Orchestra growth leads to Suzhou competition

American composer Christopher LaRosa got curious about this year's Jinji Lake International Composition Competition, launched online by the Suzhou Symphony Orchestra in April, after reading about it.

LaRoas, 28, had not been to China and knew little about the city of Suzhou in Jiangsu province.

After doing some research, he decided to join the competition and submitted his 10-minute composition, entitled Towers of Suzhou.