The 27th Beijing Music Festival was launched in Beijing on October 5 and will last until October 13.

The festival brings together performance groups and famous artists from China, Austria, France, Germany, Italy, South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States, and other countries to present ten concerts of diverse styles at the National Centre for the Performing Arts, Poly Theatre, the Forbidden City Concert Hall, the Divine Music Administration in the Temple of Heaven Park, and other venues. Moreover, public welfare activities featuring music tours along Beijing's Central Axis, encounters with maestros, and tours around Beijing are also available.

On October 11, the Forbidden City Concert Hall will host Andy Akiho's contemporary percussion theatre Seven Pillars, which explores the theme of dreammakers and will highlight the energy and charm of Sandbox Percussion from the United States. Seven Pillars is a work of percussion quartet, including seven ensemble movements and a solo part for each member of Sandbox Percussion, with attempts to create a free space in an orderly structure.

On a golden autumn afternoon, a musical feast will be unveiled – at 14:00 on October 12 at the Central Conservatory of Music, Andy Akiho, an emerging composer and percussionist, together with Sandbox Percussion, will give a comprehensive overview of percussion's artistic expressions and share his insights into creation and performance.

The closing concert, with the theme of "Til You Rise and Sing that Summertime", will present the China premiere of the new semi-staged production of Porgy and Bess at Poly Theatre on October 12 and 13. This production to be presented by Cape Town Opera Chorus will be an unmatched rendition of Gershwin's masterpiece and a magnificent monument to the passion, compassion, and individuality that inspired this great opera.

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(Source: Beijing Music Festival)