As the organizers revealed, the Philips Harmonie is not a wind orchestra in the normal sense of the word, but a Harmony Orchestra made up of two components - a symphonic wind orchestra, and a brass and percussion band.

"With such a combination, the band has the capability to perform an incredibly rich and varied repertoire consisting not only of classics but also jazz, Latin American, pop, and others," said Wu Jingbao, spokesman of the theatre.

Another amazing part of the band lies in its composition. It is made up of over 100 top amateur musicians.

David Shen, one member of the band, said jokingly: "The word 'amateur' only suggests that our members do not take music as a career, our standard performances are never amateur but professional."

In fact, a group of music-lovers who are also Philips' employees founded the band in 1911. Since its foundation, all the members have worked to position it as one of the top bands in Europe.

At present, about 50 per cent of the band's members are still Philips' employees, but all of have passed the rigorous qualifications for entry.

The band has won numerous awards in Europe and in the world such as the Swiss Premier, and its chief conductor Pierre Kuijpers is acknowledged to be the best conductor in the Netherlands, according to the organizers.

On this occasion, the repertoire will accentuate the versatility of the band, consisting of both classics like Strauss, Bernstein, and Pop such as John Williams and Johan de Meij.

Shen added, "We will also perform some Chinese folk pieces like Zheng Lu's 'Happy Voice' and Jasmine Flowers. In addition, one of our member who is also a composer and has written a piece called "Shanghai Polka" especially for this China tour and we will play it for the audience too."

7:15pm, May 10, 11

Shanghai Majestic Theatre

66 Jiangning Lu

Tel: 6217-4409, 6217-2426

40-280 yuan

(Shanghai Star April 18, 2003)