The impressive thing about the whole trip was the openly friendly manner in which we were greeted and treated. Our first inside concert at the Beijing Central Conservatory was shared with the National Youth Orchestra of China. These wonderful young musicians live at the school and study traditional Western orchestral instruments. They were joined by two piano soloists, each of whom had won international competitions, performing works by Chopin. The concerts were much more successful than what we could have imagined!

At our final concert in Xi’an , we were the closing event of an arts festival at the University of Science and the Arts, and played to an absolutely packed house. Sitting in the front row were many of the school’s and region’s dignitaries including the Vice-President of the University, the Secretary of the Communist Party, as well as numerous faculty and other officials.

If there is one way to give you a sense of how successful the trip was and how we were treated, it would be to relate an evening in the city of Xi’an , China ’s ancient cultural center. After that marvelous “Dumpling Feast”, we were ushered into the International Cultural Exchange Theater in Xi’an and given very good seats right in the center of the hall. The program turned out to be a performance by the Chinese National Dance Troupe. Scene after marvelous scene ranging from a traditional orchestra in Tang Dynasty costume, to beautiful scarf dances to warrior scenes with huge drums and a ferocious mythical lion’s head suspended over the whole stage. The final scene, also costumed from the Tang Dynasty, depicted the Empress and the Emperor coming down from their respective thrones to greet their subjects who had come to pay their respects. As the music swelled, the rulers moved toward the front of the stage and gestured their welcome to their subjects. At this point, a banner unfurled above the stage that said “Warmly Welcome State University of New York at Geneseo Symphony Orchestra”. At the concert’s end we were invited onto the stage to be photographed with the entire cast. The next morning, that photo appeared in beautiful brochures extolling the many sites and things to do in the ancient city of Xi’an !