FOR orchestra conductor Cao Peng, the sound of angels is people’s music. And by people, he means all people.

Peng, now 90, founded the Shanghai City Symphony Orchestra in 2005. It draws on the talent of amateur musicians and, on occasion, autistic children.

“Classical music should not be high-brow,” he said. “It should engage everyone at every level. Of course, that takes great time and effort.”

The Love in the City Concert, featuring autistic musicians, evoked enthusiastic applause from the audience at City Theater last weekend.

“I wouldn’t say we were fully prepared before the concert since there are always unpredictable situations popping up,” said Cao, “But the children always surprise me. It’s extraordinary progress for these children to step out from the shadows and perform on stage. I am so proud of them.”

Autism is a neurological disorder characterized by difficulty in communicating and forming relationships with other people and in using language and abstract concepts. It affects more than 22 million people worldwide. Children with the impairment sometimes show great artistic talent. Cao gives them a platform to unleash those skills.

Cao was born in Jiangsu Province in 1925 and has been actively involved with classical music for 70 years. As a young man, he won a scholarship to the Gnessin State Musical College in Moscow, where he studied for about five years. He returned to Shanghai in 1961 and was appointed permanent conductor in residence for the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra.

He wielded the baton when the orchestra made its first overseas trip in 1975.

After an illustrious career both at home and abroad, Cao devoted his later years to nurturing musical talent in young people and non-professionals. He founded the Shanghai Student Orchestra and the Sound of Angels Salon, the latter dedicated to helping autistic children engage with their surroundings through music.

“Music is my dream,” he said. “Not just a dream, but also a goal. I hope that in my remaining years, I can help spread music and culture around the nation.”

His City Symphony Orchestra is the only non-profit, part-time symphonic orchestra in China. Most of its members initially were graduates of universities and schools where Cao taught. It has since expanded to more than 200 registered members, including white collar workers, doctors, lawyers, public servants, students, retired professional musicians and even expats in Shanghai.

“There were so many obstacles in our way,” he said of the orchestra’s development. “Limited funds, no rehearsal place and unpredictable schedules of the members. But we made it work and we are steadily growing.”

Rehearsal and performance schedules are announced at least two months in advance so that orchestra members with regular jobs can adjust their schedules.

“Though being late for rehearsal is a major mistake for professional musicians, when my members are late, I see it as a virtue,” said Cao, “They have to overcome a lot to play in this orchestra. It’s a sign of their love of music and their dedication to the public good.”

The orchestra’s financial condition has improved with help from the local government in finding sponsors. Some of the musicians now own their own instruments instead of having to rent them. Finding rehearsal space remains a problem, reducing the orchestra to less than three hours of practice time a week.

It participates in social programs like the Weekly Broadcasting Concert and the Citizen’s Concert as well as overseas exchange programs.

“I demand that my orchestra be professional in music though its members are part-time musicians,” said Cao. “They all must communicate with the audiences through music.”

Cao’s work with the autistic began in 2008. There are an estimated 1.5 million autistic people in China. Often they are withdrawn from society. Music is recognized as one way to engage them.

“I didn’t realize in the beginning how much music could help them,” he said. “But as a musician, it was the only thing I could offer to help them.”

He started a weekly salon called Angels and Music in the Huangpu Youth Activity Center. At first, that involved City Symphony Orchestra members playing music for autistic children. Eventually, some of the children themselves took up instruments.

It was tough going. The children refused to make eye contact with the conductor, Cao recalled, and some of them kept getting up and running around.

He remembered their rapt attention when his musicians played Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy.”

“That is the magic of music,” he said. “It transcends language.”

With the help of orchestra members, the autistic children can now play simple tunes. Some have even mastered wind and stringed instruments.

Cao adapted some scores to allow the children to perform on stage with his regular orchestra.

“I know autism is incurable,” he said, “but we have managed to build a bridge between these children and the wider world. My eyes always tear a bit when the children are performing on stage.”

Audiences are forgiving if the children suddenly play something impulsive during a concert.

“If a tiny flower can bloom from a closed heart, it is a beautiful thing that enchants us all,” said Cao.

ABOUT Autism

AUTISTIC children are often called “children from the stars” because of their dream-like isolation from the world.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta estimates that one in every 68 people in the US suffers from the neurological disorder, which impairs social interaction and verbal communications skills.

A 2013 study by the Children’s Hospital affiliated to Fudan University and 11 related organizations canvassed six to 12-year-olds in regular schools in eight Chinese cities. The conclusion suggests that 0.4 percent of children may be autistic.

About 30 percent of those cases were believed to involve genetic factors. The causes of the remainders are unknown.

“Intervention in the early years of childhood can help,” said Wang Yi, vice president of Shanghai Children’s Hospital. “It helps both the child and parents.”

Early screening and diagnosis are difficult because of a lack of specialists in the field. Wang estimates there are fewer than 50 such experts in Shanghai.

Autism first appears during infancy or childhood and generally follows a steady course without remission. People with autism may be severely impaired in some respects but normal, or even superior, in others.