hinese orchestra and philharmonic orchestra from Shanghai International Studies University (SISU) co-hosted a spring orchestra concert by SISU’s campus lake on April 9, giving students access to artistic experience.

SISU String Ensemble and SISU Chinese Orchestra performed an outdoor concert by Mirror Lake as the sun went down, attracting over 200 viewers.

A total of 40 students performed eight pieces, including western classics like "City of Stars" and "Tequila", and Chinese music such as "Liangzhu" and "Dayu", some of which were performed by only one orchestra. The Chinese classical piece "Liangxiao", originally performed by the erhu, a traditional Chinese plucked string instrument, was played by the two orchestras as the finale.

"It is really romantic to hold a show by the lake on campus, especially in spring. The pieces are all very beautiful," said Zhao Shu, one of the audiences.

Founded in 2006, SISU philharmonic orchestra consists of four main sections: strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion and has 27 student members. It features various musical instruments such as the violin, cello, piano, flute, clarinet, saxophone, and various percussion instruments.

Yang Mengjie, the former head of SISU philharmonic orchestra, said that the orchestra has kept developing from a string orchestra to a Symphony Orchestra.

“We run the orchestra with great effort by hiring professional teachers, holding performances, and participating in competitions,” Yang said, “Performing in a group could bring richer music feelings than my solo. Resonating with team members is charming.”

In 2007, SISU established SISU Chinese orchestra strongly correlated with folk customs of China, aiming to show Chinese folk music to the world. Its music instruments include traditional Chinese ones like the erhu, pipa, guzheng, suona and western instruments like bass and keyboard. 29 students currently attend regular rehearsals.

Since 2011 when SISU Chinese Orchestra first gave a performance of Chinese new folk music “one night in Beijing” in Japan, it has performed in US, Russia, Spain, Morocco, Uzbekistan and Peru.

“It is the first time that the two orchestras have combined their sounds. We have prepared for this concert for a long time,” said Zhao Yifan, the head of SISU String Ensemble.

Hu Qiyue, a member of SISU Chinese Orchestra, said the two orchestras rehearsed together for more than one month. “It is challenging to arrange my time among intern work, school work and rehearsals, but I pretty enjoyed the final performance,” Hu said.

Shi Chuhan, who participated in the show as the former head of SISU Chinese Orchestra, has been playing the pipa, a traditional Chinese plucked string instrument, for 14 years. She said that the performance given by the two orchestras fuses Chinese folk music with western sounds, providing audiences a richer listening experience.

SISU has placed great importance on inclusive campus culture. The two orchestras belong to SISU Centre for the Arts, which also includes a chorus, a dance troupe and a drama troupe. These troupes performed in many countries and on campus, showing campus culture on international stages and enriching students’ campus life.

SISU Finalmente Troupe is recognized as one of the best university drama troupes in China. It has been winning the Awards of Best Performance from the Golden Hedgehog University Students Drama Festival over the past decade.

SISU Dance Troupe, Orchestra and “Across” Chorus have also given many performances both at home and abroad. The “Top Ten Singers” competition attracted wide attention of students every year.

Chen Xiaoqian, a third year SISU student majoring in broadcasting, said that she is a loyal viewer of programs and activities of these troupes.

“Whenever you have the time, there's always a free show to watch or even participate in,” Chen said, “I could feel the diverse campus culture across nations and languages in drama play and other activities, rather artistic, which I like very much.”

SISU Centre for the Arts also holds many workshops open to all students, themes varying from music, drama to dances, movies.

The serial courses, Arts Comprehension, offered by SISU Centre for the Arts, have become compulsory courses since 2021, providing all students opportunities for aesthetic engagement.

“Art is a channel to flow my feelings and emotions out. All the art forms are worth appreciation. These various art activities of SISU help me improve my abilities to feel the art,” Yang said.

Li Ran, a lecturer of SISU Centre for the Arts and member of the Aesthetic Education Committee for China Association of Higher Education, said that the center hopes to display the beauty of various countries and cultures and show Chinese culture to the world.

“Both language and music can communicate across countries and cultures. We hope that we offered audiences a nice spring night with our music,” said Zhao Chunshui, a scholar of SISU Centre for the Arts.