Founded in 2023, the National Symphony Youth Orchestra (NSYO) is dedicated to nurturing Taiwan's outstanding young musicians. Its debut in July of the same year was an immediate success, earning wide acclaim from both the music community and audiences. This summer, under the leadership of NSO Music Director Jun MÄRKL, NSYO will thrill audiences in collaboration with internationally renowned pianists Makoto OZONE in Taiwan and Hyung-ki JOO in Japan and Korea. The program features a new commission by LIN Ching-mei, RACHMANINOFF's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, OZONE's O'berek, and MAHLER's Symphony No. 1. After performances in Taipei, Miaoli, and Kaohsiung, the orchestra will head to Japan and South Korea, showcasing the energy and promise of Taiwan's young musicians and letting their dreams resound through music.

  Program  

LIN Ching-mei: Commissioned Work (commissioned by Hakka Affairs Council, world premiere)

S. RACHMANINOFF: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43

Makoto OZONE: O'berek (7/24、7/25、7/26)

G. MAHLER: Symphony No. 1 in D major

  Creative and Production Team  

Conductor｜Jun MÄRKL

Piano｜Makoto OZONE

National Symphony Youth Orchestra

Presenter｜National Symphony Orchestra

Co-presenter｜Miaobei Art Center (July 24th)

Co-organiser｜National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying)

  Team Introduction  

Jun MÄRKL, conductor

Jun MÄRKL is a highly respected interpreter of the core German repertory, and has become known for his refined and idiomatic explorations of the French Impressionists. He serves as Music Director of the Taiwan Philharmonic (National Symphony Orchestra), Music Director of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, and Chief Conductor of the Residentie Orkest The Hague, Netherlands. He also serves as Principal Guest Conductor of the Oregon Symphony.

MÄRKL's expertise in the world of opera and long historical relationships with the state operas of Vienna, Berlin, Munich, the Semperoper Dresden, the Metropolitan Opera of New York, San Francisco Opera and New National Theatre in Tokyo have been complemented over the past many decades by his orchestral music directorships of the Orchestre National de Lyon, the MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Basque National Orchestra, and the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra.

MÄRKL regularly guest conducts the leading orchestras of North America, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe and has conducted many of the world’s most prestigious orchestras including the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Boston Symphony, the Bavarian Radio Symphony, the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, NHK Tokyo, and many others. 

In the season 25/26, he is returning to the Auckland Philharmonic and Essen Orchestra; he is making his debut with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra and recording with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Mr. MÄRKL also has an extensive discography of more than 60 recordings.

In recognition of his achievements in France, he was honored in 2012 with the title of Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

He studied in Munich with Sergiu Celibidache, at Tanglewood with Leonard BERNSTEIN and Seiji OZAWA.

Mr. MÄRKL is highly dedicated to working with young musicians: for many years, he worked as Principal Conductor at the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo and the Aspen Music Festival in Colorado. He teaches as a Guest Professor at the Kunitachi College of Music, Tokyo, and in 2023, he founded the National Symphony Youth Orchestra of Taiwan. 

Makoto OZONE, piano

Majoring in Jazz composition and arrangement, Makoto OZONE graduated summa cum laude from Berklee College of Music in 1983. The same year, he gave a solo recital at Carnegie Hall in New York City, becoming the first Japanese musician to be exclusively signed to CBS, with the worldwide release of his first album OZONE. 

His stellar career has brought him a Grammy nomination in 2003, and has constantly been in the forefront of the international jazz scene, recording and touring with the greats of Gary Burton, Chick Corea, Paquito D'Rivera, Arturo Sandoval, Branford Marsalis, Jeff "Tain" Watts, Christian McBride, Dave Weckl, Mike Stern and others. In 2004, he formed the "No Name Horses" big band in Japan. The band has been performing successfully in France, Austria, the US, the UK, Singapore and Japan ever since. 

In recent years, Ozone has also been focusing on works from the classical music repertoire, playing concertos by Bernstein, Mozart, Rakhmaninov, and Prokof'ev, with major orchestras both in Japan and abroad. Such performances have been highly acclaimed by the press; the North Germany Hannover Newspaper has also described it as "the audience was fascinated and struck with awe at Ozone’s unparalleled performance." Road to Chopin was released in 2010, celebrating the bicentenary of Chopin's birth, and awarding him the "Chopin Passport" from the Polish government. 

In February 2014, he was appointed by the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Alan Gilbert, to take part in their Asian tour, as the first Japanese jazz pianist. He later participated in a special performance at their home concert hall, Avery Fisher Hall, where he received a warm welcome of a full-house audience, highly praised by the media, such as the New York Times. The San Francisco Symphony also invited Ozone to take part in their concert later that year. 

His third collaboration with Gary Burton, Time Thread was released in June 2013, which later developed to a tour in Japan. After forming a quartet with Dave Weckl, Tom Kennedy, and Gary Meek in 2015, they headed for a tour in the US, Europe, and Japan. In May 2016, the first nationwide duo tour in Japan with Chick Corea swept the nation away. 

2017 has already been a busy year for the pianist; in March, Gary Burton, who announced his retirement from performing, and Ozone, toured the US, and later in May and June through Japan. In August, along with Clarence Penn and James Genus, THE TRIO released Dimensions, their first reunion album in a decade, and once again, he was invited by the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Alan Gilbert, to perform three days in a row, at their regular concerts held at the David Geffen Hall (renamed from Avery Fisher Hall in 2015) in early November.

2018 Awarded Shiju-HouShyou (The Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon)

National Symphony Youth Orchestra (NSYO)

The National Symphony Youth Orchestra (NSYO) was established in 2023 under the leadership of National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) Music Director Jun Märkl. Drawing from Maestro Märkl's extensive experience with international youth music initiatives, and incorporating the merits of young musicians training systems from various countries and orchestras, the NSYO is tailored to the characteristics of Taiwan.

During winter and summer vacations each year, the NSYO recruits exceptional young musicians from Taiwan and abroad to participate in intensive training courses and rehearsals. The orchestra also invites internationally renowned musicians to join the NSYO on tour and in concert. The NSYO held its inaugural session in July 2023, with Music Director Jun Märkl as conductor. Märkl guided more than one hundred young musicians through rehearsals at the Miaobei Art Center before they showcase their accomplishments in performances at various major venues across Taiwan.  In the summer of 2024, NSYO completed its first international tour with successful performances in Singapore and Thailand. The second international tour just took place in the summer of 2025, with performances in Japan. 

As a cultural ambassador for Taiwan, NSYO focuses on Taiwan while embracing the world. It is our aim to solidify Taiwan's place in the international classical music network, and to create future possibilities for young musicians in Taiwan to connect and explore the global music scene.

Special Thanks｜UUIN

Appointed Airline｜China Airlines

Tour in Taiwan

Miaoli｜7/24 Miaobei Art Center Performance Hall

Taipei｜7/25 National Concert Hall

Kaohsiung｜7/26 Weiwuying Concert Hall