Co-founded by the City of Suzhou and the Suzhou Industrial Park in 2016, the Suzhou Symphony Orchestra (SZS) has positioned itself as one of China’s most dynamic orchestras. Characterized by experience combined with youth, the musicians of the Suzhou Symphony Orchestra represent and 18 countries/regions across four continents.
Under the stewardship of Music Director CHEN Xieyang and Chief Conductor XU Zhong, the Suzhou Symphony Orchestra has conceived challenging, illuminating and entertaining programs that encompass a broad range of repertoire with stylistic diversity and technical rigor. Since its inception the orchestra has enjoyed prestigious collaboration with such musical luminaries as Roberto Abbado, Daniel Oren, Christof Eschenbach, Christian Arming, Thomas Rösner, John Axelrod, Tan Dun, Bright Sheng, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Jian Wang, He Hui, Guang Yang, Xavier de Maistre, Liwei Qin, Siqing Lv, Feng Ning, Xuefei Yang, among others.
In 2017 the SZS presented the Jinji Lake International Piano Competition, and in 2018 further pushed the boundaries of symphonic innovation by sponsoring the Jinji Lake International Composition Competition which attracted submissions by composers from over 39 countries. The “Symphony of a Thousand” concert presented at the Suzhou Olympic Center in 2019 added a milestone to the SZS’s impressive resume of hosting large-scale musical events of international calibre. In 2021 the SZS presents the 2nd Jinji Lake International Composition Competition as part of the 100th Anniversary celebration of the founding of the Communist Party of China as well as the 2nd Jinji Lake International Piano Competition.
2017 has taken the SZS to France and Germany, and to Hong Kong and Shanghai for a full agenda of opera and concerts. Then the Orchestra shared its music with audiences in the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, Beijing Concert Hall, Esplanade Concert Hall in Singapore, NTCH Concert Hall in Taipei, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, the Kobe International Hall and Macao Cultural Centre. At the invitation of the Chinese Ambassador to the UN, the SZS gave the first-ever concert celebrating Chinese New Year hosted at the United Nations General Assembly Hall in February 2019. In collaboration with the Jiangsu Grand Theatre in their production of “Diary of John Rabe”, the SZS performed at the Staatsoper Berlin Unter den Linden, Hamburg Elbphilharmonie and Ronarcher Theatre in Vienna.
From its home base – the Jinji Lake Concert Hall designed by world-class acoustician Yasuhisa Toyota, the SZS has proven itself a leader in organizing premier musical events and spearheading the education of classical music in Suzhou with fully implemented chamber music series and community engagement programs.
Determined to develop the appreciation of music from the root, the Suzhou Symphony Orchestra remains committed as a culture ambassador and a champion of the arts for Suzhou.
