More than 150 students from the the orchestra and chorus of National Sun Yat-sen University wrapped up an island-wide concert tour yesterday with a sold-out performance at the Chiang Kai-shek Cultural Center's Concert Hall in Taipei.
"We've always wanted our students' performance to be as good as professional, and indeed, they have demonstrated high-caliber performing skill that is no less than a professional orchestra," said Lee Mei-wen (李美文), chairwoman of the Department of Music at National Sun Yat-sen University
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
In their concert, entitled Music from West Bay the NSYSU orchestra and chorus treated the audience to performances such as the classic piece, Overture in the Italian Style in C, Opus 170, by Franz Schubert and a chorus from the Nelson Mass by Joseph Haydn.
Before making its last performance in Taipei, the university's orchestra and chorus had toured in Taichung and Pingtung, receiving passionate audience responses.
"NSYSU is an important cradle for music talents in southern Taiwan, but its music is less heard in the north," Lee told the Taipei Times yesterday.
"But judging from our box office, in which all tickets were sold out, I believe we've won the quiet yet solid confidence from the audience in northern Taiwan," she said.
"The reason for making our final stop in Taipei is to introduce our students to the best recital hall in Taiwan -- the Concert Hall of the CKS Cultural Center -- and to let more northern audiences learn what we've achieved in the past," said Lee, who is also the conductor of both the orchestra and chorus.
To add a special note to the performance, Lee introduced Hong Kong-based guest violin virtuoso, Yao Jue
"Yao is the representative for The Butterfly Lovers, as she is the first violinist to play this tune on TV, which made her name known to the world by playing this Chinese love story," Lee said.
Returning to Taiwan after a 10-year absence, Yao said "Taiwan has made tremendous improvements over the past decade, and it's an honor for me to perform together with these students who have shown a very sound skill."
Yao left Shanghai to study in San Francisco at the age of 16, under a full scholarship from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
She later graduated from the Julliard School of Music in New York where she studied under Dorothy DeLay.
"Yao's joining the orchestra has significantly inspired the students, who made quick progress in their performing techniques under guidance from a master instructor," Lee said.
"Never underestimate a person's talents when he or she is guided by a maestro in a perfectly tuned ambiance," Lee said, referring to the influence of Yao on the students.
"Sometimes they just can't play a tune right. But when Yao came, they make it in just one go," Lee said.
"All of them aim to enter a professional group for their future development. And by performing with a virtuoso, I think it's the best way to lead them to that door," Lee said.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS