A new international music festival will launch this month to strengthen cultural ties between young people in the UK and China.
The 2025 UK China Cultural Exchange Programme will bring together more than 100 young musicians from China and the UK for a week of concerts, workshops, and cultural activities.
The event will include the world premieres of three orchestral works: Dragon Dance: A Symphony of East and West, by Swedish composer Heinrich Schweizer (b. 1943), conducted by Bian Zushan; Rising Clouds Over Four Seas by contemporary Chinese composer Wang Yunfei; and Egress, by 20-year-old British composer Christopher Churcher.
The opening ceremony on 17 July will be hosted by the Lord Mayor of Birmingham at the Council House, and will include a UK-China sister orchestra signing.
Moving to London the next day, pupils from the Guangdong Experimental High School will give a gala concert of traditional Chinese music at St Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Sqaure, in the presence of the Chinese Ambassador to the UK.
Back in Birmingham, on 21 July, CBSO associate conductor Michael Seal leads the CBSO Youth Orchestra and the Chinese orchestra in a day of workshops and rehearsals.
The closing ceremony and finale concert will be held on 22 July in Bradshaw Hall at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.
The festival has been backed by Birmingham City Council, the Cultural Section of the Chinese Embassy in the UK, and leading British institutions such as the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) and the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. Future plans include expanding the number of participants to more than 300 in 2026, and for the combined ensembles to appear on high-profile platforms such as at The Proms. Phase 2 of the programme will see UK musicians supported in a visit to China in 2026.
Di Xiao, festival artistic director and piano professor at the BCU Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, said: ‘This is not just about music – it’s about building bonds that last a lifetime. We’re giving young people the tools to become cultural leaders in a global world.’
