Chinese musician and orchestra maestro Xu Zhong is interviewed by China's Xinhua News Agency before his performance in Haifa, Israel, on Oct. 6, 2013. Chinese musician and orchestra maestro Xu Zhong took on the lead of Haifa's Symphony Orchestra for this year's season, in a bid to boost the Israeli city's musical scene and bring Israeli music to the international arena. The Shangai-based musician will spend a year in the coastal city, while a joint musical venture between the two countries will establish an international orchestra composed of 30 Chinese and 30 Israeli musicians chosen by Zhong himself, to play around the world. Zhong's first Haifa concert here on Sunday wowed the Israeli public with classical performances alongside the city's symphonic orchestra. (Xinhua/Li Rui) |