In a historic decision, the panel of judges for the 2020 Golden Melody Awards for Traditional Arts and Music named two winners in the Best Instrumental Performance category, violinist Li I-ching (李宜錦) and guitarist Su Meng-feng (蘇孟風), for their impeccable performances.
This year's Lifetime Contribution Award was presented to the 99-year-old film score composer Tseng Chung-ying (曾仲影) and Professor Tseng Yung-yi (曾永義), the first Academia Sinica member with expertise in traditional drama and local literature, by Minister of Culture Lee Yung-te at the award ceremony on Oct .14. Tseng Chung-ying is the eldest recipient in the award's history.
In the publishing category, recording engineer Yu Tzu-tse (尤子澤) picked up the Best Record Award with the album "Cantabile Violin & Guitar (NSO首席之聲 李宜錦─調和的靈感)," while the Best Group Performance Award went to the renowned Tang Mei-Yun Taiwanese Opera Company's (唐美雲歌仔戲團) "Romancing in the Moonlight (月夜情愁)," a production that incorporates koa-á-hì (Taiwanese opera), Beiguan, and theatrical performance.
Hakka performing group Rom Shing Hakka Opera Troupe's theatrical performance "Hell Screen (地獄變)" received the most nominations and went on to become the only production that won awards in two categories — publishing and performance – this year.
Cheng Rom-shing (鄭榮興), who is the founder of the troupe, won the Best Musical Design Award with the human nature-themed production. Cheng's apprentice Su Kuo-ching (蘇國慶), on the other hand, received the Best New Artist Award for his performance in "Hell Screen."
Acclaimed German pianist Rolf-Peter Wille, who became a Taiwan citizen in 2018, won Best Composition Award with his piece "Crab in the Dark (暗夜的螃蟹)."
After splitting off from the main Golden Melody Awards in 2014, the Golden Melody Awards for Traditional Arts and Music, encompassing also the theatrical performance category, is under the supervision of the National Center for Traditional Arts.