Melbourne Symphony Orchestra & Lyu Siqing concert in Beijing

Violinist Lyu Siqing says, “The MSO has deep connection with Chinese community in Melbourne because there is a very big Chinese community in Melbourne. And it's the very first Symphony Orchestra in the whole world, to present Chinese New Year concert that was six years ago." He says he was invited by them to be a soloist than later with his composer, Tan Dun.

Lyu continues, "So I think they really like to make music with Chinese musicians, so they have a special program during the concert season called East Meets West. There are four concerts each season, and they invite most Chinese musicians. We have good relations with MSO and the audiences in Melbourne like to see Chinese artists.”

MSO assistant conductor Lyu Tianyi was also born in China. She conducted a piece at the Shanghai concert and is helping the chief conductor make sure the acoustics are perfect.

Lyu Tianyi says, “Melbourne is actually one-quarter of the Chinese population, of Chinese heritage. So we actually have few members of orchestra we really value Chinese artists and Chinese heritage."

Lyu Tianyi continues, "So it's a great pleasure to be here. Sir Andrew was actually here first in 1978, and one of the musicians in the orchestra saw Andrew's performance ended up going to Melbourne and playing in the Melbourne Symphony, so there's a really great sense of history and story here.”

MSO's chief conductor Sir Andrew Davis is hailed as one of the most important figures in the field of classical music. Before joining the MSO in 2013, he served as the chief conductor for many renowned orchestras, including the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

During his tenure, the MSO made its debut at five classical music festivals, including The Proms and the Edinburgh International Festival.