The inaugural SHCM International Musical Theater Festival raises its curtain in Shanghai
The curtain has been raised on the inaugural SHCM International Musical Theater Festival on Wednesday. The event is holding forums, master courses and workshops, allowing musical students and teachers communicate with industry experts.
Jointly organized by the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and the Fengxian District government, the five-day festival is gathering musical creators, producers, college professors and other practitioners in the domestic musical circle.
They will take part in forums themed on the cultivation of musical talent, the production and promotion of stage musicals, as well as musical education and theoretical research.
The inaugural SHCM International Musical Theater Festival is held from November 2 to 6.
The Shanghai Conservatory of Music is one of the earliest conservatories in China to set up the department for musical in 2002.
"Musicals were still a relatively new performing art for most Chinese people 20 years ago," said Liao Changyong, president of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music.
"I initiated the establishment of the major two decades ago. Now, the new festival will serve as a communication platform for students, teachers, and their foreign counterparts and industry experts."
"Our conservatory aims at cultivating comprehensive talent, who can not only perform, but also create and research, so as to make contributions to the development of China's musical industry," said Liao.
The Shanghai Conservatory of Music president Liao Changyong (right) communicates with Taiwan musician Huang Hsu-Chung during the opening ceremony of the festival.
International musical experts and performers will give master courses and vocal instructions, to domestic musical learners and actors through online methods. The experts include New York-based stage director Joe Barros, British lyricist Anthony Drewe, South Korean musical producer Bae Sung-Hyuck, English musical theater actor Earl Carpenter, Broadway actor and voice teacher Benjamin Eakeley, Tony Award voter and Broadway League member Robert Blume, as well as Tim Rhys-Evans, Director of Music at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.
Taiwan musician Huang Hsu-Chung will also give a workshop to share his personal experience as a musical producer.
An all-star musical concert on Sunday evening will drop the curtain for the SHCM International Musical Theater Festival. The three-hour concert features a handful of popular musical singers and stage actors including Yu Yi, Zheng Qiyuan, Liu Lingfei, Ding Zhenying and Fang Shujian.
