19/02/2021
[10th-anniversary concert of the Jungli Youth Orchestra]

A Report from Taiwan

Taiwan ⁄  Jungli Youth Orchestra

In 2005, Taiwanese amateur orchestra personnel participated in the 33rd National Amateur Orchestra Festival, the Aichi Expo (hereafter JAO Festival) for the first time. Later, at the East Asia Conference held during the 24th Toyota Youth Orchestra Camp (hereinafter referred to as TYOC) in Ichikawa City, Chiba Prefecture in 2008, they deepened exchanges with Japanese representatives as representatives of East Asia. And every year since the 25th TYOC held in Hamamatsu City the following year in 2009, Taiwanese youth members have had the opportunity to study music with young people from Japan and other Asian countries. This was one of the triggers that led to the establishment of the Jungli Youth Orchestra in Taoyuan City in northern Taiwan in 2010. Since then, the youth members have participated in the 39th JAO Festival (1st Asian Orchestra Festival Fukuoka) held in Fukuoka City in 2011, and the 40th JAO Festival (World Orchestra Festival) held in Shimizu City in 2012.

Last month, we held the 10th-anniversary concert of the Jungli Youth Orchestra, and at the concert, the alumni who participated in TYOC and the JAO Festival in 2011 and 2012 came back to play with us. In addition to those who have gone on to study at conservatories and music colleges, most of our members are still active in the orchestra. One of the members has studied in Germany and is now working with a professional orchestra in Germany. Also, one of the members who joined TYOC in 2009 has become a leader and has participated in the adult orchestra of JAO Festival since 2019. Their participation in TYOC and the JAO Festival in Japan has certainly had a great impact on the way they have lived their lives since then.

  • Elementary school students who participated in the 2011 Asia Orchestra Festival in Fukuoka from Taiwan.

  • 10 years later; Elementary school students from Taiwan who participated in the 2011 Asia Orchestra Festival in Fukuoka.

In addition to these relationship between Japan and Taiwan, when the Jungli Youth Orchestra performed in Korea in 2018, members from Japan, Korea, and Singapore who participated in TYOC performed together with the orchestra, which made me realize the beauty of music once again.

We do hope that the pandemic of Covid-19 will be settled as soon as possible and that we will be able to further strengthen our music relationship with the orchestra not only in Asia but around the world.

  • Former TYOC members from Japan, Taiwan, Korea, and Singapore gathered at the concert in Korea in 2018.

  • Former TYOC members from Taiwan gathered at the 10th Anniversary Concert.