Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Will Perform Chinese New Year Concert

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra's Chinese New Year Concert will return in February 2027 to celebrate the Year of the Goat, the eighth sign in the Chinese zodiac and one that heralds creativity, compassion and empathy.

The MSO, led by internationally acclaimed Australian-Chinese-Singaporean conductor Dane Lam, blends Chinese and Western masterworks to celebrate music from both cultural canons.

The program showcases two works from contemporary Chinese composer Ye Xiaogang including his concerto for marimba and orchestra, Cranes Chirping. Acclaimed Chinese-born percussionist Le Yu (marimba) makes his MSO debut, following his world premiere performance of Cranes Chirping with the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra in 2024.

Internationally admired for his technical virtuosity and rapid-fire brilliance, Le Yu is one of the leading percussionists of his generation. He founded and performs in the critically acclaimed Aurora Percussion Duo and has enjoyed an active international career as a soloist, a chamber musician and educator. Le is the founder and Music Director of the Greater Bay Area International Percussion Festival and served as Artist-in-Residence for the 2025 Shenzhen 'Belt and Road' International Music Festival. 

Dane Lam is the only conductor in the world to hold leadership positions at major musical institutions in the United States, Australia, and Asia. Dane is Music and Artistic Director of the Hawai'i Symphony Orchestra and Artistic Director of State Opera South Australia. In 2014, Dane was appointed Principal Conductor of the Xi'an Symphony Orchestra - the first non-Chinese conductor to hold such a position with a major Chinese orchestra.

The vibrant program of Eastern and Western favourites opens with Li Huanzhi's Spring Festival Overture, followed by Ye Xiaogang's Cranes Chirping - with Le Yu - and his melodic and evocative The Backyard of the Village.

The Western canon features Richard Strauss' breakthrough tone poem Don Juan. Composed when he was just 24, Strauss' dazzling score burst onto the scene with flamboyant audacity and sheer sonic power. Dvořák's exuberant Carnival Overture follows, before Rimsky-Korsakov's Capriccio Espagnol, with its lyrical melodies and lively Spanish dances, brings the program to a spirited close.