An international wind music festival is showcasing Shinan district in Qingdao, a coastal city in East China's Shandong province, as an important center for the art. The event, which starts on Wednesday and will end on Sunday, consists of two projects - a wind music summit and an oboe art festival. It has attracted many oboe masters and wind music experts.

At the event's news conference held last month, Yu Hai, president at the wind music society of the Chinese Musicians Association, said that such a high-end wind music art forum would definitely trigger new energy and synergy in the field.

At the summit to be held on Sunday, presidents from 11 professional music schools, including the Central Conservatory of Music and the China Conservatory of Music, leaders from Yu's organization and wind music educators, conductors and performers will discuss the art's future in areas such as students' education and development of related industries.

The oboe art festival features more than 10 top oboe masters from around the world and 500-plus oboe performers and hobbyists nationwide. It comprises 15 master concerts and 25 expert lectures.

Yu said the event will have an active and profound influence on promoting the development and progress of the oboe art form in China.

Liu Mingjia, a Qingdao native, will perform and share his musical stories at the festival. The 29-year-old continued his studies in the United States with a full scholarship in 2006 and became the youngest oboe professor in the US in 2016. Hosts of the wind music festival include the Central Conservatory of Music, the wind music society of the Chinese Musicians Association and the government of the Shinan district.

Hosts said the event is an innovative move, with professional music groups and the local government cooperating to boost wind music and help local educational, cultural and social development.

Guan Shouguo, deputy head of the Shinan district, said Qingdao has important influence domestically and abroad, and Shinan, a noted historic and cultural district in the city, boasts a good art atmosphere and distinctive music genes.

Music education in primary and middle schools in Shinan is wide and solid, Guan said, adding that campus music groups as well as young musicians have been emerging in recent years, which has laid a profound foundation for integrated development of music, tourism and culture in the district.

The district is committed to building a modernized international area that is fashionable and happy, and that goal requires support from culture and arts, Guan said. As wind music has unique charm and advantages in terms of artistry, enjoyability and popularity, the Shinan government signed a cooperation agreement to promote the art with the Central Conservatory of Music and the wind music society of the Chinese Musicians Association in May.

The agreement plans how to boost the district's wind music in the next five years.

Local officials said Shinan district will find and train new wind music stars and attract related professionals during the period. It will also publicize the art among children and communities, and will set up wind music training centers.

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(China Daily 07/19/2017 page5)