The Pagoda Chinese Youth Orchestra (PCYO) turns 40 this year, and is staging a number of events in celebration of its landmark year.
The PCYO was formed by the late Mr Kui Hsinu Li in 1983 a year after the opening of the Pagoda of a Hundred Harmony community centre, in Henry Street, by then Prince of Wales, Charles. Under Mr Li's direction PCYO performed at many events nationally and overseas, including in front of the Queen at a festival in Liverpool's Kings Dock in 2016.
Event celebrations include the making of a documentary of its history as the first and largest Chinese Youth Orchestra in Europe. They will also perform on Sunday, March 5 at the Tung’s Auditorium, Yoko Ono Arts Centre in Oxford Street, Liverpool.
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The current director, Zi Lan Liao, told the ECHO: "My father was music director until 2013 when he died and I took over. I was his understudy. I played since it started when I was about 12".
Zi Lan is an acclaimed Chinese musician who has captivated global audiences as a soloist with leading orchestras. Zi Lan began to learn music aged three, when living in Guangzhou, China and by age nine, she was winning prizes in China for her performances. The PCYO has up to 50 members at any one time and is made up of young people aged five - 18.
Zi Lan added: "I played the Chinese harp and as my father's understudy I learned the other instruments. The Da Hu was developed by my father when he came to England, he was also involved in music development in China.
"All the other string instruments are called Hu and the name Da Hu is because this was bigger and had more of a bass sound".
The PCYO will be joined by Resonate Musical and the Liverpool Philharmonic’s In Harmony as part of collaboration opportunities exploring new ways of reaching larger and more diverse audiences. They have adopted an experimental approach and mixed traditional Chinese music with, and by playing; Folk, Reggae, Grime and Hiphop.
Collaborations include; The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Jah Wobble, Miami Rapper MC Jin and professional musicians from China, the UK and the USA. They have appeared on television in the UK, China, Italy, Australia, US and Canada since 2013 and appeared on international stages on numerous occasions.
PCYO member Beryl 14 said: "I have been in the orchestra for five years and I play the Da Hu. I like it because it's very unique and it’s got a very deep bass sound.
“We play lots of different songs, not just Chinese traditional ones. It's really fun to do it and learn about music".
Resonate Musical director, Louise Hough MBE said: "We’re delighted to be involved with this partnership. The brass plates from Resonate Musical are playing along with PCYO and also In Harmony.
"It's a great collaboration and we have done this before in 2014 when we were delighted to be invited to play. It's just fantastic to be back again to give the opportunity to all these youngsters".
Liverpool Philharmonic's In Harmony artistic director John Connolly added: "We've had a previous relationship with Pagoda Arts. We came on board to celebrate music in the city and allow our young people to experience diverse cultures and play with instruments they have not played with before".
The youngsters will play various instruments between the collaboration from bamboo flutes, drums, trumpets, the yandin (Chinese traditional stringed instrument) and many more.
For ticket information visit the Tung Auditorium HERE.
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