Holiday fun with music at SZ Concert Hall

This May Day holiday, come to Shenzhen Concert Hall to experience the heady beat of percussion, the grandeur of organ music, and the youthful vigor of Latin American musicians.

Beautiful Sunday concert

The performers of the concert on May 3. Photos courtesy of Shenzhen Concert Hall

On May 3, Lou Meng, a faculty member of the Chinese Music Department at Xinghai Conservatory of Music, will lead her excellent students in a percussion concert.

Their repertoire encompasses both classic Chinese and Western percussion pieces and creative contemporary works with diverse cultural elements. For this concert, they will perform “Drum Poetry: for Chinese Drums,” “Ox Fighting the Tiger,” “The Vast Sea,” “Lineage: for Percussion and Electronic Music,” and “Dragons Soaring and Tigers Leaping.”

Time: 3 p.m., May 3

Tickets: 10–30 yuan

A date with the organ

Chang Xiaoting

On May 4, three organ experience sessions led by young musician Chang Xiaoting will give attendees a hands-on experience with the "king of instruments." Standing behind the stage, the largest concert hall organ in South China is the treasure of the venue. With a large performance console, a complex mechanical playing system, and artistically designed components, the instrument produces an exceptional soundscape.

These organ experience sessions are immersive, interactive classes specially tailored for the general public. Chang will use vivid, humorous language to explain the internal structure and operating principles of this instrument. Participants will also learn basic electronic organ performance techniques and experience the sensation of playing with both hands and feet. Attendees will also be allowed to enjoy the soul-stirring acoustic resonance of the organ close to the stage.

Times: 10 a.m., 2 p.m., and 4:30 p.m., May 4

Tickets: 100 yuan

NEOJIBA Orchestra to debut at concert hall

Ricardo Castro

A distinguished Brazilian pianist and conductor, Ricardo Castro is celebrated as a global ambassador for music’s transformative power in society. A winner of the Leeds International Piano Competition in 1993, Castro is best known as the founder of NEOJIBA (the State Centers for Youth and Children's Orchestras of Bahia), a groundbreaking social program that has benefited more than 30,000 young people in Brazil, inspired by Venezuela’s “El Sistema.”

The NEOJIBA Orchestra.

With a network of 13 orchestral and training centers across Bahia, the program promotes social inclusion, offering high-level musical education free of charge to children and youth, especially those in vulnerable situations.

Having performed some 400 concerts for half a million audience members in Brazil and around the world, the NEOJIBA Orchestra will debut at Shenzhen Concert Hall on May 5.

In 2010, the ensemble became the first Brazilian youth orchestra to tour Europe. Then in 2014 and 2016, the orchestra was twice invited to serve as the resident orchestra at the Montreux-Vevey Musical September in Switzerland.

For this performance, the orchestra will present works including Gershwin's "Cuban Overture" and "Rhapsody in Blue," as well as three contemporary works by Latin American composers: the lively "Amigo da Musica," "Suíte Nordestina," and "Danzón No. 2."

Time: 3 p.m., May 5

Tickets: 88–168 yuan

Venue: Shenzhen Concert Hall, Futian District (深圳音乐厅)

Metro: Line 3 or 4 to Children's Palace Station (少年宫站), Exit D