Wuxi Chinese Orchestra delivers a concert in Canada in July. [Photo/WeChat account: wuxishilvyouju]

Wuxi Chinese Orchestra wrapped up its North American debut in July with a series of performances in Ottawa and Toronto, Canada, during a local music festival.

The tour, which marked the ensemble's first visit to the continent and came on the heels of a European tour earlier this year, featured 25 musicians presenting three formal concerts and two impromptu street pop-ups. The repertoire highlighted the distinctive sounds of Jiangnan folk music, performed on traditional instruments such as the erhu, pipa, guzheng, and suona.

The opening concert on July 4 at Ottawa's historic Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre attracted close to 1,000 spectators. A collaborative concert at the Algonquin Commons Theatre played to a sold-out house, where the orchestra joined forces with local Canadian musicians for a cross-cultural duet that blended the erhu with a string quartet.

Members of Wuxi Chinese Orchestra play traditional Chinese instruments during a performance in Canada in July. [Photo/WeChat account: wuxishilvyouju]

Outside the formal venues, pop-up performances at Ottawa's ByWard Market and in the city's Chinatown drew passersby, many of whom stopped to record the special moments on their phones.

The tour culminated in a sold-out Dream of South Jiangnan concert in the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts, featuring virtuoso solos. Many overseas Chinese in the audience expressed deep emotion at hearing the familiar melodies from their homeland, while Canadian attendees commented on the music's lyrical beauty and narrative power.

Beyond performances, the orchestra held professional exchanges with Toronto-based arts organizations to discuss strategies for promoting Chinese music abroad and potential co-productions.

Wuxi, designated a UNESCO City of Music and the birthplace of legendary folk musicians such as Ah Bing, has now brought its Jiangnan musical heritage to 19 countries and 31 cities through nearly 50 international performances.