Chinese Official to Discuss Orchestra Tour, noon Feb. 18; Discount Tickets for Members for Feb. 27 Performance

Bailing Chang, deputy director of China Art and Entertainment, will discuss the upcoming Washington performance of China’s Anhui Traditional Orchestra at noon, Friday, Feb. 18, in the Reliable Source.

The orchestra, which includes the foremost masters of Chinese traditional music, will launch its first U.S. tour at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Concert Hall at 8 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 27.

Press passes are available for reviewers. RSVP requested. Please contact Lucy Lu at 202-355-8700, [email protected]

National Press Club members can obtain a 25 percent discount on tickets by contacting Club member Doug Burton at 202-203-9883, [email protected]

The acclaimed 80-person Anhui Traditional Orchestra hails from the agricultural province of Anhui in East-Central China. Called by some “China’s Appalachia,” it is widely celebrated for its rich tradition of folk music and opera. Some of the concert's songs and compositions are 1800 years old.

Since its inception in 1956, the Anhui Traditional Orchestra has focused on inheriting the distinctive ethnic heritage of Anhui and is the leading art institute in China's traditional music. In recent years, the orchestra has toured in Japan, Austria, Mongolia, Mexico, Korea, Sweden, Algeria, Tunisia, and in countries of West Africa.

The tour is sponsored by the China Art and Entertainment Group, a for-profit consortium of performing-arts academies.

-- Doug Burton, [email protected]