Taipei Chinese Orchestra

Summer is that an end and autumn is around the corner. The humidity in the air is gradually stripping away the hot scorching heat. The new music season of TCO is about to begin in the crisp autumn wind. The All-Embracing Music is the theme of the new music season. Under the leadership of principle conductor CHANG Yu-An, TCO guarantees a season of inclusive and diverse soundscape of Taipei. There are in total 63 performances from 3 different series: Spectacular of TCO, Warmness of TCO Family, and Iridescence of Traditional Arts. 100 guest performers and 20 partner troupes will fight the aftermath of Covid-19 with TCO to bring new life to performing arts. Conductor Quek Ling Kiong, YEH Tsung, WONG Kah-Chun and ZHANG Guo-Yong, and performer YANG Wen-Sinn, WU Wei, and WANG Jian Wang will visit Taipei again after all this time and present their best work with TCO for the fans.

The all-embracing music is an integral part of the cross-discipline productions this season. The new season encompasses operas, musicals, and dance dramas. The original production Formosa Bloom will greet the audiences at National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying) in November. In January 2023, TCO and All U people theatre will put on WANG Zhaojun, the Musical together. The piece is produced by CHANG Ta-Chun, directed by HSIEH Nien-Tsu, composed by LEE Che-Yi, and performed by actor Tony SUN, and actress FANG Yu-Hsin. Eternal Love Across the Magpie Bridge 2.0 is a traditional dance-drama scheduled to show in June 2023. The production tells the never-ending love of the herd boy and the weaving maiden. Their hearts will go on even when the whole world is coming to an end, and the rain will never stop falling on the eve of every double seventh festival. Another highlight of the new music season is the Invocation concert conducted by CHIEN Wen-Pin. YEN Ming-Hsiu will premier her very first labaxian concerto The Legend of Yimin for Labaxian and Chinese Orchestra and the labaxian quartet Invocation for Two Labaxians, Zhonghu, and Cello as a nod to all-embracing music. We expect to bring out the vitality and strength through the dialogue between composers and musicians and the chemistry between the composers and the culture that nurtured the music form. Through the participation of composers, performers, conductors, and the administrative team, we hope to inspire, awe, and reach out to more people with these music productions.

The weather is getting cooler but not our passion for music. We implore music fans to be patient and stay with us for the new season. For it is the continuation of the summer filled with enthralling Chinese music workshops, Chinese music festivals and performances. In the post pandemic era, TCO promises to ride out the rest of the storm as the cultural engine with private troupes, making more connections and continue to network in an effort to revitalize performing arts and enrich the cultural life of citizens. The all-embracing music signals the beginning of a new period. Hopefully we will be able to pool our resources and efforts together in the up-coming music season and enter a glorious new epoch for Chinese music after the pandemic.