A group of expats living in Wuxi enjoy a saxophone quartet at Wuxi Grand Theatre on Oct 29. [Photo by Xiao Da/chinadaily.com.cn]

A group of expats living in Wuxi watched a saxophone quartet at Wuxi Grand Theatre on Oct 29, enjoying a presentation by Velvetto as part of the 20th China Shanghai International Arts Festival (CSIAF).

Established in 1999 and being at that time the only state-level arts festival in China, the annual CSIAF has grown into a significant platform for cultural exchange and one of the leading arts festivals in the world.

As the branch venue of CSIAF, Wuxi Grand Theatre held several high-quality performances including concerts and musical ballets.

Velvetto, a distinctive jazz band from Vienna, Austria, combines traditional jazz with modern musical techniques and takes audiences back to the early 20th century.

Jazz songs accompanied by various instruments such as saxophones, flutes, double basses and pianos were staged during the performance, winning thunderous applause from the audience.

"I've been to Wuxi for about a year and this is my first adventure into a cultural event. I love jazz and music, and I'd like to experience the cultural life in Wuxi," said Peter Mckeown, an international school teacher from Belfast, Northern Ireland.

"Anything new that the audience can feel and experience is a development to local cultural industry. We bring music that are not traditional here close to the audience is a development, for us, we also have a development when we see how your culture works and how advanced the technologies are," said Lana Janjanin, the pianist and singer of Velvetto.