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2024 China, November 3: Beijing—Tianjin—Beijing

November 5, 2024
Photo: 2024 Todd Rosenberg Photography
Nov. 3, Beijing: Fourteen musicians and Assistant Conductor Naomi Woo traveled to Tianjin for a special chamber music concert at the Tianjin Grand Theatre. Principal Bass Joseph Conyers and Assistant Principal Cello Yumi Kendall wait in the Beijing South Railway Station for the late-morning departure.

Photo by Todd Rosenberg

Nov. 3, Beijing: Naomi, who conducted the concert, is originally from Canada and was excited to find a Tim Horton’s at the train station.

Photo by Todd Rosenberg

Nov. 3, Beijing: A familiar face (pianist Lang Lang) greets the musicians as they wait at their track.

Photo by Todd Rosenberg

Nov. 3, On the way to Tianjin: Clarinetist Socrates Villegas on the train.

Photo by Todd Rosenberg

Nov. 3, Tianjin: Naomi begins the rehearsal with Dvořák’s Serenade, for winds, cello, and double bass.

Photo by Todd Rosenberg

Nov. 3, Tianjin: The Dvořák Serenade being rehearsed.

Photo by Todd Rosenberg

Nov. 3, Tianjin: A unique vantage point of the rehearsal.

Photo by Todd Rosenberg

Nov. 3, Beijing: The musicians who were not participating in the performance in Tianjin had a free day, and many of them took advantage to do some sightseeing. Violinist Paul Arnold, who is also a skilled photographer, snapped some photos at the Summer Palace.

Photo by Paul Arnold

Nov. 3, Beijing: The Summer Palace, first built in 1750, largely destroyed in the Second Opium Wars of the 1850s, and restored in 1886, is “a masterpiece of Chinese landscape garden design,” according to UNESCO, which named the area a World Heritage Site in 1998.

Photo by Paul Arnold

Nov. 3, Beijing: The Summer Palace, located a little over nine miles to the west of central Beijing, has been a public park since 1924.

Photo by Paul Arnold

Nov. 3, Tianjin: Philadelphia Orchestra President and CEO Matías Tarnopolsky greets Zhang Ling, vice mayor of Tianjin, in the VIP room prior to the performance. Philadelphia and Tianjin are sister cities, and this tour marks the 45th anniversary of that relationship.

Photo by Todd Rosenberg

Nov. 3, Tianjin: Lauren Swartz, president and CEO of the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia, joins Matías to meet with the officials from Tianjin. Lauren is part of the Philadelphia civic delegation joining the Orchestra on the tour.

Photo by Todd Rosenberg

Nov. 3, Tianjin: Horn players Jeffrey Lang (associate principal), Christopher Dwyer, and Jennifer Montone (principal) during the Dvořák Serenade.

Photo by Todd Rosenberg

Nov. 3, Tianjin: The Wind Serenade was composed over a period of two weeks in 1878.

Photo by Todd Rosenberg

Nov. 3, Tianjin: The entire ensemble performs the Dvořák, of which a critic in Budapest in the 19th century wrote, “Only a poet who is touched by God’s grace has such inspiration.”

Photo by Todd Rosenberg

Nov. 3, Tianjin: An overhead shot of the Tianjin Grand Theatre.

Photo by Todd Rosenberg

Nov. 3, Tianjin: (L to r) Principal Oboe Philippe Tondre, oboist Matthew Shipp, Principal Bassoon Daniel Matsukawa, and bassoonist Angela Anderson Smith.

Photo by Todd Rosenberg

Nov. 3, Tianjin: The second half of the concert was devoted to Mozart’s Serenade in B-flat major, known as the “Gran Partita.”

Photo by Todd Rosenberg

Nov. 3, Tianjin: (L to r) Basset horn players Socrates Villegas and Paul Demers, Associate Principal Clarinet Samuel Caviezel, and Principal Clarinet Ricardo Morales perform the Mozart Serenade.

Photo by Todd Rosenberg

Nov. 3, Tianjin: The entire ensemble during the Mozart. This piece was composed in Vienna and broke all bounds for the time: 13 instruments, seven movements, and nearly 50 minutes in length.

Photo by Todd Rosenberg

Nov. 3, Tianjin: Staff of the Tianjin Grand Theatre line up to present flowers to Naomi and the Orchestra musicians.

Photo by Todd Rosenberg

Nov. 3, Tianjin: The musicians pose for a photo on stage.

Photo by Todd Rosenberg

Nov. 3, Tianjin: Huang Chunyan, vice chair of the Tianjin People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, greets the ensemble following the performance.

Photo by Todd Rosenberg

Nov. 3, Tianjin: Fans waited outside the theater. Bass clarinetist Paul Demers signs an audience member’s program.

Photo by Todd Rosenberg

Nov. 3, Tianjin: A view of the city from the Tianjin Railway Station.

Photo by Todd Rosenberg

Nov. 3, Tianjin: (L to r) Angela, Matthew, and Jennifer toast to a wonderful performance with beers provided by Philippe at the train station.

Photo by Todd Rosenberg

Nov. 3, Beijing: Upon returning to Beijing, the group went to the home of Martha Liao and Hao Jiang Tian, co-founders of the iSing! International Festival. Excerpts from iSing!’s "Echoes of Ancient Tang Poems" were performed by the Orchestra the previous evening in Beijing. Socrates and Naomi talk in a nook of the living room.

Photo by Todd Rosenberg

Nov. 3, Beijing: Hao Jing Tian, an internationally renowned opera singer, tells several of the guests about his deeply personal one-man show called “Sing Brother Sing.”

Photo by Todd Rosenberg

Nov. 3, Beijing: Martha Liao (center) cooked much of the delicious food for the party.

Photo by Todd Rosenberg