The Taipei Chinese Orchestra (TCO, 臺北市立國樂團) teamed up with Ju Percussion Group (JPG, 朱宗慶打擊樂團) to offer a special performance on May 16. The live concert was streamed on both TCO's YouTube and JPG's YouTube channels, while the performers physically performed at the National Concert Hall in Taipei.
JPG Founder and Artistic Director Ju Tzong-ching (朱宗慶) remarked that the coronavirus pandemic has had a large impact on the arts industry, where numerous performances have had to be cancelled, including a joint concert titled "Boundary+" with TCO that was originally set for early May. In lieu of the cancellation, TCO invited JPG to join this live stream concert. Artists have to find other possibilities to keep up with the rapid development of performing arts amid a changing world, he added.
TCO General Director Cheng Li-Pin (鄭立彬) commented that TCO and JPG have attained numerous fans all around the world. TCO has toured in over 20 countries and performed in a great many world-renowned concert halls. TCO was also the first orchestra from Taiwan to perform at New York's prestigious Carnegie Hall. Likewise, JPG has toured in over 34 countries at 3,000 venues to date. In particular, JPG's performance of the hit musical "Mulan" at the Chekhov International Theater Festival in 2017 was stunning and extremely well-received.
"East and West Music Fair" performed several pieces which fused traditional and modern works and featured lovely Eastern and Western percussion pieces. TCO percussionists performed "Myna Bathing (八哥洗澡)" by composer Huang Chan-shun (黃傳舜) to take viewers to a scene of a myna bird preening its wings whilst playing in water; "Drumming No. 4 (第四號鼓樂)" by composer Chung Yiu-kwong (鍾耀光); and the powerful and heavily laden folk-styled melody, the "Flying Dragon and Jumping Tiger (龍騰虎躍)" by composer Li Min-xiong (李民雄).
After JPG performed French composer Emmanuel Séjourné's work "Double Concerto," TCO and JPG together performed "Speed Drums (飆鼓)" and "Our Island, Our Song (島嶼之歌)" composed by Hung Chien-hui (洪千惠), JPG's composer-in-residence. The "Our Island, Our Song" piece was especially created for this program to reflect upon humanity's battle against this pandemic, and through its exquisite melody and rhythm, sets out to portray the indomitable spirit of the people of Taiwan.
Ju expressed how wonderful it was to once again stand on stage and bring a sensational performance to audiences all over the world, albeit virtually. He wanted to thank TCO for the invitation and all the performers for their dedication and all the music lovers who watched and supported online.
The program was conducted by Qu Chun-quan (瞿春泉) and moderated in Mandarin and English by Conrad Hsing (邢子青), and Betty Chen (陳珮馨).
http://www.jpg.org.tw/east-and-west-music-fair/