The Orchestra of Beijing Normal University Experimental Primary School with the directors and staff from the Confucius Institute at The University of Manchester

On Sunday 5th and Monday 6th November 2011 the Confucius Institute at The University of Manchester were thrilled to host two special performances of the Orchestra of Beijing Normal University Experimental Primary School. The 25-strong brass, woodwind and percussion orchestra, all aged between 8 and 11 years old, arrived from Beijing on Sunday 4th November for their very first trip to the UK.

The following day the Chinese orchestra were introduced to young musicians from the Stockport Youth Orchestra and participated in a concert at the Martin Harris Centre where their 8-year-old drummer and young saxophonist contributed to the performance, much to the delight of the audience.

A drummer from BNU Primary Orchestra

The following day the children gave a free performance in the theatre of the prestigious Royal Northern College of Music where we were pleased to welcome over 450 schoolchildren aged between 5 and 16 from 19 schools across the greater Manchester area.

The children and their teachers took their seats and were welcomed by a young member of the orchestra, before hearing two ensemble pieces. The audience then had a chance to see the musicians showcase their talents individually, with a traditional Chinese flute solo called Boats/Yuzhouchangwan, a saxophone solo and a trumpet duet of Mozart's melodies.

Players from BNU Primary Orchestra

The performance continued with a varied programme of traditional Chinese folk songs and western music played on wind and brass instuments. The children were also treated to a special performance of Tai Chi which had a wonderful response. The audience was particularly delighted with the drum solo and a wonderful piano solo of traditional Chinese music which brought the house down.

The children loved playing for the audience in Manchester and the feedback from the schoolchildren was exceptional. A teacher from Cheetwood Primary said 'We were all very impressed! It was a great experience for the children who would not normally have the opportunity to see a live orchestra and aspirational too, as they had such competent musicians of primary age. It was also greatly helped by the fact that [the concert] was free.' The deputy head teacher of Spindle Point Primary School told us that, 'We have an orchestra at our school and the performance of the BNU was incredible. The standard of the pupils skills was very high! It gave our children aspirations, so thankyou!'.

The BNU orchestra went on to give two more performances in Sheffield, where they were hosted by Sheffield Confucius Institute, and Halifax, where they were welcomed by students from the Confucius Classroom at Gleddings Prep School.

The BNU Primary Orchestra performance was the second in our new series of Confucius Institute Free Public Events for Schools, the first of which was a show by the wonderful Little Red Flower Performing Arts Troupe in February 2011 to mark the advent of Chinese New Year of the Rabbit.

Other recent public events have included a sold out screening of the Chinese language film Aftershock at Manchester’s leading independent cinema Cornerhouse, as part of the Chinese Film Forum UK programme; and an appearance by the Chinese writer Zhu Wen at Manchester Literature Festival.