Terracotta Army was inspired by the relic of Emperor Qin's Terra Cotta Warriors, which are a collection of terracotta sculptures dating back around two thousand years, depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang. After visiting this incredible historical artifact, I immediately started conceiving this piece.

To blend traditional Chinese music elements with a modern music aesthetic, I employed a Chinese folk song melody, pentatonic harmony, and modern orchestration techniques to express and "re-emerge" the magnificence of the Qin dynasty. The music is divided into four parts: Revival, Flourish, War, and Legend. However, I did not notate them on the score for completeness.

This piece is one of my earliest orchestral pieces, and I began writing it right after visiting one of the most significant archaeological excavations of the 20th century.

(Wenbin Lyu, September 1, 2018)

2022 - The American Prize; 2nd place (orchestra composition division); Danbury, CT

March 8, 2023; SCI Region VIII Conference; Tacoma, WA; University of Puget Sound Symphony Orchestra & Anna Wittstruck, conductor

June 11, 2017 (premiere); National Centre for the Performing Arts; Beijing, China; Beijing Symphony Orchestra; Lihua Tan, conductor