The performers, ranging in age from 14 to 40 and participating in the Taipei International Summer Broadway Academy program, then presented melancholy numbers from "Les Miserables" and a medley of songs from other well-known Broadway musicals.
The six-day TISBA, now in its second year, has a rigorous curriculum covering staging, choreography, accompaniment and vocal training. This year it was incorporated as part of the Taipei International Jazz Festival, which is sponsored by the Department of Cultural Affairs of the Taipei City Government. Most participants were high school or college students, their number bolstered by schoolteachers and young professionals, the latter coming from diverse fields such as engineering, interior design and journalism.
The Broadway tunes concert was the last in the festival's series of activities, whose stated aim was to bring citizens a summer of fun, music and culture. One week earlier, on July 29, students of the three-year-old Taipei International Summer Jazz Academy put on a well-received, record-setting marathon concert that lasted from sunset until midnight.
TISBA and TISJA are the brainchildren of the American Voices Foundation, a Houston-based organization dedicated to furthering understanding of American culture around the world, in conjunction with the Taipei International Jazz Education & Promotion Association (TIJEPA).
Since the AVF's establishment in 1992, its musical performances and education programs have been taken mainly to newly independent and developing countries that had little access to American culture, or those that have had uneven relations with the United States, such as Pakistan. Programs have included master classes, hip-hop lessons, concerts and festivals designed to meet the tastes and needs of local audiences. As AVF Artistic Director John Ferguson put it, the foundation practices cultural diplomacy by "bringing American artists together with foreign audiences in countries isolated from quality American culture."
With regard to how this might relate to Taiwan, a country that neither is isolated from American culture nor has an uneven relationship with the United States, Ferguson said that the focus of AVF activities in Taiwan was on providing more educational opportunities to local musicians. Taiwan's musical education is done well, but the music environment is mainly "in the grips of classical music," Ferguson explained.
Moreover, the competition-driven mentality among music instructors confines the development of musicians who would like to pursue alternative career paths. Ferguson said he hoped the AVF programs in Taiwan would help local musicians experiment with different styles of music and become more versatile.
Ferguson said that the TISBA faculty had chosen this year's two main musicals exactly for such pedagogical reasons: "Les Miserables" focuses on singing, while "Grease" involves more dancing and acting.
The main organizers of the "Taipei academies" at the Taiwan end are Hsieh Chi-pin and Chang Kai-ya, a couple who both gained degrees in jazz music from European institutions and who currently teach in Shih-chien University's music department. Before becoming involved in the AVF program, Hsieh and Chang maintained a jazz Web site frequented by jazz enthusiasts and musicians in Taiwan, and had already organized various activities aimed at promoting the appreciation of jazz music on the island.
They met Ferguson in 2003 when he first came to perform in Taiwan. The idea to launch the jazz academy evolved from a conversation over dinner the three had on the subject of Taiwan's shortage of formal instruction in jazz music. After much effort, the first TISJA took place a year later. This also led to the realization that a non-profit organization should be founded to coordinate Taiwan's jazz resources and personnel and to promote the art form. In 2005, the TIJEPA was thus established.
As a jazz musician himself, Hsieh said that he hoped the TISJA would serve as a channel to help local jazz musicians improve their skills and network with each other. He also looked forward to seeing more schools in Taiwan offer courses on jazz or even set up jazz degrees. For those musicians who are planning to study abroad, he said, the association could provide them with career consultation and other advice.
Having worked in many different countries around the world, Ferguson said that "working in Taiwan is like a dream" as there is neither interference from the government nor any other outside pressures. Ferguson said he had visited Shanghai a couple of years back in the hope of launching similar programs or just giving AVF concerts there. He had, however, left the city feeling "completely deflated of hope" to start anything in China because of the corruption rampant in China's educational system.
Ferguson also said that he was impressed by the Taiwanese students' diligence. Taking TISBA for example, he pointed to the intensive song and dance curriculum that required students to work from nine in the morning until nine at night. Students were also asked to memorize large quantities of English lyrics, a particularly difficult task for non-native speakers. Nevertheless, the students' passion for music and acting meant that they not only fulfilled their instructors' rigorous requirements but also practiced during their breaks to ensure they would present the best performance possible at the end of the course.
Ferguson said in the interview that one of AVF's goals is to create "serious fun" through its cultural activities around the world. Participants of TISBA and TISJA certainly seemed to have fun, and many were already asking about the curricula for next year's jazz and Broadway academies.
Looking ahead, Ferguson said he hoped the academies would attract more participants of different ages and backgrounds, and garner more support from the central government as well as from private enterprises and organizations. He added that he would also like to spread the words about the jazz and Broadway academies to Southeast Asian countries and bring more faculty members over as the programs grow.
Copyright 2006 by Shih Ying-ying.