Chinese musicians delivered a cultural symphony at a special welcome banquet hosted by President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan on Sunday evening for leaders attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit 2025 in the northern port city of Tianjin.
A 16-member ensemble from the Tianjin Symphony Orchestra welcomed the distinguished guests arriving for the banquet with a series of carefully selected musical pieces -- each one representing the cultural heritage of the visiting dignitaries' home countries.
Though each piece lasted only a few minutes, the preparation behind them was anything but simple. The musicians spent over two months meticulously rehearsing a repertoire of more than 20 songs.
One of the performers revealed that the musicians had color-coded their sheet music with labeled tabs indicating each country's representative tune, ensuring they could quickly find the right piece when required.
"This way, we can quickly flip to the musical piece of whichever country is needed. As soon as a country's leader arrives at the banquet, we need to immediately locate the score and start playing their music right away," said a trumpeter from the ensemble.
The team drew on extensive research, studying online recordings and archives to capture the authentic sound reflecting each nation's musical traditions.
"In order to ensure that leaders from each country can hear music in their own familiar national style as soon as they arrive, we've done extensive research, both online and from our own resources, looking for music representative of their cultures, such as pieces from Mongolia, or works in the styles of South Asia or West Asia. We've been listening carefully to these traditional melodies to understand the appropriate tempo, dynamics, and expressive nuances. We've spent over two months rehearsing diligently to get it just right," said the trumpeter.
The two-day Tianjin gathering is set to be the biggest ever edition of the SCO summit, with the leaders of more than 20 countries and the heads of 10 international organizations in attendance.
Established in 2001, the organization has now grown to include 10 member states, alongside two observer states and 14 dialogue partners.
Chinese musicians warmly greet guests attending SCO Summit welcome banquet
