The China Philharmonic Orchestra will give two concerts in the near future.

One will take place on June 30 to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Communist Party of China while the other will be on July 7.

At the June 30 event the orchestra will perform with well-known singers such as Song Zuying, Yang Hongji and Dai Yuqiang as well as the China Broadcasting Chorus and China Conservatory of Music Chorus.

The orchestra will play adapted works such as "Ode to the Red Flag" and "The Story of Spring."

The singers will perform a series of songs based on the poems of Mao Zedong.

The concert will be aired live on China Central Television.

The concert on July 7 will be a chance to inspect the orchestra's achievements in the 18 months since its foundation.

After its debut last December, the orchestra did not start performing in regular music seasons straight away but had many rehearsals and concerts to improve its quality.

It has worked with well-known foreign and Chinese musicians such as Placido Domingo, Mikhail Pletnev, Gerard Poulet, Yu Feng, Shao En, Zhang Guoyong, Xue Wei and Liao Changyong.

From the end of 2000 to June 2001, the China Philharmonic Orchestra toured Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Suzhou, Shanghai, Tianjin, Nanchang and Qingdao, and was warmly welcomed by local audiences.

At its last concert before the first music season, artistic director Yu Long will conduct to "Moon Mirrored by the Erquan Spring," Mendelssohn's "Violin Concerto in e minor" and Tchaikovsky's "Symphony No 5."

The orchestra's first music season will take place from September 2001 to July 2002.

(China Daily 06/08/2001)