Talking in a common language

The Golden Sails Symphony Orchestra of Beijing No 8 Middle School. [Photo by Verde Yang/For China Daily]

"I was really excited that the festival came to China this year. It enabled me to share music with so many musicians in what is my last year with the orchestra," says Zhang, who will graduate from Beijing No 8 Middle School next summer.

Held in Qingdao, Shandong province, from July 26 to Aug 5, the Eurochestries Festival attracted 20 orchestras from 13 countries, including the CasaSawt Choir from Morocco, the Choir of the University of Wroclaw from Poland and Beijing Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, who staged a total of 26 concerts across the coastal city.

At the festival amateur student musicians from China, including the Peking University String Quartet and the Zhi Xing Brass Quintet from Renmin University of China, also shared the stage with professional symphony orchestras.

They performed at various places, from indoor concert halls to outdoor venues.

"It was very inspiring for me as I have decided to pursue a professional career in Germany after graduation," says Zhang, who was introduced to music by his parents, both bank clerks, and started learning violin at 3.

Torstein Holmaas, the trumpet player with the brass quintet of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra of Norway, spent 24 hours traveling from Bergen to Qingdao. "I am delighted to come all the way here to perform in China, for the first time," he says.

The brass quintet performed a concert, playing classic songs from Norway, as well as collaborating with Chinese musicians at the closing ceremony.