Taipei Chinese Orchestra

As the 2015/16 Season draws near a close, TCO has turned in an outstanding season in terms of its performance, program innovation, and box office success.

In the past few years, TCO has crossed over to many genres—theater, dance, and Western music—by collaborating with artists in various fields and has therefore established a unique brand of crossover performance. In the spirit of boundary-crossing, TCO has introduced the Crossover Series, which includes programs such as My Unseen Concubine (co-produced with Allupeople Theatre), Boundary (co-produced with the Ju Percussion Group) and Mom Going Performing (part of the Crossover Series). In addition to showcasing the performing arts elements in the productions, the series also seeks to present stage and lighting design aesthetics to the audience.

Many of my ideas have materialized in this concert season. For example, TCO started to commission large, multi-movement works to composers, such as the four-movement Symphony Evolution by Wang I-Yu. What’s more, TCO has also provided a platform for Taiwanese musicians to shine, such as conductor Huang Kuang-Yu, Yeh Ho-Chung and Chuang Tung-Chieh. In terms of box office, the 2015 gross ticket sales grew by nearly 10% as against the previous year to over NT$11 million, setting a record high level over the years.

Looking forward, the 2016/17 Season will continue to provide opportunities for collaboration with Taiwanese musicians and performing arts groups. Meanwhile, in celebration of the 2016 Taipei Design Capital and the 2017 Summer Universiade, TCO will host the 2016 TCO International Composition Competition and the Round-the-World Concert Series, making the upcoming season a much anticipated year of musical feasts.