British audiences to be treated to Chinese folk music in Edinburgh Festival

China's leading orchestra, the China Conservatory Orchestra will give a concert at the highly-rated Edinburgh International Festival to be held in the United Kingdom in August.

The concert, with the theme of "Melodies from the Heart", aims to show an innovative Chinese folk musical culture, which mixes traditional Chinese elements with creative concepts.

The China Conservatory Orchestra will also perform "Melodies from the Heart" at the Central Hall Westminster in London on Aug 22, following its performance in Edinburgh International Festival on Aug 19.

The concert will be directed by China's leading conductor Guan Naizhong, who has been the conductor of many prominent orchestras including China Oriental Song and Dance Troupe and Kaohsiung City Chinese Orchestra.

At the concerts, audiences' attentions will surely be on a wide variety of Chinese musical instruments such as erhu (two-stringed bowed instrument), ruan (a Chinese plucked string instrument) and guzheng (traditional Chinese zither).

Edinburgh Deputy Mayor Frank Ross and London Mayor Boris Johnson lent their support to the concert and conveyed their wishes that China and the United Kingdom could strengthen their cross-cultural communication, making people from both countries know more about the appeal of one another's culture.

China Conservatory Orchestra, established in 1964, is one of China's best and most dynamic orchestras. It belongs to the China Conservatory of Music, which is based in Beijing and acclaimed as China's first institution to specialize in the study of Chinese music.

The Edinburgh International Festival is a renowned curated Festival, whose artists are invited by its Director Fergus Linehan to give performances. The festival is a mixture of classical music, theatre, opera and dance performances from the world's leading artists and its planning is an ongoing process. Its projects and programs are organized in cooperation with companies and individual performers often several years in advance.

2015 marks the Sino-UK Year of Cultural Exchange, an artistic and cultural project to strengthen bilateral ties in the fields of arts and creative industries. The Edinburgh Festival will help promote the Chinese folk music in the United Kingdom as well as other parts of the world.