“Hngzyang na Nahuy ru Matuy” means the voice of Nahuy and Matuy village’s children. Nahuy and Matuy are the places where located in the rural villages in Jian-Shir Township, Hsinchu County in the north area of Taiwan. The pleaces are surrounded by hills at the height of over 600 meters, with the region’s weather being pleasant all year round.
The children of Nahuy and Matuy are required to attend Jiaxing Elementary School and Yixing Branch respectively. Jiaxing Elementary has 65 students in total, and Yixing Branch School is very small with only 21 students. The age of the students is between 6-12, and more than 95% of the students are Atayal children(the third-largest aboriginal group in Taiwan). Their parents are mostly doing farm and forest works, while others are working in factories and restaurants far from the village. As the result, nearly 75% of the children lives are taken care of by their grandparents.
However, heavenly adorned with rich natural resources and cultural assets, the school is also blessed to have pure individuals who are endowed with the talent to perform, and the willingness to take in what the world has to offer. Therefore, in the hope of engaging students in a dynamic learning environment, a choir program was brought into the curriculum since September 2016. With the teachers’ dedication, the plenty musical courses have helped the students rediscover their own traditional culture and further appreciate the ancestors’ legacy by singing the Atayal folksongs and playing the tribal instruments.
To one’s astonishment, the children had participated in the Hsinchu County choir competitions in 2016 & 2017. Although the students had just accepted chorus training for only 2 years, they practiced hard and were not lucky to win the silver medal prize. Further more, the children went to Vienna to participate in the 31th Schubert International Choir Competition in June 2018, and won the Golden Medal and the Special Jury Prize. In addition, the students went on a cultural exchange program with other choirs, through which they were able to realize their true potentials and expand their horizons.
In September 2018, all the members of “Hngzyang na Nahuy & Matuy” are very happy to have opportunity to meet young people from the St. Christopher. And they delighted to sing’n’joy with friends who love music and peace. They hope that in the short meeting in Taipei, they can learn from everyone from the far-reaching Central America. And also, they are looking forward to welcome the new friends to sing with them and experience the Atayal culture at the villages of Nahuy and Matuy in the future time!
The Ju Percussion Group (JPG), founded by percussionist Ju, Tzong-Ching in January 1986, comprises 16 talented percussionists and 1 composer in residence. The group devotes itself to performance, education and percussion promotion. JPG has become known worldwide for its innovative blends of the East and West, traditional and contemporary. The members possess transcendental virtuosity in playing Western Percussion instruments as well as different forms of traditional Asian music.
Through more than 3,000 domestic and international performances, it has greatly expanded Taiwan’s presence on the international percussion map. To date, the group has played in 34 different countries around the world, cultivating more than 130,000 percussion learners by means of its instruction system. Besides, the group has been commissioned to create as many as 239 pieces so far. The growth of Ju Percussion Group is, so to speak, a reflection of how contemporary percussion develops on the island.
Click here for more information of Ju Percussion Group.