Shenzhen Verbier Festival: the cultural venture in China

Discover how the Verbier Festival is establishing itself in Shenzhen. An interview with Michael Fuller (Associate Artistic Director of the Shenzhen Verbier Festival) on the behind-the-scenes story of a major cultural bridge between Switzerland and China.

“For Shenzhen, Verbier represented excellence—an institution of international renown capable of revitalising cultural life.”
Michael Fuller, Associate Artistic Director of the Shenzhen Verbier Festival

Hervé Boissière, Jiatong Wu, Liu Lei, Gautier Capuçon, Yuja Wang, Martin T:son Engstroem, Gábor Takács‑Nagy, Ding Zhongyuan, Simon Wiget © Wu Promotion

Did the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra’s tours in China pave the way for the Shenzhen Verbier Festival?

Absolutely. It all began with the meeting between Martin T:son Engstroem and Jiatong Wu, founder of Wu Promotion, the leading promoter of classical music in China. From this relationship, a shared ambition was born: to bring the Verbier Festival to China. The VFCO tours in 2013, 2018, and 2024 led to a more ambitious goal: creating a full-scale festival.

Why did Shenzhen emerge as the choice?

We had also considered Hong Kong, but Shenzhen proved to be more receptive. It is a forward-looking city that is building its cultural identity. Its leaders saw the Verbier Festival as a prestigious institution capable of supporting this evolution. Following exceptional economic and technological development, they wish to offer their population a cultural life of the same calibre.

What role did local partners play?

They were decisive. In China, such a project cannot see the light of day without the support of the authorities and solid local partners. Wu Promotion acted as the link between the Festival, the Shenzhen Culture Bureau, and that of Guangdong Province. Last July, I travelled to Shenzhen and we received the green light. At that moment, we knew the festival would happen.

What lessons have you learned from this first edition?

Our greatest challenge was to recreate the unique atmosphere of Verbier in the heart of a metropolis of twenty million inhabitants. By bringing together concerts, masterclasses, artists, and the Festival teams around the Shenzhen Concert Hall, we succeeded in creating that same spirit of community which is at the heart of the Verbier Festival. In 2027, we will maintain the same format—ten days, around thirty concerts, and a masterclass programme—with the aim of doing even better.

Interview by Marie-Madeleine Gabioud

TALKS: Shenzhen Verbier Festival

3:00 PM | Forum, Pavillon des Combins

With Martin T:son Engstroem and the official delegation from the city of Shenzhen

Free admission

The Verbier Festival wishes to express its deepest gratitude to its patrons, sponsors, partners and public institutions for their support and generous contributions.