SOME 130 bands from China and overseas will perform at an annual wind music festival later this month.

The performances, most of which will offer admission, will be presented at military camps, schools, communities, parks, malls and suburban areas from April 27 through May 4.

“The festival, which has been held annually since 2008, aims to enrich the life of the residents and increase their artistic cultures,” said Zhang Min, deputy director with the culture bureau of Yangpu District, one of the organizers of the event.

Overseas teams participating at this year’s festival come from United States, Malaysia, Germany, Indonesia and Thailand. The bands of People’s Liberation Army, the PLA Navy and Chinese Armed Police Force will also perform.

Some non-professional wind bands from across the nation were selected for the festival this year. Among them, participants include students, teachers, policemen, workers, farmers and retirees.

Overseas wind music bands will perform at the century-old Shanghai Dashijie, or the Great World Center, which now mainly showcases China’s intangible cultural heritages, on Labor Day on May 1.

A flag-raising ceremony will be held at the National Anthem Memorial Plaza on 151 Jingzhou Road in Yangpu on May 2. Three military bands will perform the national anthem of China together at 8:30am.

“The PLA military band has prepared symphony, pop and jazz music for the festival,” said Diao Chunlei, an official with the band. They will also perform to local students at campuses during the festival.

The music festival had enhanced local residents’ affection for wind music, said Jiang Siwen, vice chairman of the China Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles.

“We could hardly find a professional wind music band in Shanghai a decade ago, but now even an amateur band from local elementary school can perform quite well,” Jiang said.

More than a million local people have watched the performances of the festival since 2008 — and some 40,000 musicians from 631 bands have performed, making it one of the biggest events of its kind in China.