Composer MA Shui-long (July 17, 1939–May 2, 2015) graduated from the National Taiwan Academy of Arts and the Fachakademie für katholische Kirchenmusik und Musikerziehung Regensburg in Germany. Renowned not only for his exceptional compositions, he also made profound contributions to arts education, cultural policy, and international exchange. A recipient of numerous accolades, he remains the only musician to have been awarded honorary doctorates from three national universities.

MA Shui-long's orchestral works seamlessly blend modern Western techniques with rich Taiwanese sentiments. This commemorative concert will feature four of his masterpieces from his middle and late periods, including concertos, symphonic poems, and choral orchestral works. (Written by YEN Lu-fen)

  Pre-talk  

2025/12/7(Sun)14:00 Concert Hall 3F Lobby

  Program  

MA Shui-long: Concerto for Bamboo Flute and Orchestra (1981) 

MA Shui-long: The Peacock Flies Southeast for Orchestra (1977)

MA Shui-long: Rhapsody in Kuan Du for Piano and Orchestra (2001)

MA Shui-long (Text: LEE, Kuei-shien): The Invisible Temple for Male Chorus and Orchestra (2005/2006)

  Creative and Production Team  

Conductor｜Amy CHANG

Bangdi｜LAI Yi-chun 

Piano｜Giselle Hsing-Chwen HSIN

National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra

Taichung Artist Chamber Choir

ManLody Male Singers

Co-presenter: National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying), National Center for Traditional Arts, Taiwan Music Institute, National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra 

  Artists Introduction  

Conductor｜Amy CHANG

Amy CHANG won the Asia Division of the Tokyo International Music Competition for Conductors in 1997. In 2000, she became the only Asian finalist in the prestigious International Conducting Competition in Barcelona, where she was awarded Fourth Prize. Sir Neville MARRINER, chair of the jury, praised her conducting as "clear in beat, highly musical, and capable of maintaining smooth and excellent communication with the orchestra in a congenial atmosphere, demonstrating outstanding aural sensitivity."

Former Music Director of the National Symphony Orchestra, Maestro Jahja LING, also commended CHANG for her "keen ear and superb ability to communicate musical ideas clearly from the podium," recognizing her as a highly experienced and accomplished conductor. Internationally renowned flutist Peter-Lukas GRAF remarked, "It is a true pleasure to collaborate with Amy CHANG. She possesses an exceptional ability to understand and immediately respond to the soloist's interpretation, making her an ideal musical partner."

Amy CHANG previously served as Assistant Conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra in Taiwan and as Deputy Director of the Taipei Chinese Orchestra. She is frequently invited to guest conduct leading orchestras and currently serves as Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Ark Music Chamber Ensemble. She is also on the faculty of the Department of Music at the Taipei National University of the Arts, where she is dedicated to both conducting and music education.

Bangdi｜LAI Yi-chun

LAI Yi-Chun is currently the first chair of dizi (bamboo flute) player of the Taipei Chinese Orchestra. She holds a Master’s degree in Performance from the Graduate Institute of Ethnomusicology at Tainan National University of the Arts. She was named a "Star of TNNUA" and won first prize in the concerto competition held by the Little Giant Chinese Chamber Orchestra.

LAI is frequently invited to collaborate with renowned ensembles such as the Taipei Chinese Orchestra, Evergreen Symphony Orchestra, Little Giant Chinese Chamber Orchestra, Taoyuan Chinese Orchestra, Taichung Wenshao Xuan Chinese Chamber Ensemble, Hsinchu Youth Chinese Orchestra, Changhua City Chinese Orchestra, Taoyuan Chinese Classical Orchestra, Taipei Philharmonic Orchestra, One Song Orchestra, and the Macao Chinese Orchestra.

Her major concerto repertoire includes: Melancholy Empty Mountain, Butterfly Dream, Bangdi Concerto, Four Chapters of Northern Shaanxi, Whirling Dance, The Dancing Girl, Blossoms on the Path, G, Kui's Love, Carmen Fantasy, Guizhi Decoction, and Taiwan 24, among others.

She has been invited to perform at numerous prestigious events, including a concerto performance at the Center for Contemporary Art in Germany, the opening ceremonies of the Golden Melody Awards for Traditional Arts and the Golden Horse Awards, and the National Palace Museum exhibition at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. She has also given concerto performances at the Hangzhou Grand Theatre, Beijing National Centre for the Performing Arts, Shanghai Symphony Hall, the Macao International Music Festival, and the Peabody Institute in the United States, and was featured in the closing concert with the Macao Chinese Orchestra.

Her album Origin was nominated for Best Instrumental Performance and won Best Traditional Music Album at the 35th Golden Melody Awards for Traditional Arts and Music.

Piano｜Giselle Hsing-Chwen HSIN

Steinway Artist Giselle Hsing-Chwen HSIN is one of Asia's most esteemed pianists of her generation, while being a piano professor of the Institute of Music at the National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University in Taiwan. She holds a Doctorate degree in piano performance from Stony Brook University in New York, as well as the prestigious Chappell Gold Medal from the Royal College of Music, London. She has also taken major prizes at the Mozart Bicentenary Piano Competition of Asia, and New York's Chopin Piano Competition.

At an early age, she went from Taiwan to study at England's renowned Yehudi Menuhin School. At 17, she performed as a duo with Sir Yehudi Menuhin in the D Minor Violin Sonata by Brahms at the Uppottery Festival, England. In 1994 after returning to Taiwan, she was honored by the President to perform at the Presidential Hall Concert. As a concerto soloist, she has performed with major orchestras in Taiwan and orchestras of Hong Kong (HK Philharmonic), China (Guangzhou and Hunan), USA, England, and Switzerland; as a recitalist, she regularly performs in the National Concert Hall, Taipei, and has live recorded several recitals on Australia and Hong Kong’s radio stations. Her recent recording of the complete solo works for piano by MA Shui-Long has won her a nomination for The Best Album, Golden Melody Award in 2023.

National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra

Founded in 1945, the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra (NTSO) is the oldest symphony orchestra in Taiwan. Since its establishment, it has been successively affiliated with the Taiwan Garrison Command, Taiwan Art Construction Association, Taiwan Provincial Department of Education, Department of Culture, Council for Cultural Affairs, and the Executive Yuan. In May of 2012, it came under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture. The Orchestra is located in Wufeng, Taichung. With an exclusive music hall and large and small rehearsal studios, it is a full-fledged music group with a full complement of software and hardware.

Over 80 years of history, under the directors of the past and efforts, the NTSO has accumulated extensive performing experience. Countless international teams and musicians have been invited to perform with the NTSO, such as Shui Lan, Christopher HOGWOOD, Leon FLEISHER, FU Ts'ong, CHEN Pi-hsien, Oxana YABLONSKAYA, DANG Thai-son, Jimmy LIN, Pinchas ZUKERMAN, Sarah CHANG, Gil SHAHAM, Ann-Sophie MUTTER, Gidon KREMER, Nobuko IMAI, Natalia GUTMAN, Mischa MAISKY, Lynn HARRELL, Emmanuel PAHUD, and groups such as Divertimento Berlin, Konzertvereinigung Wiener Staatsopernchor, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, etc.

Since 2019, the internationally renowned conductor maestro SHUI Lan has taken on the position of NTSO Principal Guest Conductor, cooperating with NTSO to enrich artistic skills, innovate on tradition, deepen education, and promote aesthetics, thus enhancing the public’s musical life, making music ever-present like air, water and sunshine.

Taichung Artist Chamber Choir

Taichung Artist Chamber Choir (TACC), founded by Dr. CHUANG Pi-hua, is consists of armature choral lovers in the Great Taichung Area. Ever since our foundation, we have strived to integrate choral music and life, meanwhile, to become one of the leading chamber choirs in Taiwan. 

In 2014 Riga, TACC won the Gold Medal in Contemporary Music Contest.  In 2015, TACC summoned choral singers and orchestral musicians to perform Carmina Burana, and made a history-breaking event in the great Taichung area. Successively, in 2016 and 2017, we received invitations from the National Art Museum, with great excitement, to put together a cross-field performance with visual artists. Also in this year, TACC won the honor as an Excellent Team in Art and Music Performance in Taichung.  

ManLody Male Singers

Established in August 2016, the ManLody Male Singers is a male voice choir based in Central Taiwan, holding regular weekly rehearsals. The choir is led by conductor CHIA Hsin-wu, with CHANG Yu-chia serving as piano accompanist. Since its inception, the choir has been dedicated to promoting diverse styles of men's choral music. Through the spirit of "making friends through music," it aims to cultivate new talents in men's choral singing.

Members of the ManLody Male Singers come from various professions. Their repertoire is diverse, including popular music, religious pieces, folk songs, contemporary works, art songs, and more. Through consistent weekly rehearsals and structured training, the choir continuously refines its choral proficiency.

From 2017 onwards, for seven consecutive years, the ManLody Male Singers has received Gold, Silver, and Bronze Awards in the National Choral Competition for Social Groups (Men's Division). In 2019 and 2025, they were invited by Proud Voices Asia to participate in the Asian Choral Festival in Tokyo, Japan, and Singapore, receiving unanimous acclaim. In the future, the choir plans to hold two public performances annually to promote choral music and art.

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