At the intersection of sand dunes and oasis in the Mu Us Desert, more than 10 actors dressed in Mongolian robes played the Matouqin symphony. The timbre greatly impressed the netizens who watched it.

"It's very advanced, you can watch the Matouqin Symphony at home", "I opened Douyin and pushed it to me, you must like it"... While enjoying the wonderful performance, netizens were discussing in the live broadcast room.

The 15 national performances originally scheduled last year and the 7 banner county tours this year were canceled due to the epidemic. Since March, music fans have been pleasantly surprised to find that the Wushen Matouqin Symphony Orchestra, which has performed in Mongolia, Japan, South Korea, and France, has moved the concert repertoire to the Douyin platform and has received messages from music fans around the world. Likes and praise.

"Under the epidemic, many performances were forced to cancel. We opened a 'Second Theater' on Douyin to live broadcast various reporting performances online." On the evening of June 12, Jin Hai, head of the Wushen Matouqin Symphony Orchestra, told reporters that last year The Matouqin concert organized by the autonomous region's fine art project "Prairie People Sings the Motherland" is being distributed to netizens for free through the Douyin platform to meet the high-quality spiritual life of the masses.

From the Prairie to the National Grand Theater

Matouqin is a stringed musical instrument produced and spread in Mongolia. There have always been people in Wushen Banner who have traditionally played the matouqin, and they began to develop the matouqin business more than 10 years ago.

In 2006, Mongolian matouqin music was selected into the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list. Since 2009, Wushen Banner, as the "capital of matouqin culture", has been determined to train a group of matouqin performers to better pass on this culture.

Jin Hai recalled that at that time the government held more than ten training courses in order to encourage people to learn matouqin. Not only was a subsidy of 60 yuan given to those who came to learn how to play the matouqin every day, but also a matouqin was given, and eventually nearly 10,000 people learned to play.

In 2010, on the basis of the preliminary training and selection, the Wushen Banner Matouqin Orchestra was established, and in 2013, the Matouqin Symphony Orchestra was formally established. Professional multi-part symphony orchestra in local style.

On May 28, 2014, at the National Centre for the Performing Arts of China, the troupe performed "Swan Geese", "Radesky March", "Carmen Overture" and "Chardash Dance", and their superb performance infected and shocked the audience. At first, many people thought that such a beautiful sound could only be played by a violin, but later discovered that the Matouqin Symphony Orchestra from Wushen Banner "can do it too."

In April 2016, the troupe went to South Korea to participate in "Passionate Dreams, China-Korea Cultural Exchange Activities"; on March 9, 2018, they were invited to perform at the Nice Conservatory of Music in Nice, France; "Horse Tamer" won the "Gold Award" in the 7th CCTV New Year Original Concert in 2019. This award shows the orchestra that the Matouqin Symphony Orchestra has a great mission and needs to constantly create better works.

"After the establishment of the orchestra, many domestic and foreign composer and conductor experts were invited to compose and rehearse. Among them, Qibao Ligao, Darima and other matouqin masters also came to instruct many times. It has rehearsed more than 100 pieces, and can perform and interpret different styles of music. Classical music works at home and abroad, local special works." Jin Hai said.

Open up cloud positions to serve more people

The high-level performances have also made the group famous, and it has become a bronzing "art card" in the country.

As a representative of Chinese national music culture, the orchestra goes to the whole country and even Mongolia, South Korea, France and other countries, so that the world can feel the unique music language of Mongolian people.

What makes Jinhai fruitful is that the Matouqin Symphony Orchestra has established a firm foothold in the domestic and foreign art circles, and is completing a "leap" from the Grand Theater to the Big Cloud.

Affected by the epidemic, most of the more than 50 performers of the orchestra performed public welfare performances in various places in Wushen Banner, and there were not many opportunities for non-local audiences to learn about matouqin culture. From March this year, the orchestra will move its performances from the Grand Theater to the live broadcast room, release short videos on Douyin and try to broadcast live twice a week, so that Mongolian folk music can reach more people. The band's Douyin account is named "Yuexiang 547", and 547 echoes the Wushen Banner.

As a result, many netizens saw the opening scene, or in the desert hinterland, or in the depths of the grassland, or on the hills of the Kashgar landform, the actors neatly played the famous Matouqin song, showing the Mongolian music culture, while letting more People see the unique topographic scenery of Wushen Banner. "Nothing can express the life of the Mongolian nation more accurately than the matouqin, grasslands, horses, strong winds... Hearing the sound of the piano is like coming to the grasslands." Jin Hai said, a netizen commented on the orchestra's account, "The sense of substitution is very strong. , I feel like I've been grazing on the grassland."

Matouqin, a folk music culture that has been passed down for thousands of years and is unique to the Mongolian people, is loved by more and more people. On the Douyin platform, #Matouqin# has more than 420 million views, and #Matouqin Teaching# has more than 27 million views. Live broadcast teams or individuals like the Wushen Matouqin Symphony Orchestra have also become the type of anchors that young people love. Jin Hai said that on the basis of the 15 actors who tried live broadcasts in the early stage, the orchestra has joined ensembles, ensembles, orchestras, symphonies, etc. to play more world-famous songs.

"Cloud" art brings actors and audience closer

As more live broadcasts are attempted, the actors' work has also changed. Before the epidemic, the orchestra mainly performed ensembles and exercises according to their own music. It took three months to prepare for a party, but in the live broadcast room, it was necessary to plan the program in advance and also improvise. Actor Meng Ke said: "The performance in the big concert hall is more serious, and the overall atmosphere is very quiet. The live broadcast room faces the audience directly, you can chat with fans, and the content of the performance is more entertaining."

Actor Su Rige is one of the actors that netizens like. Some people call her "Su Su", while others call her "Su Daqiang". "Many fans will order some popular songs and ask the actors to make temporary arrangements and take time to rehearse, and perform them in the next live broadcast." Surige said, in addition to the classic "Ten Thousand Horses Galloping" and "Night in Ulaanbaatar" , they will also play popular music on the Internet such as "Pig Bajie Carrying Daughter-in-law", "Hero Song" and even "Compendium of Materia Medica", bringing different feelings to netizens.

After entering Douyin, a new door opened. Su Rige and her students tried "cloud cooperation", and actor Husle played "one person with multiple voices". Meng Ke and Xuefeng performed "Pig Bajie Carrying My Wife", which received 1.87 million views, more than 30,000 likes, 1,675 comments and 1,656 retweets. In addition to music, the performers also shared their daily life such as running, dancing, and reading. Jin Hai said, "The performers are no longer normal on the stage. They are lively and lively, each with their own way of life, which can greatly shorten the distance with the audience."

In the Douyin live broadcast room, actor Dai Qinfu completed the first live broadcast in his life. While introducing, playing, and answering questions from netizens, he was very busy. He said with emotion: "Live broadcasting is more stressful than performing on stage, but seeing the praise in the message gives me a sense of accomplishment."

Actor Chao Ke said: "In the past, we thought that the audience of Douyin was probably not our audience, so why should we operate it? Only when we really settled in did we understand that it was precisely because it was not our audience that we had to fight for this opportunity. channel and cultivate our new fans.”

After more than two months of live broadcasts, most of the orchestra's fans are from Changsha, Guangzhou and other parts of the country, and they watch every live broadcast regularly. At the same time, some netizens will also give rewards and like their favorite songs and actors, which also gives the actors a stronger sense of identity when they play.

"We treat each live broadcast as a small performance. In the future, the live broadcast room will be moved to grasslands and deserts, so that more symphony concerts will enter thousands of households and make matouqin really popular online." Jin Hai said , hoping to spread and promote more excellent traditional folk music content through platforms such as Douyin.

Today, on the Douyin platform, more and more traditional cultural performance artists and young inheritors have gathered, from Kunqu Opera actress Jiang Ke, Peking Opera performance artist Wang Peiyu, to "Mei School" successor Dong Fei... .. They are showing the charm of traditional Chinese culture in a diverse and innovative way through online platforms, and are constantly seeking innovation in their promotion.