Taiwanese conductor Paul Chiang (江靖波) is auctioning one of his batons, known as “Little Henry,” to raise money for the physically disabled.
“I would like to donate the proceeds from the auction to the Eden Social Welfare Foundation as a tribute to the physically disabled,” he said. “Little Henry was chosen from among my many batons because it reflects many very significant moments in my life and because the twice-damaged baton signifies the possibility that beautiful things, such as music, can be created out of imperfection.”
“Little Henry,” which Chiang has taken with him to numerous concerts around the world over the past 15 years, was also on stage with him when he won the third prize in the prestigious Sir Georg Solti Competition for Conductors at the Alte Oper Frankfurt in Germany in September 2002.
The Philharmonia Moment Musical, a symphony orchestra of young Taiwanese that Chiang founded in 1998, has given particular attention to Aboriginal communities, holding dozens of concerts in remote areas of southern Taiwan prior to the recent devastation wrought by floods and mudslides caused by Typhoon Morakot in August.
In the wake of the typhoon, Chiang said that he and his orchestra were especially concerned about post-disaster rehabilitation in remote areas.
In an effort to help raise funds for typhoon victims in the affected communities, the orchestra staged a charity concert at Huashan Culture Park in Taipei on Sept. 11.
The orchestra has also scheduled performance tours of southern Taiwan with the aim of brightening the lives of the people there.
“The feedback we’ve had from people in rural communities has invigorated our young musicians, who are as convinced as I am that music can enlighten, challenge and entertain souls and minds,” Chiang said.
The 39-year-old Chiang started out as a violinist. In 1990, he attended the University of Southern California where he met the man who would become his mentor, Professor Daniel Lewis. Lewis encouraged him to develop his potential to be an orchestra leader.
In 1995, Chiang became a fellow at Tanglewood in Lenox, Massachusetts, which has been the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 1937. The New England resort is considered a cradle of musical talent.
In 1996, Chiang returned to Taiwan and soon grew busy teaching at Soochow University and collaborating with ensembles on their productions. He held on to his creed that “high art has a social responsibility to enlighten, to reconcile, to challenge and to entertain the souls and minds of the people of its community.”
“Unlike other genres, classical music allows a good performer to work alone in his or her artistic pursuits, and consequently, musicians very often give the impression that they are not keen on teamwork,” Chiang said. “I believe all this can change if someone takes the lead and makes consistent and continuous efforts to coordinate their progress.”
In the last two years, Chiang and Philharmonia Moment Musical have made great strides toward his goal of taking his orchestra to see the world and showing the world the standard of classical music in Taiwan.
On June 19, 2007, Chiang made a highly acclaimed debut at Carnegie Hall in New York, conducting the New England Symphonic Ensemble in a program that featured Beethoven and Mozart.
“The invitation to the prestigious Young Euro Classic Festival in Berlin in August 2008 was a great honor for our 99-member orchestra,” Chiang said. “We impressed audiences there with our interpretation of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 and with the Germany premiere of Taiwanese composer Lai Deh-ho’s Concerto for Pipa, Bamboo Flute, Xiao and Chamber Orchestra.”
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