Daxibei
Encompassing the spirit of the Northwest, exemplifying music’s borderless nature

PCC Orchestra Music Director, Chew Hee Chiat, has a personal goal when he took up the position of Assistant Conductor of Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra (HKCO) 4 years ago. Chew hopes to bring home his experience as well as exposure from the international music scene back to his home country. HKCO is touted as one of the world’s top Chinese orchestras. It performs over 100 concerts yearly in Hong Kong and abroad. Critics from Europe to the States have given HKCO’s performances rave reviews for the musicians’ techniques as well as the repertoire. Chew’s initial plan was to bring HKCO to the Malaysian audience. Unfortunately due to the lack of sponsorship, Chew had to adjust the plan to inviting two of his most revered principal musicians from HKCO, Sun Yong Zhi, the dizi principal and Guo Ya Zhi, the suona principal, to come to Malaysia and together with PCC Orchestra, present to the local music aficionados a grand concert themed Daxibei.

Endorsed by the Ministry of Culture, Arts & Heritage and Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL), co-organized by the Malaysian Chinese Cultural Society and Professional Cultural Center, and presented by PCC Orchestra, Daxibei will present three performances at the DBKL Auditorium from August 25 to 27. Apart from being the annual grand concert of PCC Orchestra, Daxibei is also selected as one of the key events under the flagship of the Malaysian Chinese Cultural Society’s “30th Anniversary- 30 years of Cultural Heritage” celebration.

The concert is themed Daxibei (literally meaning the “Big West North”) , to denote that the repertoire is hailed from the Northwest of China, which intricately describe the panorama, mood and tone of the northern and western region of China (which includes Xinjiang, Gansu, Shaanxi and Shaanbei provinces), such as the vast and sandy mountainous terrain, the arid and barren vista permeating with yellow sands in the air, as well as the gallant and untamed nature of the indigenous people, with their hues of bold and untamed spirit, wilderness, expansiveness, richly expressing the peculiarity and exoticism of the way of life and culture of the natives in that region.

Daxibei is set to grant music enthusiasts a chance to be mesmerized by the dazzling techniques and exceptional charisma of the two multi-talented soloists from abroad, Sun Yong Zhi and Guo Ya Zhi. Worth noting too is, the much coveted Malaysian music talent, Chew Hee Chiat, who has had a three-year absence from the local music scene, will once again pick up his baton to serve as the conductor of this concert. Loyal audience can expect to witness the consummate conducting skills honed through the years by this professionally trained conductor, steering the 80-man strong music talents of PCC Orchestra to the best of his efforts. The concert promises to be a rare treat to the local music scene.

The repertoire for Daxibei is carefully chosen to showcase the brilliance of the two soloists. All the pieces will be making their premier in Malaysia and are crystallizations by world-class composers, amongst whom are Tan Dun, Zhao Jiping, Cheng Dazhao, Gu Guanren, Chen Ningchi and Chew Hee Chiat. Especially to be noted are three compositions, namely Northwest Suite No.1 composed by Tan Dun, The Silk Road Fantasy Suite (guanzi concerto) by Zhao Jiping and Four Movements: Northern Shaanxi (dizi concerto) by Cheng Dazhao. Tan Dun has made an indelible mark on the world’s music

scene with a creative repertoire that spans the boundaries of classical, multimedia, Eastern and Western musical systems. He is also a winner of many prestigious honors, including the Grammy Award and Academy Award. His popular work includes the original score of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hero. Zhao Jiping, on the other hand, has worked closely with prominent movie directors Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige on Yellow Earth. Among the many films for which he arranged the music are Raise the Red Lantern, Farewell to My Concubine, Beautiful Mother and Red Sorghum, and for television dramas Legend of Greenwood Heroes (Water Margin) and The Family Legend. Cheng Dazhao is a top-ranking and award-winning composer for dance dramas, musical dramas, films and television dramas.

Each of the three upcoming performances of Daxibei will showcase a variety of different compositions. To jumpstart the grand event, the first performance is in the form of an-hour-long interactive concert with none other than Sun Yong Zhi and Guo Ya Zhi as the hosts. Accompanied by a small orchestra group, these two music masters will each perform five short traditional compositions on solo. Music enthusiasts will have a chance to make personal contact and exchanges with these two brilliant Chinese wind instrumentalists in person. There will also be a Q&A session for the audience to pose questions to the masters on wind instruments such as dizi, suona and guanzi, in order to have a better understanding of the instruments and their compositions. This is indeed a chance of a lifetime for any music enthusiast! The subsequent second and third performances will be in the form of grand concert of two hours each. The repertoire for Aug 26 is A Medley of Chinese Classical Tunes, 999 Roses (suona solo by Guo Ya Zhi) and The Silk Road Fantasy Suite (guanzi solo by Guo Ya Zhi); for Aug 27 is Medley of Folk Songs from China’s West and Four Movements: Northern Shaanxi (dizi solo by Sun Yong Zhi). Northwest Suite No.1 and Ulek Mayang will be performed on both days.

Established in 1988, PCC Orchestra prides itself in achieving continuous breakthroughs in the Chinese orchestra music scene, striving through the years to bring innovative and challenging concerts to all music lovers. With the conception of Daxibei, it fosters a platform of musical and cultural exchanges amongst China, Malaysia and Hong Kong, with the unflagging objective of elevating the standard of local orchestra and music scene through cooperation with world-renowned composers and musicians. The opportunity for the local music enthusiasts to experience in-person the world-ranking top-class performances also helps to cultivate a higher standard of music appreciation. Also at the same time, PCC Orchestra strives to showcase the young and promising Chew Hee Chiat who has made his mark in the Chinese classical music scene abroad. Both PCC Orchestra musicians and loyal audience can expect to see some refinement in Chew’s conducting.

Daxibei will be held on Aug 25 (8:30pm), Aug 26 (8pm) and Aug 27 (3pm) at the DBKL Auditorium. Tickets for the interactive concert are priced at RM20, RM30 and RM50. Tickets for the two subsequent grand performances are priced at RM30, RM50, RM70 and RM100. Considering the financial situation of the school associations and with an aim to encourage participation of such groups, PCC Orchestra has generously offered group ticket for 30 heads for the grand performances with a reduced price from RM30 to RM20 per ticket. Due to limited seats at the music hall, it is advisable to get the tickets for this rare international musical performance as early as possible, especially if one wants to secure a good seat to savor this golden experience. For further information on the concert and tickets, please call the ticket hotline at 03-2287 8977 or any of the ticket outlets- PCC Orchestra (03-9285 5807), PJ Tun Huang (03-7877 3628), Mentor Bookstore (03-2026 6384) or Malaysian Chinese Cultural Society (03-2161 9709). Part of the ticket proceeds will be donated to the Malaysian Red Crescent Society.

Issued on behalf of PCC Orchestra by ADM Events Sdn Bhd.
For media enquiries, please contact Chong Yiing Yng at tel no: 03-2287 8977 or mobile no: 016-231 7204.
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