Jindong Cai, a professor of performance at Stanford University and chief conductor of the closing concert of the 2017 iSING! Suzhou International Young Artists Festival, gave a lecture to over 100 music enthusiasts at Suzhou Culture and Arts Centre on Aug 4. He laid emphasis on the development of western classical music in China as well as the close relations between western music and China's politics and diplomacy. The participants showed great interest.

Cai, who joined the Stanford faculty in 2004, has 12 years' experience as music director of Stanford Symphony Orchestra. It was his first time to conduct an iSING! concert. Cai shared his views with the audience, saying, "Compared with operas presented in Italian, German and French, very few operas are performed in Chinese in the west, and even some Chinese operas are mainly performed in English. However, China has a very big market, with an increasing creation of original Chinese operas. Therefore, it is of great significance to teach western singers how to sing Chinese songs, which is conducive to the spread of Chinese culture and the development of world operas."