International Tours
Over the last 70 years the youth symphony has been on 14 tours to over 18 countries. In 1981, musicians performed on the Great Wall in Beijing, China. The tour concert in Shanghai was telecast by satellite to the U.S., making the first use of satellite transmission for a cultural broadcast between the U.S. and China. Thirty-four years later, SDYS returned to the Great Wall of China on its 70th Anniversary China Tour.
70th Anniversary China Tour
Qualcomm Incorporated presents San Diego Youth Symphony and Conservatory’s 70th Anniversary China Tour
In 2015, SDYS celebrated its 70th anniversary with a tour to China, sponsored by Qualcomm Incorporated. Following a Bon Voyage Concert in Plaza de Panama, Balboa Park, an orchestra of 109 students and alumni joined 10 chaperons and 20 patrons on a 15-day tour of Beijing, Yantai, and Shanghai. The tour immersed the group in a musical and cultural exchange.
The orchestra performed at the famed Forbidden City Concert Hall in Bejing, the Poly Grand Theatre in San Diego’s Sister City of Yantai and a special Fourth of July Concert in the prestigious Oriental Arts Center in Shanghai.
A one-hour documentary of the tour was produced in partnership with the San Diego State University School of Theatre, Television, and Film which aired on KPBS in 2015. View the documentary here.
SDYS last visited China in 1981 when they had the honor of touring and performing in Canton, Hangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing. Our concert in Shanghai was telecast by satellite to the US, making the first use of satellite transmission for a cultural broadcast between the US and China.
China Tour Press
- KPBS Online: San Diego Youth Symphony – Road to China
- KPBS Radio: “Oboe Player Featured In San Diego Youth Symphony Documentary”
- The Nexus: “Five students tour, perform in China with youth symphony”
- San Diego Magazine: “San Diego Youth Symphony Goes to China”
- UT San Diego: “Flora Li’s China diary”
- La Jolla Village News: “Young La Jolla musicians to take their act on a 6 000 mile road”
- UT San Diego: “Bon voyage, San Diego Youth Symphony!”
- Times of San Diego: “Youth Symphony Schedules Free Concert Before China Trip”
- UT San Diego: “San Diego Youth Symphony connects region to the world”
- KSDS San Diego: Interview with Jeff Edmons
- San Diego Downtown News: “Youth Symphony traveling to China”
- San Diego Business Journal: “This Mix of Talent Will Serve Us Well”
China Tour Blog
More at www.sandiegoyouthsymphony.tumblr.com.
China Tour Sponsors
Presenting Sponsor
Hotel Sponsors
Yantai Friendship Society
Mark Bennett
June Shillman
Media Sponsors
San Diego State University Department of TV, Film and New Media
Meal Sponsors
Eli Shefter & Elizabeth Lancaster
Air Transportation Sponsors
Eric Cohen
Jeff & Kathy Edmons
Rob & Erin Gaan
Jeanette Stevens
Gene Summ
Music Sponsors
Christopher Weil & Company, Inc
Christopher Weil & Company, Inc. sponsors costs related to music rights fees for selections chosen for the China Tour and distribution of sheet music to our musicians for these selections.
Instrument Sponsors
SHAR Music
Century Strings
Ground Transportation Sponsors
Hamilton College Consulting
Barney & Barney
Martha Brechlin
Ann Evans
Marvin & Reinette Levine
Paul & Maggie Meyer
Sijia, David & Eric Schrunk
Sightseeing Sponsors
Sunrise Capital Partners
Dick Alborn
John Michael Brooks
Budget Blinds of North San Diego
Richard & Ellen Turnage Doty
Betty Hiller
Anni & Arthur Lipper
Gary & Carol McElroy
Sylvia Smith
Joel & Dorothy Sollender
Al & Armi Williams
Weifeng & Emily Xu
Instrument Transportation Sponsors
Mary Ann Beyster
Joan Henkelmann
Editha Mason
Gisela Roha
Dick Wright
Polly Yu
