Orchestral Revolution

Horns sounded at the foot of the at Badaling section of the Great Wall on Saturday as trumpeter Jeffrey Curnow led a brass quintet of players from the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra (PSO) in works by Bach and Elgar. However it was only when he announced the group's last piece that the small collection of people present for the photo opportunity perked up.

"It's our pleasure to play this next piece, "'You and Me,'" said Curnow. "[This is] the Olympic theme song that was also popular in the US."

A stretch perhaps, but definitely an act of diplomacy which is a commodity that the PSO is hoping to build upon; in 1973, they delivered six charity concerts in Beijing and Shanghai under maestro Eugene Ormandy, the first US orchestra to visit the Chinese mainland after US president Richard Nixon's historic visit.

Now, almost 40 years later, they close a string of six more concerts with a final performance in Guangzhou tonight. However, this time the concerts aren't what you would call "charity" performances. "We looked to China for a partner," said Philadelphia Orchestra CEO Allison Vulgamore, explaining that she found one in Chen Ping, president of the National Center for the Performing Arts (NCPA), who had described the visit as "writing a new chapter in the Sino-US relationship."

"He told me, 'I believe you can pull out of this.'" Vulgamore said.

The world of classical music is all too familiar with the current plight of US orchestras. Within the last year, the Syracuse, Honolulu and New Mexico orchestras have all filed for bankruptcy, while others like the Detroit Symphony Orchestra continue to struggle. Considered to be among the top in the world, the PSO was the first major orchestra in the US to file for bankruptcy. In 2011, the 112-year-old institution filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy (temporary bankruptcy to allow restructuring) after struggling with low attendance, thinning donations, the recession and an aging audience.

"Everybody goes through rough times," said bassist Joseph Conyers, 31, on Saturday while at the Great Wall ceremony. He had joined the orchestra in 2010 during their restructuring. "I like to say we're closing Chapter 11 and we're starting Chapter 12."

Conyers has a right to be upbeat. Over the last months, the PSO filed their bankruptcy exit plan while negotiating a debated, yet final, pension payout of $1.75 million.

In the midst of the ordeal, the company was hammering out plans for a China residency, where over the next five years the PSO will spend three weeks delivering concerts, master classes and participating in community outreach programs in at least four major Chinese cities.

"The past 18 months have been like a cultural exchange of how these things work," said Craig Hamilton, the orchestra's vice president for global initiatives.

"In the US, the arts rely heavily on private philanthropy, and as a result, you're marketing to your audiences' needs and tastes in a way you don't have to in China." Hamilton said.

"There isn't the same focus on filling seats, or sustaining a certain percentage of season ticket holders."

Despite a report in the New York Times last week that some Chinese sponsors had pulled out at the last minute, a claim that orchestra officials explain were exaggerated, the residency retained significant sponsors, such as the Bank of China, Hennessey and Coca Cola. Embassy officials and organizers remained tight-lipped regarding further sponsorship details.

While the US voted to cut $20 million from the National Endowment for the Arts last year, Beijing municipal government is boosting funding with a new venue subsidy to help stir interest in the performing arts with lower-priced tickets for classical Chinese operas, concerts and dramas, according to a Xinhua News Agency report last month.

But besides cultural exchanges, how do orchestras and hosts benefit from residency weeks, and how long will the interest last? According to Chicago-based arts consultant Drew McManus, it's a matter of comparative history.

"The ultimate goal is to become self-sustainable," explains McManus, who has worked with clients from both the US and China. "Residencies can be a big money maker for the orchestra, but bringing over organizations ultimately gives you a frame of reference of how to equal the people that you're inviting."

McManus likened the current situation in China to the early 20th century US, where due to a lack of musical infrastructure, instructors and orchestras were brought in from Europe until the US had built up their own roster of composers, conductors and institutions.

"You can't look at China as a cash cow," said McManus. "US orchestras should be asking themselves, 'what do we have to offer?'"

"The way to remain special in the minds of the Chinese people is to keep showing up," said former ambassador Nicholas Platt, who was instrumental in facilitating the 1973 tour. He describes the orchestra's strategy as the "play and stay."

"It's about getting the players out of the concert hall and into the city and schools," said Platt. "And we're working on getting Chinese orchestras to the US as we speak."

Whether this is enough to build a brand in China, one thing Philadelphia has, is a monopoly on great stories gathered during the Cultural Revolution (1966-76). Hanging out on the Great Wall, some of the eight remaining musicians from the first tour reenacted a pose for a photo they had taken almost four decades earlier and reminisced.

"We were accompanied by government officials everywhere and I remember thinking, what are we getting ourselves into?" said violinist Herold Klein, who was 28 at the time.

For violist Renard Edwards, his standout memory was his sudden encounter with a military officer after a Beijing concert.

"While getting ready to go back to the hotel, this military man got on the bus, and said something to the driver. We were all pretty nervous," he recalled.

The driver was instructed to drive back to the empty venue, where Jiang Qing, the wife of Mao Zedong, waited to greet the orchestra.

"Madame Mao came out to shake our hands in her evening dress," he continued, noting she was the only one wearing something other than Sun Yat-sen suits. "And she gave us about five peony seeds, the national flower for China."