If Ip Man is regarded as the grandmaster of Wing Chun martial arts, then PENG Xiu-wen can surely be called the grandmaster of  traditional Chinese music.

Much has already been written about PENG's life and achievements, including specialized studies on his musical artistry. As the founder of the China Broadcasting Chinese Orchestra, PENG established the modern structure of the Chinese orchestra and created hundreds of works of various genres. These widely acclaimed compositions, noted for their richness of subject matter, lyrical beauty, and refined orchestration, brought unprecedented growth to the field of  traditional Chinese music. His contributions also had a profound impact on the development of traditional and contemporary Chinese music in Taiwan, and his influence remains unparalleled to this day.

PENG Xiu-wen visited Taiwan on many occasions, presenting performances of his own arrangements and compositions that resonated deeply with audiences. On the thirtieth anniversary of his passing, conductor YAN Hui-chang—his close friend as well as disciple—will lead a tribute concert. In Taipei, the performance will be jointly presented by the National Chinese Orchestra Taiwan (NCO) and the Taipei Chinese Orchestra (TCO), while in Kaohsiung, NCO will collaborate with the Kaohsiung Chinese Orchestra (KCO). Together, these ensembles pay the highest respect to a true grandmaster of  traditional Chinese music.

  Program  

Traditional Music (Arr. PENG Xiu-wen): The General's Command

PENG Xiu-wen: The Wind of Friendship No. 2 The Treasure Island

PENG Xiu-wen: Happy Harvest

PENG Xiu-wen: Symphonic Poem Song of Running Water

HUA Yan-jun (Arr. PENG Xiu-wen): The Moon Reflected on the Erquan

PENG Xiu-wen, CAI Hui-quan: Harvest Gongs and Drums

PENG Xiu-wen : The Terra Cotta Warrior Fantasia

  Creative and Production Team  

Conductor｜YAN Hui-chang

Suona｜LIU Chiang-pin

Huqin｜KAO Meng-lan, PENG Li-ting

National Chinese Orchestra Taiwan (NCO)

Kaohsiung Chinese Orchestra (KCO)

  Artists Introduction  

Conductor｜YAN Hui-chang
YAN Hui-chang is a world-renowned Chinese music conductor. He has been with the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra since June 1997 and now serves as the Artistic Director and Principal Conductor for Life. YAN was conferred the title of National Class One Conductor at the First Professional Accreditation of China in 1987. He has received many accolades from the governments of different lands in honour of his contribution to the development of culture, such as the Cultural Medallion (Music) by the National Arts Council of Singapore in 2001, a Silver Bauhinia Star (SBS) by the Hong Kong SAR Government, Best Conductor Award at the Golden Melody Awards for Traditional Arts and Music 2018 in Taiwan, 2022 Distinguished Artist Award by the International Society for the Performing Arts and the 17th Hong Kong Arts Development Awards–Award for Outstanding Contribution in Arts etc. He is currently Director of Chinese National Orchestra Research Center of the He Luting Advanced Research Institute for Chinese Music of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and Professor of its Conducting Department, Honorary Fellow of The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Guest and Distinguished Professor at many music schools, Honorary Music Director of the Shaanxi Broadcasting Chinese Orchestra and Permanent Honorary Advisor of the Beijing Chinese Orchestra. Maestro YAN was appointed Music Director of the National Chinese Orchestra Taiwan in 2013, with a tenure up to 2017, and started the Youth Conductor Training Program. His contribution to nurturing conducting talents in Chinese music in Taiwan is widely recognized. YAN has led the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra to set many milestones in Chinese music. He launched the Orchestra into omnidirectional growth, started the system of commissioning new works, actively entered into mutually beneficial partnerships with crossover disciplines, spearheaded instrumental reform and established the world's first Chinese orchestral academy, The HKCO Orchestral Academy. YAN created the Master of Music in Conducting for Chinese Orchestras programme at the HKAPA. Also, he took the lead to organize international symposia and forums on Chinese music, and hosted the first-ever International Conducting Competition for Chinese Music in the world which was commended by ZHAO Ji-ping, Chairman of the Chinese Musicians' Association, as a milestone in the history of development of Chinese music. After graduating from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music in 1983 under the tutorship of renowned conductor XIA Fei-yun, and famous composers HU Deng-tiao and HE Zhan-hao, YAN was appointed Principal Conductor of the China National Orchestra. In addition to Chinese music conducting, YAN has also conducted Western symphony orchestras such as the China National Symphony Orchestra, Beijing Symphony Orchestra, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra, Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra, etc. YAN is also actively engaged in composition, and has won many national awards with his works. 
 
Suona｜LIU Chiang-pin
A Taiwanese conductor, suona performer, and music educator, LIU Chiang-pin is acclaimed as the Driving Force of Chinese Music in Hsinchu. He previously served as a suona player with the Taipei Chinese Orchestra.
Introduced to music by his elder brother at an early age, he was admitted in 1989 to the Department of Chinese Music at Chinese Culture University, majoring in dizi and suona under the tutelage of CHEN Chung-shen, WU Tsung-hsien, and LIU Sung-hui. He further honed his artistry through advanced studies in mainland China with renowned suona masters, including REN Tong-xiang, LIU Ying, ZHOU Dong-chao, and KUO Hsiung-chih.
From 1997 to 2006, he was a suona player with the Taipei Chinese Orchestra, frequently touring abroad as both ensemble member and soloist. His performances have reached more than 30 countries across Europe, Asia, the Americas, and Africa.
Renowned for his refined technique and pure tone, he has premiered and championed suona concertos by many leading Taiwanese composers. He has also appeared as a soloist with ensembles such as the Evergreen Symphony Orchestra, the China National Film Orchestra of Beijing, and the Anhui Chinese Orchestra.
Currently, he serves as Artistic Director of the Hsinchu Youth Chinese Orchestra and the Hsinchu City Youth Chinese Orchestra. He studied conducting under Prof. HUANG Xiao-tong. In 2010, he was honored by the Mayor of Hsinchu with the Outstanding Achievement in Conducting Award, and was listed among Hsinchu's Top 100 Artists. In 2012, he received the “Outstanding Contributor to Arts Education in Taiwan,” and in 2016, the Chinese Literary and Artistic Medal.
Since 2009, he has led the Hsinchu Youth Chinese Orchestra on numerous tours to Japan and mainland China, to enthusiastic acclaim. Beginning in 2011, he founded and curated the Hsinchu Chinese Music Festival, which has since become one of Taiwan's most anticipated annual Chinese music events. In recent years, he has collaborated with major ensembles including the National Chinese Orchestra Taiwan, Taipei Chinese Orchestra, Kaohsiung Chinese Orchestra, Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, Singapore Chinese Orchestra, China National Traditional Orchestra, China Broadcasting Chinese Orchestra, and Tianjin Chinese Orchestra.
 
Huqin｜KAO Meng-lan
KAO Meng-lan is currently the Concertmaster of National Chinese Orchestra Taiwan, the Section Leader of bowed strings, and the Principal of the Zhonghu section. Huqin musician in Taiwan, graduated with a master's degree from the Chinese Music Department of the National Taiwan University of Arts, KAO is also an assistant professor at the same school. In addition to her performing, she is also deeply invested in the study of performance art theory and is currently pursuing a doctorate in contemporary music interdisciplinary aesthetics at the Graduate Institute of Transdisciplinary Performing Arts. On the international stage, KAO was invited to perform and lead master classes at the Voice of Nomads, an international music festival in Buryatia, Russia in 2009. She taught and performed in Malaysia at the Sabah Chinese Orchestra Festival in 2017, played as an exchange guide for the visiting National University of Singapore Chinese Orchestra in Taipei in 2019. In 2020, KAO premiered Glory Dance with the Ten Drum Percussion Group in the environmental theatre production The Legend of Island. In 2019, she joined forces with the Korean National Gugak Center in Seoul for the concerto Memories Under the Oil-paper Umbrella. She has presented concertos such as On the Prairie, Taiwanese Folk Song - Double Huqin Concerto, Dream of a Mountain City, and the Concerto in c minor, in collaboration with the NCO at the National Concert Hall. 
 
Huqin｜PENG Li-ting
PENG Li-ting is the Concertmaster of the Kaohsiung Chinese Orchestra and an accomplished huqin performer, proficient in instruments including the erhu, gaohu, banhu, jinghu, morin khuur, sihu, and zhuihu. She has toured with the Kaohsiung Chinese Orchestra across Asia, the Americas, Europe, Canada, Australia, Russia, and Mainland China. PENG has also collaborated with renowned orchestras and conductors worldwide, performing numerous concertos. She frequently premieres new huqin works in Kaohsiung, receiving high acclaim.
PENG is actively devoted to music education, cultivating a new generation of huqin talents. She is on the faculty of Tainan National University of the Arts, Nanhua University, and International Philharmonic Chinese Orchestra.
 
National Chinese Orchestra Taiwan (NCO)
Administered by the National Center for Traditional Arts, the National Chinese Orchestra Taiwan (NCO) is the national-level Chinese orchestra under the Ministry of Culture. It brings together some of the finest talent in the Chinese music community in Taiwan, and is dedicated to preserving tradition while also embracing contemporary Taiwanese culture. Through producing and performing original works that draw on traditional Taiwanese music, the NCO taps into the allure of local music. The objective is to give prominence to both traditional and contemporary Taiwanese music on the international stage, for all to enjoy. Formerly the National Taiwan Academy of Arts Experimental Chinese Orchestra under the Ministry of Education, the National Chinese Orchestra Taiwan (NCO) was first established in 1984. In May 2012, after the establishment of the Ministry of Culture, the National Chinese Orchestra Taiwan (NCO) formally adopted its current name. In recent years, the NCO has strived to use traditional music to recount the best stories Taiwan has to offer, selecting local material and talent that can connect Taiwan with the rest of the world through music. The ultimate aim is to build a brand of orchestral music unique to Taiwan. The NCO incorporates a variety of other elements into its performances, including drama, dance, painting, poetry, and literature, giving its work a style that blends the innovative with the traditional. It has also released a number of CDs over the years periodically, include The Beautiful Taiwan, The Joyful Taiwan, My Heart Leaps Up, By Way of Remembrance, NCO 30th Anniversary, Where is Mauliyav?, Listen to the Soundscape of Taiwan, Taiwan in Bloom, Passing of Sound, The Legend of Parade Formation Performance, Sing, Pray, Pasibutbut-A Bunun Musical, Cold Dew Baptized Peony, and Together, in Music. The NCO is committed to promoting traditional music to enrich the lives of local audiences through music. It has for a long time now served Taiwan well as a cultural ambassador, performing its enchanting music in many cities in Europe, the United States, and Asia. 
 
Kaohsiung Chinese Orchestra (KCO)
The Kaohsiung Chinese Orchestra is the first professional Chinese orchestra in southern Taiwan. It was founded in 1989 in the name of Kaohsiung City Experimental Chinese Orchestra. In 2000, it formally became the in-residence orchestra of the Kaohsiung Music Hall and was officially renamed the Kaohsiung Chinese Orchestra. In 2009, Kaohsiung Symphony Orchestra and Kaohsiung Chinese Orchestra were merged into Kaohsiung Philharmonic Cultural & Arts Foundation. The current chairperson is WANG Wen-tsui, Director of Kaohsiung City's Bureau of Cultural Affairs. CHU Hung-chang is the CEO of the Foundation. 
Under the leadership of former orchestra directors and resident conductors, KCO has raised local awareness and appreciation for Chinese music through regular concerts and diverse events that are presented with staged dramas, dance troupes and other theatre elements. It has invited and collaborated with world-class local and international musicians and delivered the legacy of Chinese music to audiences of all generations. KCO is considered the most active and influential performing group in southern Taiwan. Moreover, it also brings Chinese music and Taiwanese culture to international stages in over ten countries.
KCO has published more than ten records with great popularity, including Instrumental Guide to the Chinese Orchestra, Ancient Tunes of Qiuci, The Four Seasons, Theme of the Great Walls, to name just a few. In recent years, KCO released the 25-year anniversary record Savoring the Best of Taiwan, 30-year anniversary record Festivals of Taiwan, and Finding the Deities and Mythical Creatures in Formosa, which is nominated for the Best Traditional Album, Best Album Producer, and Best Recording in the 34th Golden Melody Awards for Traditional Arts and Music.