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These are the good days for domestic symphony orchestras, but while some are shining musically others are searching for ways to regain their relevance in a society where music is mainly served in mp3 format and on karaoke channels. A quick question: How many professional symphony orchestras does China have? You don't know? I didn't either, but I found out at the 2010 China Symphony Summit early this week. There are 45 professional symphony orchestras on the mainland. Does that surprise you? Of course there are orchestras in Beijing, Shanghai or Guangzhou, but more surprisingly, Qingdao has three, and even the hinterland city of Guiyang boasts one. The reason most of these orchestras have low visibility is they do not perform that much. Some put on as few as 30 shows a year and have an operating budget of just 1 million yuan ($146,475) - a pittance compared with sky-high housing prices. Many are remnants from the old days when they were called bands and the personnel and equipment were inadequate. They are "hungry", but not to the extent they'll "starve to death". What can they do? "If they do not reform, they'll just wait for death. If they do, they'll be looking for death." That's how Wang Hongbo sums it up. The spokesman for China Arts and Entertainment Group, under the Ministry of Culture, was blunt in describing the complacency of many orchestras: "For a 1,000-seat venue, you give out 2,000 free tickets and, when the curtain rises, you still find most seats are vacant." | 
