Oct. 26, 2016. (Lisa Fan/Epoch Times)

“The violin concerto was amazing,” he said. “The soloist was fantastic,” he said of Fiona Zheng.

But he enjoyed each of the pieces. “Each one has its own voice. You know what I mean? And it touches each person differently, each piece,” he said.

The Kennedy Center performance on Oct. 26 marks nearly the last time that listeners can pay strict attention to the traditional Chinese compositions the orchestra is known for. In a little over a month, the orchestra will rejoin the classical Chinese dancers of Shen Yun Performing Arts.

“Anytime I take anyone to the symphony, I’m like, ‘close your eyes; listen to the colors.’” Mr. Reip said.

“You close your eyes in a room like that—it’s a full rainbow spectrum of sound. And you can hear a pin drop in there, you can hear a whisper. I can, and so the musicians can on stage, of course.?”

Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra will appear for one last performance in Chicago on Oct. 29.

With reporting by NTD Television and Sharon Kilarski

New York-based Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra comprises musicians from the four Shen Yun Performing Arts touring companies. For information about the last October performance, visit: ShenYun.com/Symphony

The Epoch Times considers Shen Yun Performing Arts the significant cultural event of our time and has covered audience reactions since the company’s inception in 2006.