The Chinese Instruments Orchestra of Nanjing Tech University was founded in November 2014, composed of 1 full-time instructor and more than 70 existing members of different majors who are traditional culture lovers and have experience in playing Chinese instruments. The orchestra has bowed stringed instruments, plucked instruments, wind instruments, and percussion instruments.
With the mission of promoting Chinese folk music and demonstrating the elegant image of NanjingTech students, the orchestra actively participates in various performances inside and outside the university, such as the Evening Party for Freshmen, the New Year Concert, and High Art into Campus. In 2015 and 2016, the orchestra participated in cultural tours in the Confucius Institute among three African countries and Spain with the student art troupe, which was warmly received by people from all walks of life, overseas Chinese people and the media.
The orchestra has participated in many domestic and foreign competitions. In the 7th Singapore International Chinese Orchestra Arts Festival in 2015, the orchestra won a silver and a bronze medal, and in the following year, the orchestra won two gold and two silver medals in the 8th Singapore International Chinese Ethnic Musical Instrumental Competition with the ensemble “Castle in the Sky”, “Rain Breaks in Jiangnan”, the repertoire “Dance of the Yao People ” and the solo “Erhu Rhapsody No.3”, “Robe of Clouds”. In 2017, the folk music repertoire “Charm of Jiangnan” was awarded the second prize of the instrumental repertoire group A in the 5th College Student Art Performance Competition of Jiangsu Province, and in 2020, the Guzheng repertoire “Shaohua Danqing” won the second prize of the instrumental repertoire group A in the 6th College Student Art Performance Competition of Jiangsu Province.
As a bright spot to promote Chinese traditional culture, the orchestra actively carries out the second classroom education project “Folk Music and Poetry”, which not only cultivates college students’ appreciation of art and aesthetics, enhances national self-confidence, and encourages students to carry forward Chinese traditional music culture, but also builds a stage for NanjingTech students who love folk music to show their talents and specialties. Positive, elegant, and healthy culture and art have been deeply rooted in campus life, whilst the comprehensive implementation of the aesthetic education and the comprehensive quality of engineering college students have been improved.