Ju Percussion Group hosts Taipei International Percussion Convention
Taipei, Taiwan. 2008 25 May - 1 June —The Ju Percussion Group, Taiwan-based Majestic
Artists, will once again host the
triennial Taipei International Percussion Convention (TIPC). This much-anticipated
event will once again bring together iconic percussion artists and ensembles from around
the world to Taiwan this May. Being the sixth of such event, the 2008 TIPC boasts 10
renowned groups from ten countries: the Amadinda Percussion Group, Les Percussions de
Strasbourg, Keiko Abe with her Marimba Ensemble Japan, Tambuco Percussion Ensemble, Red
Fish Blue Fish, Odaiko Percussion Group, Percossa, the Next Step Percussion Group, PercaDu
and the host, the Ju Percussion Group itself. The week-long convention will see 17 concerts
in prominent performance centers in Taipei and major cities in Taiwan between the 25th
of May and the 1st of June.
In the past years TIPC has also served as a networking platform for
musicians and music lovers to learn from and collaborate with each other by holding
workshops and lectures that enhance audience and participant engagement. The 2008 TIPC
also features 10 lectures starting in April at the famous cultural
landmark Eslite Bookstore in Taipei. Significant keynote speakers include artists
from Ju Percussion Group, President of Percussive Arts Society Gary Cook, marimba masteress
Keiko Abe, artistic director of Red Fish Blue Fish Steven Schick, artist and educator
Steve Houghton, artists/composer Emmanuel Séjourné, as well as Tambuco Percussion Ensemble
and Percossa. Topics to be covered include percussion education, introduction to percussion
music from different cultures, the development of percussion and performance experiences
and percussion from the streets to the theatres.
The 2008 TIPC is bringing to the table a never-before array of exotic percussive cultures which is most looking to stir up the interests of music lovers and general public. This TIPC is bound to further promote this already-popular art form in Taiwan.
In 1990 Tzong-ching Ju, Founder and Artistic Director of the Ju Percussion Group Foundation, was inspired to establish a platform for percussion music in the World. The goals of TIPC are: (1) To bring world-class percussion ensembles to Taiwan to allow local audiences to experience first-rate percussion performances; (2) To raise overall standards in percussion music through contact between percussion groups from different countries, each with their own distinctive performing style; and (3) To display on the world stage the wealth of Taiwan's superb traditional percussion culture and its lively modern percussion music, and to provide a wider forum for local composers.
After two years of planning, the first TIPC was launched in May 1993. From then on, Taiwan became a hub of global percussion music. Groups and individuals include Nexus, Kroumata, Amadinda Percussion Group, Les Percussions de Strasbourg, Amsterdam Percussion Group (NSA), Cincinnati Percussion Group, Percussion Ensemble Okada, Glass, Synergy, Seoul Percussion, Emil Richards, Steve Houghton, Leigh H. Stevens, She-e Wu, Glen, Velez, and numerous outstanding musicians.