As night fell and the daytime heat gradually faded, villagers of the Qingfang Village, having just finished dinner, stepped out of their homes and headed towards the cultural square in the village. "I heard there’s a performance right at our doorstep. I gotta go check it out," said Auntie Wang with a smile. Yet upon arrival, the villagers were puzzled: no opera troupe was seen on or off the stage. It seemed this "performance" was different from what they had imagined.
At 6:30 p.m., spotlights lit up the village stage, and the real "show" began. After a brief introduction by the host, four string musicians in black performance attire took the stage with their instruments. Soon, the solemn and powerful "L'Internationale" opened the concert. The deep resonance of the cello, the mellow richness of the viola, and the bright clarity of the violin… their harmonies intertwined, and the melodies flowed, making the audience feel as if they were at a real symphony concert. When "The National Anthem of the People’s Republic of China" was played, the majestic melody stirred waves of enduring emotion, evoking boundless love and deep affection for the Party and the nation. The villagers clapped and sang along, bringing the concert to its climax.
"I’ve only seen it on TV before. This is the first time I’ve heard a symphony up close," said Auntie Wang in surprise. In her mind, symphonies were performed only in grand theaters. When asked how she felt, she smiled and said: "It was incredibly beautiful and is a treat for the ears and soothing for the soul."
This rural symphony concert was part of the "Starlight Over Siming · Yue Charm CI Music" cultural envoy charity performance, meticulously planned by Xie Peng, a municipal cultural envoy. Titled "Odes to the Party", it featured 16 beloved classics such as "Nan Ni Wan", "Sing a Folk Song for the Party" and "I Love You, China", performed as a heartfelt "string quartet" by members of the Ningbo Symphony Orchestra, allowing villagers to experience the grandeur and elegance of symphonic music up close.
"Making art accessible to the people and bringing high culture closer to everyday life has always been the original aspirations of these activities," said Xie Peng. With the support of the Baishalu Subdistrict, they previously brought traditional opera to other villages, with nearly every show packed. However, symphonic music remained unfamiliar to villagers, so this time they wanted to try something different.
The symphony concert at their doorstep was a cultural "introductory gift" of high art entering the grassroots. After the performance, the villagers praised it overwhelmingly. "We hope to leverage the high-quality cultural resources of the Poly Theater and the support of cultural envoys to amplify the new cultural voices on the 'grand stage' of rural revitalization," said a subdistrict official. For the next step, they plan to collaborate with cultural envoys to introduce symphony knowledge in village cultural halls, helping ordinary folks better understand and appreciate symphonic music.
