2009 Summer Deaflympics language to express the message of "Power in Me," Lai said. World-renowned deaf percussionist Evelyn Glennie has been invited to perform at the opening ceremony, as well as the local drumming group U-Theatre, and more than 80 children from schools for the hearing-impaired in Taipei and Taichung cities, according to Lai. The team from the People's Republic of China did not attend the opening ceremony. Neither side has officially given the reason, although most news sites are attributing it to the Dalai Lama's recent trip to Taiwan. The People's Republic of China had previously not attended the opening of the
Armonico Consort mass gala concert involving over 1,500 children at the Royal Albert Hall, Around the World in 18 Tunes, scheduled for March 2013. Armonico Consort Armonico Consort is a British company founded in 2001 by conductor (music) and organist Christopher Monks, which specialises in producing performances of Renaissance music and Baroque music. In 2002 the company oversaw the creation of a series of academies designed to provide choral training for schoolchildren. The company’s period musicians and instrumentalists have an international reputation in the field, and its partners and collaborators have included Sir Willard White, Dame Emma Kirkby, and Dame Evelyn Glennie.