When the sounds of the city merge into the overture of a symphony, listening to classical music is no longer an act of stillness but a personal journey through the urban landscape.

This concert unfolds beyond the theater seats, inviting audiences to wander through the city. Composer HUANG Ruo weaves together Eastern and Western musical aesthetics, reimagining the way classical music is perceived and experienced.

City of Floating Sounds unfolds in two parts: an “urban sound journey” and a “live orchestral performance,” dissolving the boundary between listening and the space in which classical music is experienced. In the first part, audiences choose one of six routes and guided by a mobile app, move through the living fabric of the city while listening to the BBC Philharmonic. Each participant hears a distinct strand of the score. As they drift through the city, encounters and ambient sounds begin to intermingle, drawing many voices into a shared resonance. When everyone finally gathers, the fragments converge into a single, resounding symphony.

The second half of the journey unfolds in the Grand Theater of the National Taichung Theater, where conductor CHANG Chih-Yuan leads the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra in a live performance of the complete City of Floating Sounds. This concert reimagines the relationship between stage and audience, inviting listeners to move freely among the instruments and explore the soundscape at close range. Within this living orchestra, one may feel the friction of bow against string, and the winds resonating with warmth or brilliance, each step surrounded once again by a tapestry of sound.

In this performance, we are no longer onlookers. The city’s pulse, its multitude of voices and energies, gathers and resonates at the center of this sonic universe.

City Routes

The Path of the Divine – 1.4 km (approx. 22 min)
Departing from Fuxing Park in Xitun District, this route follows a path of devotion through Fengjia Fengfu Fude Shrine (Lord of the Land Shrine), Taichung Wencai Temple and Yuhuang Temple (Jade Emperor Temple), allowing participants to experience the serene power of faith.

The Oasis of Days Past – 1.8 km (approx. 26 min)
Starting at Shangde Park in Xitun District, this route winds through the historic Jiaoshi New Village, a residential community built in 1969 for teachers and their families, passes the creative cluster of restored old houses, crosses the pedestrian bridge over Taiwan Boulevard, and concludes in the lush greenery of Maple Garden Park.

The Chronicle of Light and Shadow – 1.8 km (approx. 26 min)
Starting at the Great Banyan Tree in Huailai Park in Xitun District, this route connects a chain of green spaces including New Civic Park and Summer Green Park. Along the way, walkers can admire the public artwork Topology of Light and experience the gentle interplay between nature and the urban landscape.

The Pathways of Time – 1.7 km (approx. 24 min)
This route begins at the three-hundred-year-old Huailai Fude Shrine (Lord of the Land Shrine), which remains an active site of local worship, and continues to the Huailai Historical Site. It follows a path through time, from prehistoric periods to the present, showing the enduring connection between the land and the people who have lived here across generations.

The Quiet Heart of the City – 1.8 km (approx. 26 min)
The route begins near Shuian Temple MRT Station , by the Dadon 16th Street Bridge. This route offers a musical stroll along the tree-lined riverside of Darong West Street. Within the gentle rhythm of flowing water and the quiet refinement of urban life, walkers can sense the city’s heartbeat pulsing at its very core.

The Whisper of Architecture – (approx. 20min)
Architecture is a symphony of space, structure, and form. Within the National Taichung Theater, visitors follow the flowing curves of its signature walls, moving through a composition woven from light, shadow, and air.

Composer／Huang Ruo
Composer Huang Ruo has been lauded by The New York Times for having “a distinctive style.” His vibrant and inventive musical voice draws equal inspiration from Chinese ancient and folk music, Western avant-garde, experimental, noise, natural and processed sound, rock, and jazz to create a seamless, organic integration using a compositional technique he calls “Dimensionalism.”  Huang Ruo’s diverse compositional works span from orchestra, chamber music, opera, theater, and dance to cross-genre, sound installation, architectural installation, multimedia, experimental improvisation, folk rock, and film. 
He composed a total of nine operas. His opera An American Soldier (with libretto by David Henry Hwang) received its world premiere at the Opera Theatre of St. Louis in June 2018 and was named one of the best classical music events of that year by The New York Times. He served as the first composer-in-residence for Het Concertgebouw Amsterdam, and was the visiting composer for the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra in Brazil. In addition, he served as the composer-in-residence for the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) during the 2015/16 season.

Conductor／CHANG Chih-yuan
CHANG Chih-yuan holds a Master degree in Orchestral Conducting from The Juilliard School in New York, as well as a Bachelor degree in Music Performance and a Master degree in Percussion from Boston University. He has served as assistant conductor of the Taipei Symphony Orchestra, a violinist with the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra. He is currently the Principal Conductor of the Taipei Philharmonic Orchestra.
In 2023, he participated in the 5th Bucharest International Conducting Competition, where he won first prize and conducted Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 “Eroica” with the Bucharest Symphony Orchestra at the winners’ concert to great acclaim. In 2025, he was invited to appear as a guest conductor with the Dinu Lipatti Philharmonic Orchestra in Romania, as well as the Arad State Philharmonic Orchestra and the Oradea State Philharmonic Orchestra.The international conducting masters who have deeply influenced him are Eliahu Inbal, John Axelrod, and Lan Shui.

National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra
Founded in 1945, the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra is the oldest symphonic ensemble in Taiwan. Based in Wufeng, Taichung, it is a fully equipped institution dedicated to excellence in both artistic performance and music education.
Since 2019, internationally renowned conductor Shui Lan has served as Principal Guest Conductor, guiding the orchestra with a mission to refine technique, innovate tradition, cultivate education, and promote aesthetic appreciation. Under the leadership of successive directors, the NTSO has built a wealth of experience and has collaborated with a vast array of distinguished international artists and ensembles.

Creative Technical／ ECHOES
ECHOES specialises in delivering creative technical solutions. We are leaders in the field of immersive listening experiences, using spatial audio (Audio AR), conditional triggering (choose your own adventure), and tempo synchronisation, pushing the boundaries of possibility with locative audio. We design technology which focuses on sound and location, including Swim Pony’s TrailOff interactive audio dramas sponsored by Pennsylvania Environmental Council; The Royal Parks and The Royal Academy’s collaborative Music for Trees app; the Ellen Reid SOUNDWALK app in collaboration with the New York Philharmonic in Central Park, New York; the Zollverein UNESCO World Heritage site interactive audio experience; and many other creative projects found on our website. Our open-access platform at https://echoes.xyz allows creators to independently make and publish incredible outdoor and indoor trail-based experiences, and has 10,000+ members and 3000+ public audio walks.

Recording／BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
The BBC Philharmonic Orchestra is reimagining the orchestral experience for a new generation – challenging perceptions, championing innovation, and taking a rich variety of music to the widest range of audiences. Alongside a flagship series of concerts at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall, the orchestra broadcasts concerts on BBC Radio 3 and BBC Sounds from venues across the North of England, annually at the BBC Proms, and from its international tours. It also records regularly for Chandos Records and has produced a catalogue of more than 300 discs and digital downloads.
Through all its activities, the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra is bringing life-changing musical experiences to audiences across Greater Manchester, the North of England, the UK, and around the world.

Production／Factory International
Factory International is the organisation behind Manchester International Festival (MIF) and the city’s landmark new cultural space, Aviva Studios. Producing an ambitious year-round programme of original creative work, music and special events, Factory International builds on the legacy of MIF, one of the world’s leading arts festivals, and the first to be entirely focused on the commissioning and producing of ambitious new work.