As a brand new cultural name card of the city, Suzhou Symphony Orchestra (SSO) will make its debut at the Grand Theatre of Suzhou Culture and Arts Center to greet New Year's Day of 2017.

Chen Xieyang, music director of SSO and famous Chinese master conductor, will conduct the "SSO Inauguration Show" scheduled for Dec 30 and the "SSO Opening Concert" set for Dec 31.

To pay back the support and encouragement of the public, SSO will release free tickets for the two performances via its WeChat platform. Please visit "Suzhou Symphony Orchestra" WeChat public account for details.

Taking into account its initial scale and local characteristics, SSO has made the plan for its 52 music concerts in 2017, including 26 season concerts, 6 chamber music concerts, 6 festival concerts and 14 piano competitions. The tickets for 12 concerts are already on sale.

Meanwhile, SSO has also designed art education activities on the theme of "classical music and happy life" for local residents. It will carry out five major projects that involve schools, youth, companies, institutional organizations, etc. and one extended project that benefits middle and primary school students in an effort to boost the popularization and promotion of elegant art and its integration into the new life of Suzhou.