Taipei Philharmonic Foundation for Culture and Education

In 1988, perceiving that Taiwan’s music environment still had great potential for development, a group of music-loving industrialists and musicians founded the “Taipei Philharmonic Foundation for Culture and Education” in order to promote musical activities and to further raise the cultural standards of Taiwan. The foundation created and supports groups such as the Philharmonic Children’s Choir, Youth Choir, Philharmonic Chorus, and Philharmonic Chamber Choir, each with the identical goals of performing and promoting music in Taiwan.

The Foundation has been making great efforts in introducing outstanding foreign performers and in educating talented Taiwanese musicians. For the last decade, the Foundation had continuously introduced fabulous groups and musicians, such as the Chanticleer, the Beijing Central Chorus, the Beijing Central Children’s Choir, the Inner Mongolian Youth Choir, the King’s Singers, the Tallis Scholars, Ave Sol, the World Youth Choir, the English Chamber Orchestra and Broadway singer Welly Yang. The Foundation also keeps bringing new visions of programs for the audience, including many locally premiered masterpieces, such as Brahms’s “Ein Deutsches Requiem”, Orff’s “Carmina Burana”, “Miss Criolla” and Chinese composer Tienfon’s “Graffiti of Yunan.” Additionally, in order to encourage local Taiwanese composers, the Foundation keeps in long-term collaboration with Professor Chien Nan-Chang. Together they have presented many grand choral and orchestral pieces such as “The Maiden of Malan” which is a grand choral orchestral suite adapted from the music of the aboriginal tribes’ of Taiwan.

For cultivating native talented musicians, the Foundation holds activities such as the “Young Stars Series” and the “Youth Musicians Series” and has held the “Celebrations of Arising Stars Festival” in 1998, 2000 and 2002, in which it selected over 30 young pianists and singers and offered a series of master classes and concerts. In addition, the Foundation holds the annual “Taipei Philharmonic International Choral Workshop” every summer, in which famous Taiwanese or international choral authorities are invited to give lectures. Through a series of intense classes, more choral experiences are brought to Taiwanese music-lovers, and local music quality is provided for players and appreciators of music alike. The Foundation also continues to hold the “Taipei International Choral Festival” in 1996, 1998, and 2000 and 2002 that established a brand new vision to local music-lovers and continually brings stimulation to the local music fields.

While the level of local music quality continues to rise, the Foundation also devotes valuable time to bringing local music to the international stage. Since 1992, the Foundation has been supporting the Taipei Philharmonic Chamber Choir in touring concerts all over the world. Wherever they have been, they have always left the audiences with impressions of brilliancy. Mr. Dirk DuHei, the Artistic Director of the foundation, often serves as a representative from Taiwan in international choral contests and conferences to promote musical exchanges between Taiwan and many other countries. This in term helps Taiwan gain a greater recognition in the international choral world.