A youth orchestra from Brazil concluded its China tour in Guangzhou on April 21, joining students from Xinghai Conservatory of Music for a concert that blended Brazilian rhythms with Chinese songs.
The performance, themed "One Melody Across Thousands of Miles: Brazilian Rhythms Meet Cantonese Charm", featured 25 young musicians from the Orquestra Forte de Copacabana, an ensemble from the state of Rio de Janeiro. Their tour, which began earlier this month in celebration of the 2026 China-Brazil Year of Culture, also included stops in Beijing, Tianjin and Guilin.
The concert opened with performances by Xinghai faculty and students before the visiting orchestra took the stage and performed Brazilian music such as "Garota de Ipanema", alongside Chinese songs like "Jasmine Flower" and "As Wished".
Yao Zhongda, deputy head of Xinghai's orchestral department, conducted a brass ensemble in "La Mourisque" and "Pavanne Bataille" from the Susato Suite and the Chinese piece "Steel Torrent March". He remarked on the contrast in styles: the Brazilian music, he said, was "light and lively," while the Chinese brass work carried "a sense of power and resolve." The exchange, he added, offered a chance for young musicians from both countries to learn from each other.
Benoit Stasiaczyk, a French professor and founder of the Xinghai Jazz Ensemble who also performed that evening, said the Brazilian students shared their music with enthusiasm and confidence—an inspiration for his Chinese students. He hoped young musicians will feel free to perform and express themselves, regardless of their technical level.
Márcia Melchior, founder of the Orquestra Forte de Copacabana and president of the Riomont Art and Culture Association, said celebrations for the China–Brazil Cultural Year had begun well before the group's arrival in China.
During the Lunar New Year celebrations, her organization had staged dragon and lion dance performances and concerts at Theatro Municipal do Rio de Janeiro, drawing a full house of 2,300 attendees. The China tour, she said, was a continuation of those festivities.
Young flutist Vinicius Marinho said the people of Guangzhou reminded him of home. "People here are just as welcoming as in Brazil," he said. Inspired by Chinese music, he had hoped to take a traditional Chinese bamboo flute back with him, but said he would have to wait for next time. "I hope I can come back soon and see my Chinese friends again."
Reporter | Chen Siyuan
Photo | Xinghai Conservatory of Music
