Youth Music Culture Guangdong (YMCG) to Broadcast 2021 Special Event

For the fifth consecutive year, media at home and abroad focus on Guangzhou, the cultural center of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, as the founders of Youth Music Culture Guangdong (YMCG) today announce the “YMCG 2021 Special Event” to be presented to mainland China on January 30th and the rest of the world on February 1st. The broadcast will be available to watch, free-of-charge, on the BBC Music Magazine website and YMCG social media channels for 72 hours.

The “YMCG 2021 Special Event,” presented by the Department of Culture and Tourism of Guangdong Province and organized by the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra (GSO) and Xinghai Concert Hall, consists of three parts: first, a concert by the GSO; next, YMCG Artistic Director Yo-Yo Ma presents an online master class geared toward young orchestra players; finally, Maestro Long Yu and Yo-Yo Ma come together virtually for a Q&A and guided talk.

1: Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra Concert
Violinist Paloma So and pianist Serena Wang — two rising millennial stars — perform as featured soloists with the GSO in the “YMCG 2021 Special Event” concert. Under the baton of GSO’s Music Director and YMCG Chair of the Artistic Committee Long Yu, they perform movements from Sergei Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2 in G minor and Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor alongside a timeless Chinese work, "A Pleasant Evening" by ehru master Liu Tianhua (adapted by Yuan Zhi).

2: Inside the Practice Room with Yo-Yo Ma
In this rare and illuminating deep-dive into his soul and artistic philosophy, renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma shares his unique artistic concepts and delves into topic themes including: "Asking questions: Activating the Imagination," “Diving Into Music," and "Bring It Forward.” During this session, Yo-Yo Ma illustrates ideas with performances of works by Saint-Saëns, Beethoven, and others.

3: A Dialogue with Masters Across Continents
For the final segment of the evening’s special event, Yo-Yo Ma (in Boston) joins Long Yu (in Guangzhou), professional musicians, former YMCG participants, representatives from the Guangzhou Symphony Youth Orchestra, and others for an interactive conversation and Q&A session on the theme of "harmony and equilibrium."

The "YMCG 2021 Special Event" shows the power of music and community in comforting and sustaining people through the coronavirus pandemic sweeping the world — highlighting the value of cultural dialogue and inviting reflection on how man can create harmony with nature.

Youth Music Culture Guangdong
1 Haishan Street, Er Sha Island, Guangzhou, 510105, China

Press Contact:
Patricia Price
8VA Music Consultancy
patricia@8vamusicconsultancy.com

Inaugurated in 2017, Youth Music Culture Guangdong (YMCG) has been presented by the Guangdong Provincial Department of Culture. From 2019 it has been organized jointly by the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra (GSO) and Xinghai Concert Hall. This annual project takes place in January in Guangzhou, led by GSO Music Director Long Yu as Chairman of the Artistic Committee and Yo-Yo Ma as Artistic Director.

More than twenty internationally renowned musicians and educators have joined the YMCG faculty, participating in teaching sessions and public performances. They include professors from such illustrious global institutions as Harvard University and Curtis Institute of Music, members of the Silkroad Ensemble, and principal players of the world’s premier orchestras.

The YMCG program focuses on the younger generation, using music as the key and culture as the link, nurturing participants to embrace an open and flexible artistic philosophy in tandem with Yo-Yo Ma’s mission in establishing “meaningful communication; trust between the self and the collective; co-operation of individuals.” The success of the inaugural YMCG was praised in professional circles and general media as “opening a new page for the Chinese symphonic world,” also topping the list of 2017’s “China Top Ten Music News.”

Every year, YMCG assembles a new group of young musicians under the age of 35—hailing from different cultural and educational backgrounds around the world—to form the YMCG Symphony Orchestra. This gathering of like-minded musicians attests to the spirit of inclusiveness, innovation and forward-thinking of YMCG, a cultural beacon based in the region standing in the forefront of China’s reform and open-door policy.

This release was published on openPR.