Renowned artists of the classical music scene such as composer Tan Dun, bass singer Shen Yang and soprano Huang Ying will also be participating.

Meanwhile, Yu will partner with Gong for the opening concert on July 20. The concert, featuring classical compositions by Sibelius and Stravinsky and Chinese art songs created by Robert Zollitsch, Gong's creative partner and husband, will be a dialogue between symphonic music and neo-Chinese folk music, SSO's director Zhou says.

One of the highlights of the event this year will be the coming together of musicians and orchestras from all over China. This will be the first time that the Hubei Opera and Dance Theater will perform outside of Wuhan. It will present a Chinese opera titled Red Guards on Honghu Lake on July 25.

The New York Philharmonic, a frequent participant of MISA, will not be traveling to Shanghai for the event because of the pandemic. Instead, the orchestra will host an online video show of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No 6 in B minor performed by 50 instrumentalists and students of the Shanghai Orchestra Academy.

Musicians from the New York Philharmonic will also host online masterclasses and share highlights of chamber music performances by its musicians and students of the Shanghai Orchestra Academy.

The absence of foreign musicians this year, says Yu, has provided local talent with the opportunity to shine.

"Outstanding musicians who emerged through the past decades in China are now taking the lead in bringing China's music scene back to life. They are the pride of our time. Now, because overseas musicians cannot travel to China, our own musicians are able to better display their capability and artistry," he says.

Yu says the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra will soon publish its program for the 2020-21 music season. The new season, which starts in September, has been "designed according to the global pandemic situation and is a scientific and precise program".

While the pandemic has ushered in a host of online performances, Yu says the best way to enjoy music is still in the concert hall.

"You cannot accurately tell how good an orchestra is by listening to it online as performance flaws in the production process might have been fixed," he says.

"If a top orchestra and a mediocre one were to upload their performances on the internet, it is very difficult to tell them apart. Only listening to online performances will diminish the importance of the hard work and craftsmanship that goes into high-quality music interpretations."