The soon to be inaugurated Taipei Music Center, which is to hold its opening concert next month, would become a new icon for popular music in Asia, officials said yesterday.
The 8.96-hectare pop music center on Civic Boulevard in Nangang District (南港), which has separate concert and exhibition halls, music classrooms, rehearsal rooms, offices and recording studios, is to be officially launched on Sept. 5, Taipei Deputy Mayor Tsai Ping-kun (蔡炳坤) told a press conference.
The city envisions the center becoming a venue for pop music performances and the pop music industry, as well as a training center for music artists, Tsai said.
Photo: CNA
“The center will be like a diamond that lights up the area,” he said.
The angular, shell-shaped concert hall can accommodate up to 6,000 people, while the exhibition hall would be the first in Taiwan to be completely dedicated to pop music, the center said on its Web site.
In addition to classrooms and studios, the complex is home to four live music houses that can each accommodate between 200 and 1,600 people, the center said.
An outdoor plaza that is 100m long and 35m wide can accommodate up to 3,000 people, it said.
First planned in 2008, the center is expected to serve as an important catalyst in the development of popular music in Taiwan, said Tseng Chin-man (曾金滿), head of the Ministry of Culture’s Department of Audiovisual and Music Industry Development.
“We hope the positive energy generated from the performances at the center can also reach all parts of the country, as well as Asia and the rest of the world,” Tseng said.
The center is planning a star-studded cast for its opening ceremony concert on Sept. 5 that is to include Taiwanese singer-songwriters Waa Wei (魏如萱), Lala Hsu (徐佳瑩) and Oaeen, the new name of legendary Taiwanese band Sodagreen, the center said in a statement.
Tickets for the opening ceremony concert are to go on sale on Saturday, it added.
A free outdoor concert is to be held in the afternoon of Sept. 5, featuring US singer Karencici (林愷倫), Singaporean actress and singer-songwriter Boon Hui Lu (文慧如), and Taiwanese pop duo MurMurShow (慢慢說樂團), indie pop rock band Accusefive (告五人), and rappers PiHai Ryan (屁孩Ryan) and Shou (婁峻碩), it said.
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