A bullfighter fought at the vast arena, a group of beautiful Yao girls came singing and dancing in the bright moonlight, the well-known love story of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai unfolded on stage…

The Symphony Performance for the celebration of GTIIT Commencement 2024 came to a successful close in GTIIT South Campus, with the venue packed with hundreds of audiences and big rounds of applause.

Under the support of the Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television, Tourism and Sports of Shantou Municipality, the Shantou Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra presented a grand performance on the evening of July 15th. Leaders and guests from China and Israel, as well as faculties and students of GTIIT enjoyed the performance together. They all delivered their best wishes to the GTIIT graduates 2024. 

Shantou Philharmonic Orchestra was formed in 2003, with the line-up comprising over 60 members and Mr. Zhao Xintai as the music supervisor, conductor and orchestra head. Over a decade, the orchestra has been dedicated to promoting symphonic music, acting as a facilitator to the cultural development of Shantou and enriching the spiritual and cultural life of local people. The team has received high praise from colleagues in the music industry at home and abroad, as well as from various sectors of society.

The Performance was hosted by GTIIT students

The audience, eager for the performance, arrived much earlier than the required time and waited in a long queue outside. Stage spotlights shined as the orchestra conductor gently waved his baton, making the GTIIT gym into a solemn and elegant palace of art.

The orchestra first played "The Pomp and Circumstance Marches", known as the "Coronation Ode". The heroic and majestic performance offered strong motivation to the audience. Followed by popular world-famous pieces "Carmen Overture" "Light Cavalry Overture" and "Emperor Waltz", the atmosphere gradually reached a climax, leading the audience through a diversely magical world.

In the second half of the concert, the orchestra performed Chinese classics with oriental flavor, including "Dance of the Yao People", "Butterfly Lovers’ Violin Concerto (Liang Zhu)" and "Joyous News from Beijing to the Borderland", leaving the audience immersed in the world of music. After the performance, thunderous applause lasted for a long time.

Solo Violin "Butterfly Lover's Violin Concert" by Mr. Rui Fang

The performance was highly and widely praised by the audience. Some of them pointed out that the Shantou Philharmonic Orchestra's performance was professional and touching, and the organizer's arrangement created an environment for art, where they deeply felt the elegance and charm of symphony, the "universal language of the world."

Intangible but touching, this is the power of music. On this beautiful night, the performance of the Shantou Philharmonic Orchestra allowed the audience to share a romantic cross-culture journey, where Eastern and Western civilizations blended harmoniously in GTIIT campus.

Text/Photos: GTIIT News & Public Affairs, Li Leqi, Zhao Nanxiang