The Taiwan Philharmonic - known as the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) in its homeland – will be one of the first international orchestra to be presented by the New York Philharmonic in David Geffen Hall in their return to the United States for a tour in April, led by new Music Director Jun Märkl.
Hailed by the Los Angeles Times as, "a first-rate ensemble, one of Asia's best," the Taiwan Philharmonic begins their American tour in April 2023 after successful tours to the country in 2016 and 2018. The 2023 tour launches in New York City with a chamber music concert at Alice Tully Hall (April 14).
The tour continues with the orchestra concert at John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. presented by Washington Performing Arts (April 19), and returns to New York City at David Geffen Hall presented by the New York Philharmonic (April 21), supported by Charles Chen (陳致遠), the President of Chen-Yung Foundation (勇源基金會) and a board member of the New York Philharmonic.
The tour concludes at Wentz Concert Hall in the western Chicago suburb of Naperville (April 23). Recipient of the prestigious 2015 Avery Fisher Career Grant and the 2017 Lincoln Center Award for Emerging Artists, Taiwanese-American violinist Paul Huang (黃俊文) joins the orchestra for the last three performances.
The wide-ranging repertoire on the tour celebrates the vibrancy and diversity of cultures in Taiwan by including two unique Taiwanese works, alongside European classics. The first is a new work, Ebbs and Flows, by Taiwanese composer Ke-Chia Chen(陳可嘉); and the second is from Taiwanese composer Yuan-Chen Li(李元貞)'s Tao of Meinong, commissioned by Hakka Affairs Council. Dr. Chen's work receives its U.S. premiere at The Kennedy Center on April 19 and a subsequent performance on April 21, while Li's work is performed on April 23.
Under the leadership of Music Director Jun Märkl since January 2022, the Taiwan Philharmonic aspires to resonate throughout the world as the official cultural ambassador of Taiwanese culture and regularly commissions and performs new works by Taiwanese composers.