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Ju Percussion Group
About
The JU PERCUSSION GROUP (JPG), founded by percussionist Tzong-Ching Ju in January 1986, is the first percussion ensemble established in Taiwan. It consists of 13 talented percussionists and one composer in residence. The members possess transcendental virtuosity in playing Western percussion instruments as well as Chinese gong-drum music, and other form of Asian traditional music. This is a group devoting itself in performing, education and percussion promoting.
Following the direction of Tzong-Ching Ju, the JPG has become well-known around the world for its innovative blending of East and West, traditional and contemporary. The JPG has pioneered the development of the percussive arts in Taiwan, and through its more than 100 domestic and international performances annually and reaching approximately 150,000 audiences has put Taiwan’s name on the international percussion map.
Since its establishment, the JPG has performed in Asia, Europe, Australia and the America. Since 1993 the Group was joined by leading percussion ensembles from the United States, Japan, Korea, France, Sweden, Hungary, Germany, Canada, Australia and the Netherlands at Taipei International Percussion Convention (TIPC). The JPG was invited to perform at Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC) in Dallas (Texas) and Louisville (Kentucky), U.S.A., in 2000 and 2003. The JPG collaborated with the world-famous Les Percussions de Strasbourg (France) on a cultural-exchange project, Les Douze Lunes du Serpent, premiered in December 2001. Invited by the Budapest Spring Festival, the JPG and the Amadinda Percussion Group of Hungary jointly presented the grand percussive work Stoicheia, written by James Wood, in 2002. In the same year, the JPG participated in the Beijing Music Festival in China and the year followed, the Group was invited to take part in the Chekhov International Theatre Festival. The participation in both events received great critical acclaim.
Aside from being featured in the percussion concerts, the JPG has also performed with the Cloud Gate Dance Theater and the Lanling Theater Workshop, touring nationally and internationally. In 1992, the JPG undertook a series of experimentation in music theater, which resulted in three major multi-media productions, Fantasia, in 1993, and Dream of Chimes in 1994, and See the Music in 2001. These productions incorporated other art forms and created a new audio and visual ambiance.
In July 1989, four years after Ju Percussion Group was found, the Ju Percussion Group Foundation (The Foundation) was established to be in charge of the administration of the Group. The mission of the Foundation is to make music universal and readily accessible to the public and to enhance the percussive arts in performance, composition and research in Taiwan. Currently, the Foundation includes a Board of Directors, headed by Chairperson Mr. Hsin-Ho Lin. The administration is lead by Executive Director Shu-Kang Liu and operated by five divisions, with 20 professional staff of art administration. Besides the JPG, the Foundation is also in charge of the performances of the JPG 2, Jumping Percussion Group and Juvenile Percussion Ensembles.
The JPG has released 15 highly acclaimed recordings. Two of them have been honored with the Golden Tripod Award. They are Keep the Fire Burning for Best Performance in 1988 and the Mountain's Beat for Best Musical Publication in 1990. The live recording of the 10th anniversary concert in 1996 was released as a special double-disc set. This recording received the 1997 Golden Melody Award, an equivalent of the Graммy in Taiwan, for Best Performer. In the same year, “Beat the Drum” won the award for Best Composition in the classical music category. In 2002, the JPG releases its 15th anniversary CD set Shiny Days.
The JPG has actively cultivated the percussion music environment by regularly coммissioning and premiering the compositions written by Taiwanese very own composers, such as Nan-Chang Chien (whose Beat the Drum has become a classic), Hwang-Long Pan, Shui-Long Ma, Loong-Hsing Wen, Ting-Lien Wu, Gordon S. Chin, Chien-Hui Hung, Wan-Jen Huang, Chung-Kun Hung and Kuen-Yean Hwang. In addition, the arrangements of numerous traditional Chinese/Taiwanese folk tunes and children’s songs by the Group have contributed to the steadily growing popularity of percussion music in Taiwan.
Previous Touring Experience
The Ju Percussion Group has performed in the following cities and countries (Jan. 1986 ~ Dec. 2006):
Year 2006
San José, USA ( Flint Center for Performing Arts)
Los Angeles, USA (Luckman Fine Arts Complex)
Los Angeles, USA (World Journal parking lot)
Kentucky, USA (Brown Center)
Guangchou, China
Shanghai, China
Zhejiang, China
Hong Kong, China (2006 Hong Kong Drum Festival)
Year 2005
Aichi, Nagoya, Japan , 2005 World Exposition
Seoul, South Korea , 2005 Seoul Drum Festival
Year 2004
New York, U.S.A. (Linclon Center Out-of-Doors)
Huntington, NY, U.S.A (Huntington Suммer Arts Festival)
Boston, MA, U.S.A(Sanders Theater, Harvard University)
Hanover, NH, U.S.A. (Hopkins Center, Dartmouth College)
Shanghai, China
Hangzhou, China (China Art Festival)
Melbourne, Australia
Sydney, Australia
Brisbane, Australia
Year 2003
Moscow, Russian (Chekhov International Theatre Festival)
Guangzhou, China
Zhongshan, China
Dongguan, China
Shanghai, China
Paris, France (6th Journees de la Percussion)
Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.A. – PASIC 2003 (Percussive Arts Society International Convention)
San Jose, California, U.S.A.
Year 2002
Macau（Centro Culture de Macau）
Budapest, Hungary (Budapest Spring Festival)
Brisbane, Australia（Queensland Music Conservatorium）
Beijing , China(Beijing Music Festival)
Shanghai, China
Seoul, South Korea (Asia Music Festival)
Year 2001
Monte-Carlo, Monaco – Printemps Des Arts De Monte-Carlo
Hong Kong
Newark, NJ, USA（New Jersey Performing Arts Center）
Towson, MD, USA
New York, NY, USA（Taipei Theater, Chinese Information and Culture Center）
Boston, MA, USA（Longy School of Music）
Lawrence, KS, USA（The Lied Center of Kansas）
Vancouver BC, Canada（Vancouver Playhouse）
Grenoble, France (Festival les 38 emes Rugissants)
Oullins, France（Theatre de la Renaissance）
Annecy, France（Bonlieu Scene Nationale d’Annecy）
Year 2000
Xi’an, China
Baoji, China
Xianyang, China
Weinan, China
Dallas, TX, U.S.A. – PASIC 2000 (Percussive Arts Society International Convention)
Garland, TX, USA
Year 1998
Macow - 1998 Macow Arts Festival
Hong Kong
Xi’an, China
Shanghai, China
Nanjing, China
Paris, France - Paris, Quartier D‘ete
Year 1997
Washington D.C, U.S.A.
New York, U.S.A (Taipei Theater, Chinese Information and Culture Center)
Damrosch Park, Lincoln Center, New York, U.S.A
Los Angeles, U.S.A - Inroads/Asia at UCLA
Seoul, Korea - Seoul Autumn Festival
Year 1996
Valencia, Spain - Valencia Percussion Festival
Pinang, Malaysia
Seremban, Malaysia
Johor, Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Year 1995
Singapore
Xi’an, China
Beijing, China
Shenzun, China
Tokyo, Japan
Year 1994
New York, U.S.A (Taipei Theater, Chinese Information and Culture Center)
Johor Bahru, Malaysia
Melaka, Malaysia
Seremban, Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Ipoh, Malaysia
Year 1991
Tokyo, Japan
Year 1990
West Virginia University, U.S.A
University of Kentucky, U.S.A
University of Akron, U.S.A
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, U.S.A
North Illinois University, U.S.A
Philadelphia, U.S.A - Percussive Arts Society International Convention
Lincoln Center, New York, U.S.A
Press Reviews
“The Ju Percussion group... has eager, active and highly competent performers.”
The New York Times
“A fascinating performance by the Ju Percussion Group...left the
audience cheering non-stop.”
The China Post, Taiwan
“Not only was the performance uniquely presented,
but the running and training of the Ju Percussion Group demonstrated professionlism.”
All Music Magazine, Taiwan
“The Ju Percussion Group has dramatically increased
percussion education and done an outstanding job of informing the public about
percussion music.”
Percussive Notes
“The Ju Percussion Group has succeeded in building a
large and enthusiastic audience for percussion music in Taiwan.”
Percussive Notes
“Tzong-Ching Ju has provided a superb international percussion
convention model.”
Percussion News
“The Ju Percussion Group is marked by outstanding musicianship
and disciplined playing, ……Their personalities come through, adding greatly to
the enjoyment of the show. ”
Lawrence Journal-World
“…des Percussions de Strasbourg et du Ju Percussion Group de Taipei, leur ecoute coммune, leur desir des belles confluences, n’avaient magistralement emporte l’adhesion d’un public seduit et heureux de l’etre.” Le Monde
“The Strasbourg Percussion Ensemble and the Ju Percussion Group from
Taipei learn to listen to one another; they conquer the heart of the audiences
who have a great enjoyment at the end of the performance. ”
Le Monde