RSNO Hogmanay China Tour Blog Posted Wed 29 January 2025
SHENZHEN
We began our Hogmanay China Tour in the city of Shenzhen. It was beautiful weather when we arrived and we were lucky to have some time to stretch our legs in the local park before going back into the hall for the final rehearsal and concert.
At a reception for invited guests, we met local officials and dignitaries from the Scottish Government Office in China and the British Embassy as well as local businesses and others. Members of the University of Edinburgh Alumni Association of Shenzhen also joined us to remember their time in Scotland. Our concert programme blended traditional European music to celebrate the New Year with a Chinese work by Chi Liu, arranged by Ye Zou, and works by Scottish composers Hamish MacCunn, Peter Maxwell Davies and Christopher Gough.
The concert went well, and we were thrilled to meet a member of the audience who studied in Glasgow. She presented us with a beautiful gift, handmade using the traditional art of Chinese paper cutting, which is now on display at the RSNO Centre. She loves the whole Orchestra, but her favourite member is Pei-Jee and she managed to find him a stuffed toy cello which wears glasses just like his!
NANJING
The next stop was Nanjing, where we spent Hogmanay! We performed twice with concerts at 7.30pm and 11pm featuring different programmes and the Orchestra counted the audience down to the bells. When the clock struck midnight, we celebrated with the Radetsky March and a rousing rendition of Auld Lang Syne by our fabulous piper, David Shedden, and headed back to the hotel for a toast to the new year and an impromptu ceilidh with some locals and a hotel robot!
NANCHANG
On New Year’s Day we arrived in Nanchang with our tour programme:
Hamish MacCunn: Land of the Mountain and the Flood Op3
Dvořák: Symphony No9 Op95 From the New World
Peter Maxwell Davies: Orkney Wedding, with Sunrise
Chi Liu arr Ye Zou: My Motherland
Johann Strauss II: Blue Danube Waltzes Op314
Christopher Gough: Suite of Scottish Dances
Our piper David was particularly well received by the Nanchang audience who loved Peter Maxwell Davies’ Orkney Wedding, with Sunrise. Conductor Patrick Hahn and the Orchestra took the audience through three encores as a token of appreciation for the standing ovation!
BEIJING
Thanks to a travel day, we had a little bit of time off in Beijing to explore and make the most of the city. Our Chief Executive, Alistair, headed off to 8082 Studio for a tour of their recording facilities, where they’ve written and recorded for some of the biggest games in history. A large portion of the Orchestra visited the Great Wall on a coach, where the brilliant tour guide sang a tuneful version of ‘Happy Birthday Mr Chris’ for Principal Trumpet Chris Hart’s birthday. Elsewhere, a separate group explored the Forbidden City and went to the historic Tiananmen Square. To enter the concert hall nicknamed ‘the Giant Egg’ (pictured below) you walk through an 80-metre underwater passage. We wished we had more time here!
Before this concert, we held another reception with the Scottish Government in Beijing. This was attended by officials from the British Embassy, China People’s Association of Friendship with Foreign Countries, Single Malt Society in China, Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Beijing Scottish Society and local music industry contacts. We are extremely thankful to the Scottish Government Office in China who have been immensely helpful in offering advice and support, sharing networks and seeking further opportunities for collaboration.
Image credit: Chris Hart
HANGZHOU
Our final stop was Hangzhou – a beautiful city with a huge lake at its centre and excellent night markets. The street food was definitely the best that we tried. Across the entirety of the tour, we sampled local delicacies including snail soup, incredible duck pancakes, fried pork belly and lots of baked sweet potato that you could buy as a late-night snack.
Between rehearsals, a group visited the remarkable pagoda on the West Lake which was very impressive. The West Lake has been celebrated by poets and artists since the ninth century and encompasses islands (reachable by boat), temples, pavilions, gardens and arched bridges. On its south bank is the 5-story Leifeng Pagoda, a modern reconstruction of a structure built in 975 A.D. We were very impressed!
The Orchestra played beautifully in their final performance of the tour, marking the end of a successful first trip abroad under Principal Guest Conductor Patrick Hahn.
We had a wonderful time sharing our Hogmanay traditions with such enthusiastic audiences and were heartened by the assortment of gifts from audiences, venue managers and businesspeople throughout the trip. In the Scottish spirit, we gave some of our own treats from home including Irn Bru, Tunnock’s Teacakes and Ballindalloch whisky. Our thanks to all of our audiences across the six performances for joining us and we wish you a Bliadhna Mhath Ùr for the Year of the Snake!
