Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra tours Asia - with DHL

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For the first time in its history, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra will visit China.

DHL the official logistics partner of the world famous orchestra, whose 185 musicians make it one of the biggest professional orchestras in the world, will handle all transports in China and international logistics concerning the valuable musical instruments throughout the entire Asian tour. The first concert will take place in Shanghai on 21 October 2009. Following another performance in Beijing, the Gewandhaus Orchestra will continue its tour in Japan.

"We know that our valuable instruments are in the very best of hands with our logistics partner DHL. We have been cooperating successfully for years and we are certain that we can fully count on DHL during our first tour of China," says Riccardo Chailly, the orchestra's conductor, for whom this tour will be his Asian debut with the Gewandhaus Orchestra.

Many of the Gewandhaus Orchestra's instruments are unique and hence virtually irreplaceable. On account of this, a load can be worth up to three million Euros. In addition, DHL also transports the stage equipment, such as the conductor's rostrum, stools and music stands as well as the sheet music and the wardrobe of the musicians.

One of the greatest challenges involved is maintaining a constant temperature - ideally 18 - 20° C - throughout the entire haulage period, as greater variations in temperature would lead to cracks in the instruments and, thus, to lasting damage. DHL continuously monitors and documents the temperature of its valuable cargo aboard the planes and trucks using temperature recorders and makes these data available online in real time via GPS.

Moreover, DHL protects the instruments against crushing by using air-suspended vehicles and form-fit transport packaging. In addition to transport, DHL also takes care of packaging, loading, and the necessary customs formalities.

For the Asian tour, more than 100 instruments with a total weight of over six tons will be transported. The instruments concerned range from kettledrums weighing up to 133 kg to cellos and violins, trombones, clarinets and trumpets. The tight schedule of the Asian tour poses an additional challenge to DHL's logistics experts. Instruments need to be repacked and loaded after each concert in so they will reach the next stop of the tour as soon as possible - usually the next day - and can be used for rehearsals by the afternoon of that day.

The Leipzig star orchestra and DHL have been cooperating since 2005. The global network and the comprehensive service spectrum of the world's leading logistics company are a prerequisite for this. Due to the varied requirements related to transporting an entire orchestra, the two DHL business units Express and Global Forwarding pool their expertise for these international transports.

The opening concert for the Asian tour of the Gewandhaus Orchestra will take place on 21 October at the Grand Theater in Shanghai, China. The orchestra's performance at the NHK International Music Festival in Tokyo, Japan will mark the close of the tour. After this, DHL will start preparing to support the Gewandhaus Orchestra during its US tour from 17 - 28 February 2010.

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