The China National Traditional Orchestra (CNTO) is a state-level performing arts institution funded by the Ministry of Culture. Members of CNTO—comprising an orchestra of traditional instruments and a chorus—are highly-esteemed musicians both at home and abroad. Founded in 1960 under the guidance of the late Premier Zhou Enlai, CNTO’s inaugural President Li Huanzhi (January 1919 – March 2000) was an esteemed composer and Chairman of the Chinese Musicians’ Association. Current president Zhao Cong is the principal pipa soloist, a musician of state honor, and National Art Fund sponsored young composer.
CNTO carries the mission of promoting China’s musical heritage. With an extensive repertoire of traditional and new works, CNTO has long contributed to the country’s cultural landscape. Throughout the decades, all of China’s leaders—Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao, Xi Jinping—and many foreign dignitaries have enjoyed CNTO’s performances, many of which having won high praises.
CNTO actively carries out foreign cultural exchange activities, covering more than 30 countries and regions in five continents, among them the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Australia, Denmark, Spain, Norway, Columbia, Peru, Ecuador, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Egypt, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Malaysia. CNTO presents the country’s cultural image, cooperates with frequent international cultural exchange activities, promotes Chinese culture and national music, and continues to make series of remarkable achievements.
In recent years, CNTO has produced such iconic full-length programmes as Impressions: Chinese Music, Rediscover Chinese Music, Looking for Dufu, Golden Echoes, Beautiful Rivers and Mountains, Grand Music from China, Bridge to Chinese Music, Cowherd and Weaver Maid, Chinese Music in Splendor, Beautiful Xinjiang, Tibetan Spring, Love Songs in the Moonlight, The Silk Road, Sun Yat-sen and Xuanzang’s Pilgrimage, the world’s first Chinese concert in drama.