Beigang International Music Festival

The Beigang International Music Festival (in Chinese: 北港國際音樂文化藝術節) is a project of the "Beigang Philharmonic Association" (in Chinese: 雲林縣北港愛樂協會) and takes place in Beigang

Beigang

-Mainland China:*Beigang Subdistrict**Beigang Subdistrict, Bei'an , Heilongjiang**Beigang Subdistrict, Yueyang , in Yanglou District, Yueyang, Hunan**Beigang Subdistrict, Changzhou , in Zhonglou District, Changzhou, Jiangsu...

, Yunlin County

Yunlin County

Yunlin County is a county in the western part of Taiwan, the Republic of China. Yunlin is located to the right of the Taiwan Strait, the east of Nantou County and sharing a border with Changhua County divided by the Zhuoshui River. Yunlin is one of the counties of Taiwan that is part of the Chianan...

, Taiwan

Taiwan

Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

. Since its inception in 2006, the festival has grown and developed to become the biggest international music festival in Yunlin County. The festival has a series of concerts, mostly wind music (for solo

Solo (music)

In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...

, chamber music

Chamber music

Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...

and wind band), and an educational program within the "Chia-Hu Conservatory" (in Chinese: 陳家湖音樂學院). The festival also organizes an intercultural program for musicians from different countries. The Artistic director

Artistic director

An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company, that handles the organization's artistic direction. He or she is generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the organization is generally a non-profit organization...

of the Beigang International Music Festival is the pianist

Pianist

A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...

Heinz Chen

The Austrian-Taiwanese pianist and pedagogue Heinz Chen was artistic director of the Beigang International Music Festival between 2006 and 2009. Today he lives in Berlin, Germany....

Beigang

(北港鎮) is known for the Chaotian Temple

Chaotian Temple

The Chaotian Temple at Beigang, Yunlin County, Taiwan, is dedicated to the deity Mazu, the goddess of the sea. Constructed in 1694, it became one of the most important Mazu temples in Taiwan and is known for its extravagant temple architecture...

, which is one of the most important temples for Mazu, the goddess. Because the cultural scene in Beigang is generally active only on holy days, the Beigang Philharmonic Association has dedicated itself to improving Beigang's music education and performance sector. Most of the festival activities take place in the centre of Beigang.

History

In 2005 the Beigang Philharmonic Association organized the first "Beigang Music Festival". Performances were held by the Beigang Wind Orchestra and pupils of the Chia-Hu Conservatory in Beigang. In 2006 Heinz Chen was appointed the artistic director of the festival and assigned to raise the festival to an international level. Thus, the "Beigang International Music Festival" was created. The festival has since become very popular amongst local audiences, media and politicians. Every year, since 2005, County Governor Su Ji-Feng has visited the festival, among other politicians. In 2007, the festival welcomed the rector of Hochschule für Musik Detmold

Hochschule für Musik Detmold

The University of Music Detmold is one of Germany's leading university-level schools of music, situated in Detmold, Germany.- Academics :...

, Prof. Martin Christian Vogel.

Concept

Most of the concerts take place in Beigang. In addition, there are performances in Douliu City and Sinying City

Sinying City

Xinying District is the location of second administration centre of Tainan City Government of Tainan City in Taiwan. Sugar production was the most important industry in Xinying.-Education:* Xinying Senior High School* Nan-Kwang Senior High School...

. These events are held with art music

Art music

Art music is an umbrella term used to refer to musical traditions implying advanced structural and theoretical considerations and a written musical tradition...

(the so-called "classical music") but there are several performances with light music

Light music

Light music is a generic term applied to a mainly British musical style of "light" orchestral music, which originated in the 19th century and had its heyday during the early to mid part of the 20th century, although arguably it lasts to the present day....

, for example the open air concert "Cultural Interaction Night". The performance in a local restaurant, "Club Concert", have also been very popular.
The festival aims to develop strong intercultural exchanges between musicians from different countries. It also promotes music for children and audiences who are dedicated to experiencing a wealth of classical and related music types. For this reason, a tutorial project takes place, in which the international performers share their knowledge with pupils from Beigang.
The concerts and the educational program are free of charge to visitors. The festival's organisers want to share music with all who are interested, as it is an outreach organisation and wishes to reach all sectors of the population.

Media coverage

The Epoch Times, the national weekly magazine New Taiwan and local newspapers and TV channels have promoted the Beigang International Music Festival through their coverage. The "Lippische Landes-Zeitung" (Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

) published an article about the festival in 2007.

Musicians

The following musicians have been invited since 2006:

Lauri Bruins, clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
Anita Farkas, flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
Paz Aparicio García, saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
Noémi Györi, flute
Wilfried Stefan Hanslmeier, trombone
Trombone
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
Philipp Hutter, trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
Christina Jacobs, saxophone
Anniina Karjalainen, trumpet
Sofia Kayaya, flute
Mizuho Kojima, trombone and euphonium
Euphonium
The euphonium is a conical-bore, tenor-voiced brass instrument. It derives its name from the Greek word euphonos, meaning "well-sounding" or "sweet-voiced"...
Zoltán Kövér, trumpet
Anna Krauja
Anna Krauja
Anna Krauja is a lyric soprano from Latvia. Born in Riga Anna Krauja was elected International Mini Miss in a competition at the Latvian National Theatre in 1993 and was the first Latvian child to win this award. At her appearance she sang a song by Latvian composer Imants Kalniņš and received...

, soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
Paavo Maijala, piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
Lauri Sallinen, clarinet
Juuso Wallin, French horn, festival orchestra conductor