The Wule Symphony Orchestra (formerly: Jinghui Guangxuan Symphony Orchestra) Tour in Italy
From October 13 to 21, 2024, the Wule Symphony Orchestra performed in Milan, Verona, and Rome, Italy, with the support and co-organization of the CENTRO PER L’INTERSCAMBIO E LO SVILUPPO CULTURALE ITALIA-CINA（ICCX）, the Italy-China Cultural Tourism Promotion Association, and the China-Italy Culture and Art Promotion Association.
As the world’s only symphony orchestra composed entirely of Zen Buddhist monks, the Jinghui Guangxuan Symphony Orchestra was awarded the Guinness World Record in 2015 for being the "Largest Zen Music Ensemble of Monks"—the first Guinness World Record in Buddhist history. Additionally, it is the first monastic ensemble to perform at UNESCO in the post-founding era of modern China.
During this tour, the orchestra engaged audiences through dance and sound meditation, showcasing traditional Buddhist rituals such as sacred mudras (hand gestures) and Zen walking meditation. The performances included choral renditions of Gjeilo’s Requiem and Mozart’s Ave Verum Corpus, as well as Zen-inspired dance adaptations of Jasmine Flower and demonstrations of monastic etiquette. These presentations elegantly bridged tradition and modernity, creating an atmosphere of serenity and solemnity.
The final segment of the concert featured choral sound meditation, guiding the audience into a state of purity and inner peace through the harmonious blend of music and Zen practice.
Audiences in each city were immersed in this unique Zen-musical experience, embracing artistic beauty and spiritual elevation in a tranquil setting.
This tour presented a singular musical feast, uniting music, dance, and meditation, and led attendees on an extraordinary journey of inner purification and spiritual transcendence.
During this tour, the band interacts with the audience through dance and sound meditation, such as traditional Buddhist rituals such as displaying Buddhist handprints and walking by Zen masters, chorus performances of Gilkisen's "Requiem" and Mozart's "Ode to the Holy Body", or meditation dance and Zen daily etiquette displays adapted from "Jasmine Flower". Through these performances, tradition and modernity are gracefully blended together to create a peaceful and solemn atmosphere. In the last part of the concert, chorus-formed sound meditation leads the audience into a pure world, allowing the audience to find inner peace and tranquility in the fusion of music and meditation.
No matter what you see
The audience is immersed in this unique Zen music experience where everyone is in, and feel the beauty of art and the sublimation of the soul in a quiet atmosphere.
The tour orchestra presents the audience a unique musical feast that combines music, dance and meditation, leading the audience on an extraordinary journey of spiritual purification and spiritual sublimation.
