When music connects

Peter Herrndorf, the doyen of Canadian culture, is leading a seven-city tour of China. He tells Joseph Catanzaro that the string of concerts is an overture to closer cultural ties between China and Canada.

There is an unbridled passion in Peter Herrndorf's voice when he speaks about the power of music to capture and captivate people, to transform their interactions into something approaching the symphonic. "Music is a powerful way of connecting people," he says. "Sometimes language is a way of separating people; music is a way of bringing them together."

He should know.

Musicians from Canada's NAC Orchestra stage a brass quintet at Fragrant Hills in Beijing. Photos provided to China Daily

Canada's National Arts Center CEO Peter Herrndorf speaks exclusively to China Daily. Provided to China Daily

And the doyen of Canadian culture says it has not been found wanting.

This month, Canada's National Arts Center Orchestra made its debut foray into China.

Herrndorf, the chief executive officer of Canada's National Arts Center, says the seven-city tour of China was a resounding success for the 70-strong-troupe of musicians.

More than that, he believes the string of concerts is an overture to closer cultural ties between China and Canada.

While other Western nations have largely concentrated on wooing the world's second largest economy with trade agreements, Herrndorf's government stumped up some 250,000 Canadian dollars ($239,049) to help their musicians-turned-envoys visit China.

Herrndorf, whose distinguished career in broadcasting, publishing and the performing arts has earned him a swag of accolades including being made an Officer of the Order of Canada, says from Shanghai to Guangzhou, the Chinese reaction to the orchestra's efforts to bridge the cultural divide through music has been overwhelming.

"We started early in October," he says.

"It's about an 18-day tour, seven cities, eight concerts, 80 educational events all across the country. What makes it a little unusual is we have a number of wonderful young Chinese violinists playing with the orchestra. So it's a very nice combination of East and West, new and old; and the audience in China has responded wonderfully."

In addition to concert hall appearances, small groups of Canadian musicians performed pop-up concerts in a number of surprise venues including Beijing Zoo and gave master-classes at several schools and institutions.

This diplomacy with strings was led by the orchestra's music director and acclaimed violinist, Pinchas Zukerman.

Herrndorf says everyone in the Canadian contingent was blown away by the wealth of musical talent in China, both at a professional and amateur level.

The cacophony of instruments often audible in residential areas of Chinese cities, the hesitant evening offerings of students practicing after returning home from school, was something that Herrndorf found personally thrilling.

"I've walked down the street here and you hear these wonderful sounds emanating from buildings," he says. "It's music to my ears."

More than that, Herrndorf believes it is the sound of change.

"There is now a prevailing view that the center of classical music in the world is China, and that in the next 25 to 50 years China will come to dominate classical music," he says.

"There are more young people taking classical music lessons here than there are anywhere (else) on earth. The level of talent is remarkable; the audiences are passionate. This is an absolute hotbed of classical music. It's one of the reasons why so many Western orchestras are interested in playing here. It's not just that China is an emerging economic power; it's also that China is this powerhouse culturally, particularly in classical music."

Herrndorf says he saw plenty of evidence music could be used as an effective tool to strengthen bilateral ties during a performance on Oct 17 at Beijing's iconic concert hall, "the egg".

Hosted by celebrity Mark "Dashan" Rowsell - the most high-profile Canadian in China - the concert at China's National Center for the Performing Arts used high-speed internet to link Beijing with an event being simultaneously held in Ottawa. The wife of the Canadian Prime Minister even made a personal appearance.

Linda Huang, dean of cultural exchange at NCPA, says music as diplomacy is something China is keen to partake in, too.

Herrndorf says the recent tour, made possible in part by a three-year memorandum of understanding and cooperation signed with the NCPA, was just the first significant milestone in the budding relationship between the two organizations.

Huang says the next step will see the NCPA tour Canada, and possibly several cities in the US, next year.

With the average age in the 90-strong Chinese orchestra coming in at just 30 years old, Huang says despite their much-lauded talent, the NCPA musicians could learn much from their Western counterparts.

So if music really is the universal language, what is the message Herrndorf believes the orchestra has conveyed to China, on behalf of Canada?

"The message is there has been a very longstanding relationship between China and Canada ... and music is a wonderful way to enhance that relationship."

Contact the writer at josephcatanzaro@chinadaily.com.cn.