Taiwan’s Ju Percussion Group is set to take center stage at the Percussion Pulse 2020 festival kicking off Feb. 12 in Copenhagen, Denmark, spotlighting growing demand internationally for the country’s talented performers.
The ensemble will delight festivalgoers at the Royal Danish Academy of Music’s Concert Hall Feb. 15, staging an eclectic array of pieces including “Notre-Dame de Paris,” “Solar Myth” and “Zhong Kui Marrying His Sister Off” by Taiwan composers Lin Ching-cheng, Chang Chiung-ying and Liu Yu-yun, respectively.
According to the Taipei City-based outfit, the performance combines Eastern and Western motifs through the use of a variety of contemporary and traditional techniques. This is in line with the event’s theme of “From Native to Innovative” and highlights the value of percussive instruments in an increasingly multicultural world, the group added.
Hwang Kuen-yean, the troupe’s senior composer, is also scheduled to give a talk Feb. 16 at RDAM’s Studio Hall. The veteran will share his extensive experience teaching and performing percussion, as well as his vision for the group’s future.
Established in 1986 by Ju Tzong-ching, the 16-percussionist collective has staged more than 3,000 performances in 33 countries and territories, and is renowned for revolutionizing music teaching in Taiwan.
The five-day Percussion Pulse festival is held by a different art school in northern Europe each year. The 2020 edition is organized by RDAM with support from the Nordic Council of Ministers and Nordic Culture Fund. (YCH-E)
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