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‘Official’ Feedback
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Through this successful festival, five continents
participated in the largest scale artistic exchange activity in
the history of Yunnan Province.
He Guangshu, Director, Yunnan Department of Culture and Arts
'99 Kunming International Arts Festival was a beautiful
flower that blossomed and enriched our cultural life.
Lu Yunwu, Director, Yunnan Radio and Television Department
I would like to express my admiration for this successful gala festival
of interna-tional arts, that brought great honor and support to
Expo '99 Kunming, China.
Xue Zegao, Director, Publicity and Cultural Affairs, Expo '99,
China.
This festival proved that culture and art are bridges to establish
friendship and relationship between different peoples and cultures.
Wang Tianxi, Vice General Secretary, Communist Party Committee
This colorful and diverse International Arts Festival introduced
new vigor to the education of Yunnan Province.
Huang Yingxu, Vice Director, Yunnan Education Commission
This festival symbolized that cooperation between the cultural and
artistic fields of Yunnan Province and the world, has stepped into
a new era.
Gu Boping, President, Cultural Exchanges with Foreign Countries
Director, Yunnan Information Office
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Testimonials & Feedback
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The Experience of a Lifetime.
What a privilege it was to participate in the 1999 Kunming International
Festival of the Arts! Our performance of Messiah with the Kunming Symphony
Orchestra and Consort Caritatis was one of the most significant and meaningful
events of my musical career. I have conducted more than 60 performances
of Messiah. But, when a student at the Yunnan Arts Institute asked me
"Mr. Dyck, when you conduct Handel's Messiah, do you have Christmas
in your heart?", I knew that this great work would forever have new
meaning for me.
Howard Dyck,
Kitchener, Canada
Intrigued by the Artwork
The Chinese were really intrigued by the artwork, the new styles, and
what the work meant. It was a real honour to speak with such enthusiastic
visitors and to be shown such generosity and interest. There was a ready
attraction to pictures showing God's concern for the weak (Old Man and
Famine Icon) and Christ's identification with our suffering (the print
'Crucifixion of a Soldier'). They just loved being invited to walk through
the sculpture of the (Narrow) Gate. Great to see the language of art go
far beyond words.
Paul Hobbs
Bath, England
A Kindred Spirit
Thanks again for inviting us and making room for us on the team! We were
all very blessed and honored.
There was an immediate bond between the Chinese people and our First Nations
delegation that transcended time, history, distance, culture, and language.
Because Yunnan Province has the highest percentage of indigenous tribal
groups in China, there were many connections with the people as fellow
tribal members.
Richard Twiss
Vancouver, USA
Engaging the Audience
For over a decade, we had hoped to go to China. Finally the date was set,
made possible because of years of preplanning and relationship building
with International Festival of the Arts.
The opening performance was filled with middle school students. By the
finale it was obvious that the lines of communication were open. We had
engaged our audience. They truly loved what they were seeing. We performed
our second show for a general audience. The response was breathtaking.
It is customary for Chinese audiences to move around during a live performance.
This audience, however, was mesmerized. The general manager of the theater
told us that he had never seen anything like this before. He could not
believe how attracted the people were to the show.
Roger Nix
Tulsa, USA
Thank you!
I just don't have the words to express the deep emotion that participating
in the festivals evokes in me. It is like looking back through eternity;
the enormity of all that has happened and is happening. Thank you for
letting me be a small part of IFA's efforts around the world
Phillip Griffith Snr.
Lancaster, USA
Bountiful Demonstrations of Love
The forum you and your partners created for strategic engagement with
different cultures is entirely different from anything previously attempted
in cross-cultural communication.
One of our greatest memories will be the evening that 'Messiah' was performed.
As the glorious words rang out over the concert hall and the electronic
screens at each side of the platform displayed the full text in Chinese,
we marveled that we were in China listening to "I know that my redeemer
liveth". Stepping out into a brilliant star-lit night, once again
loud and clear out across the city, the strains reechoed. We prayed that
its eternal truth would touch the hearts of all who heard.
Nigel & Gilly Goodwin
London, England
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