Macao Orchestra well-received by Portuguese audiences

The Macao Orchestra has concluded its tour in Portugal with acclaim from audiences. The orchestra toured the Portuguese cities of Évora, Coimbra, Portalegre and Lisbon.

The 12-day tour, from September 12 to 24 September, saw the orchestra’s first return to the European country in seven years, following an earlier visit in 2012.

One of the highlights of the tour was that the orchestra enjoyed the honor of performing at the world-famous Marvão International Music Festival in Portalegre and Festival TODOS in Lisbon.

As the Macao Orchestra was touring as a cultural representative of Macau, it took the opportunity to highlight Macau’s unique cultural appeal through the music performances.

Conducted by music director and principal conductor Lü Jia, the orchestra, along with German-born Korean violinist Clara-Jumi Kang, presented Dvořák’s “Carnival Overture,” Jean Sibelius’s “Violin Concerto in D minor” and Tchaikovsky’s “Symphony No.5 in E minor.”

The orchestra kicked off their tour at the Baroque-style Teatro Garcia de Resende in Évora, playing before an audience of nearly 500.

They then travelled to Coimbra, where they co-performed with the city’s Orquestra Clássica in a filled auditorium. The third stop was Portalegre, the host city of the prestigious Marvão International Music Festival, where 400 people enjoyed the performance. Closing the tour was a show at Festival TODOS in Lisbon in front of 600 people. AL