The world's largest Marimba percussion orchestra makes its debut at the 2023 Jianli Marimba Art Festival

The music festival implements the new goals and requirements of the country on the development of the cultural industry, responds to the policy goals of the coordinated development of the cultural and tourism industries in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei in the new era. Taking Marimba and percussion music performances as the starting point, the art festival aims to innovate and innovate through boutique master classes, immersive scene concerts, music salons and other content, impart and exchange percussion knowledge and techniques, interpret the unique charm of Marimba art, cultivate the international vision, exploration spirit and innovative concept of the new generation of Chinese music, carry forward and spread red music culture and local music culture in Qizhou, and contribute to the integrated development of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei's cultural tourism industry.

Drumming musicians, Central Conservatory of Music drumming professor Zhang Jingli served as the artistic director of this music festival. The festival gathered drumming musicians from Central Conservatory of Music, China Music Academy, Xinghai Music Academy, Shanghai University of Music, Sichuan Music Academy, Zhejiang Music Academy, Shenyang Music Academy, Xi'an Music Academy, Nanjing Academy of Fine Arts, Tianjin University of Music, Harbin University of Music, Central Conservatory of Music, Wuhan University of Music, East China Normal University of Music, Inner Mongolia Academy of Arts Music College, Fujian Academy of Arts Vocational College, Hebei Engineering and Technology College, Zhengzhou Xiasias College, Jiangxi Normal University of Music, Taiyuan College, Lanzhou University Symphony Orchestra, Central Ballet Orchestra, China National Symphony Orchestra, Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra, Liaoning Song and Dance Troupe, and Liaoning National Orchestra. More than 200 students and amateur enthusiasts majoring in Marimba from music colleges and universities gathered in the ecological education international life demonstration zone in the spring mountains of Qizhou, with the "Spring Mountain Cliff Forest 100 People's Marimba Drumming Music Festival" as the core activity. They formed a super-100-person, the world's largest Marimba drumming orchestra, with classic music composed and adapted by Central Conservatory of Music composer Dai Bo as the main repertoire. Conductor Xia Xiaotang was invited to conduct the performance on a super-large stage against the natural landscape of the cliff forest, performing the anthem of the Chinese era and singing the Chinese story of national rejuvenation.

This music festival will hold 8 master classes, 7 percussion concerts and popular music salons. The concerts will be composed of several ensembles composed of professional teachers and students from music colleges across the country. Each night during the festival, they will perform different styles of music, jointly build an international music exchange platform, and the experts of the master classes include percussion professors and performers from major music colleges in China.

Marimba Performance is an emerging and popular percussion art form in the world, characterized by strong visibility and a large number of participants, with high appreciation and participation. Its top domestic art festival event is "Jianli International Percussion Arts Festival", which is also the leading youth percussion performance art festival in China. It has successfully held ten editions so far, laying a solid audience foundation. As an influential music festival event in the percussion field, this "2023Jianli Marimba Art Festival" attempts to explore the integration, interdependence and coordinated development of percussion music and local landscape culture within the framework of cultural and tourism integration. While protecting, inheriting and promoting red classic music culture, it aims to let local culture rejuvenate with new vitality, striving to achieve a win-win effect of cultural and social benefits, further enhancing the cultural confidence of the public, and helping to tell the story of Qizhou, the story of red music, and the story of China.

When it comes to the planning and theme of this art festival, Zhang Jingli said, "In this art festival, we particularly emphasize the importance of Marimba ensemble collaboration, with a unique arrangement method. Regular art festivals are usually held in the form of team performances, with each team performing separately. This art festival breaks the inherent team pattern, and students from different regions and universities immediately form teams during the festival to jointly complete each performance and each song. This combination form will bring a new musical experience, and students' sense of teamwork will be further enhanced, allowing them to enjoy the joy of the collective more and make friends with the piano." Conductor Xia Xiaotang said, "It is rare in the world to perform on a stage with heaven and earth as the ceiling and hold such a grand event with more than seventy Marimbas. The sound of gold, stone, silk, bamboo, and other instruments harmonizes beautifully. We are very looking forward to this performance."