Pops Conductor Starts Record-Breaking Tour of China

COURT HOUSE – This June, Jersey Shore Pops Conductor Linda Gentille is making history in China this month as she began her 17th concert tour of the Asian nation on June 1, 2014. Gentille will break her own personal record with this tour, according to the Ministry of Culture, being the first foreign artist to perform over 100 concerts in 72 different cities in China. She has performed in almost every major city and province in China. This 2014 Summer Concert Tour will take her to the cities of Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Jinan, Anqing, Beijing and Haikou.
Gentille began the tour in Jinan on June 1, 2014 where she was a special guest of the local provincial government. June 1 was National Children’s Day, and Gentille was invited because her shows appeal greatly to the children of China. Her concert audiences in China are often one third children. The show was performed at the second most prestigious concert hall in China, The Capitol Theater of Jinan. The brand new 1500 seat state of the art classical concert hall was filled to capacity as Gentille took the stage. Gentille was the first non-Chinese performer to be invited to this theater. Gentille comments, “It was an honor to be chosen as the first foreign concert artist to perform at this fabulous theater. This was a special concert as well as this was my first concert held on National Children’s Day, a huge holiday in China. When most families only have one child, the celebration is especially passionate.”
The tour continued as it took Gentille to the city of Anqing, where she was the first foreigner to perform in the city known for their own special opera called Huang Mei Xi. June 6, 2014, Gentille will return to the tropical city of Haikou, located on Hainan Island which is known in China as the Hawaii of China. In the year 2000, she became part of China’s history books when she was the first American to perform in the city. She was sponsored by Hainan Airlines and the founder and chairman, billionaire Chen Feng.
Gentille’s popularity has grown extensively each year as she continues to perform in cities in China where few concert artists will visit. The top concert artists from China refuse to visit many of these smaller cities because their technical standards for an instrument such as a Steinway are not possible to be met. Gentille states, “I have decided that I will accept a smaller grand piano and fabulous acoustics in order to reach out to the people of China. In many of the cities I visit, I might be the only foreign concert artist the audiences will ever see. It has been extremely rewarding to know that I might bring something special to a city that they will remember forever.”
The following cities are some of the larger cities that Gentille has performed in: Anshan, Beijing, Chongqing, Zhuhai, Sanya, Nanjin, Nanning, Jinan, Urumqi, Dalian, Qindao, Hefei, Anqing, Tianjin,Taiyuan, Harbin ,Changchun, Changsha, Chengdu, Kunming, Luiyang, Ruian, Yintuan, Haikou, Forshan, Wenling, Wuhan, Shenyang, Langfang, Wuxi, Cexi, Shenzhen, Shangong, Xiamen, Xining, Shantou, Shanghai, Shijiajiang, Hangzhou, Lanzhou, Gangzhou, Wenzhou, Zhengzhou, Suzhou, Xuzhou, Taizhou, Yangzhou, Chouzhou, Yazhou, Fuzhou, Huzhou and Zhengzhou.
Gentille is known in China by her Chinese name, Meiguo Gonqin Gonzhu, which translates to The American Piano Princess. She has achieved great fame in China for her beauty, talent and her extraordinary ability to communicate with her audience in Mandarin.. Her ability to speak and sing in Mandarin has really helped open the hearts of the Chinese audiences.
Gentille began her historic tours of China in 1997 when she was first invited by the Beijing government to perform a 10 city concert tour of the nation. Her concerts were televised extensively and gained her fame with a growing audience of families with children that were studying piano. After the Cultural Revolution, the piano became extremely popular and remains so today. Gentille donates proceeds from many of her concerts to various children’s and animal charities in China including the Langfang Orphanage, WWF and Animal Asia Foundation. Gentille finds time during many of these tours to visit the orphans in various cities and encourage the study of music.
Gentille’s first book will be published in July detailing her travels of China and will be titled Letters from China. The book covers the first ten years of her many concerts tours in China from 1997 to 2007. The book will be published by Amazon and will be available online through the online publisher. The version will be published in China in 2015 and be available in Mandarin as well as English.
Gentille began her historic career with the great Liberace as a child protégé. She performed with him in Las Vegas and at his record breaking Radio City Music Hall tour in 1986. Her flamboyant style is reminiscent of the great master and her Chinese performances are similar to a Liberace show but are performed in Mandarin. Gentille spends 6 months a year now touring China and Asia both on land and on cruise ships catering to Asian passengers. Regent, Oceania, Princess and Royal Caribbean take her frequently as a headliner for their Asian cruises.
When Gentille returns to the United States at the end of June, she will immediately start her summer job at the shore as the conductor and music director of the popular orchestra, The Jersey Shore Pops. While in China, Gentille continues to work on the music for her 10 concert series at the Middle Township PAC, The Ocean City Music Pier and the new PAC at the Atlantic County Technical School. Her orchestra has also been chosen to help Stone Harbor celebrate their 100th Year Anniversary with a 4 concert summer series. For information or ticket purchases to any of the Jersey Shore Pops series, please visit www.JerseyShorePops or call 1-800-838-3006.