An orchestra is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which mixes instruments from different families, including bowed string instruments such as violin, viola, cello, and double bass, as well as brass, woodwinds, and percussion instruments, each grouped in sections. Other instruments such as the piano and celesta may sometimes appear in a fifth keyboard section or may stand alone, as may the concert harp and, for performances of some modern compositions, electronic instruments.
A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often written by composers for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning common today: a work usually consisting of multiple distinct sections or movements, often four, with the first movement in sonata form. Symphonies are scored for strings, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments which altogether number about 30–100 musicians. Symphonies are notated in a musical score, which contains all the instrument parts. Orchestral musicians play from parts which contain just the notated music for their own instrument. A small number of symphonies also contain vocal parts.
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO) is an American orchestra based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The orchestra's home is Heinz Hall, located in Pittsburgh's Cultural District.
Wufeng District is a suburban district in southern Taichung, Taiwan. It was the location of Taiwan Provincial Consultative Council before 1999.
Robert Chen is a Taiwanese-born violinist who is the Concertmaster of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He received Bachelor's and Master's of Music degrees from the Juilliard School, where he studied with Dorothy DeLay and Masao Kawasaki.
Günther Herbig is a German conductor.
The Taipei Symphony Orchestra (Chinese: 台北市立交響樂團; pinyin: Táiběi Shìlì Jiāoxiǎng Yuètuán, as known as TSO, founded in 1969, is one of the leading orchestras based in Taipei, Taiwan.
The National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, founded in 1945, is the oldest symphony orchestra in Taiwan. It is based in Wufeng, Taichung.
Lü Shao-chia is a Taiwanese conductor. He has been music director of the National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan since 2010.
The National Theater and National Concert Hall are twin performing arts venues at Liberty Square in Zhongzheng District, Taipei, Taiwan. Completed in 1987, the landmarks stand on the south and north sides of the square with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall to the east. Together the venues are referred to by the abbreviation NTCH. The square itself sits near Ketagalan Boulevard, site of the Presidential Office Building, the National Central Library, the National Taiwan Museum, and the 228 Peace Memorial Park.
National Symphony Orchestra is used for the name of many orchestras in different countries. It may refer to the:
The Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra based in Guangzhou, Guangdong. It was founded in 1957.
Apo Hsu is a conductor born in Taiwan and resident of both Taiwan and the United States. Hsu served as music director of the National Taiwan Normal University Symphony Orchestra and the Springfield Symphony Orchestra in Springfield, Missouri. Her past appointments include serving as artistic director of The Women's Philharmonic in San Francisco, California, and conductor of the Oregon Mozart Players in Eugene, Oregon. She has been a mentor for many young conductors on both sides of the world through her work at NTNU and at The Conductor’s Institute at Bard College in New York. Her performances have been featured in national broadcasts in the United States, Taiwan, and Korea.
Ko Fan-long is a Taiwanese composers. He is a professor of composition at the National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) in Taipei.
Gintaras Rinkevičius is a Lithuanian conductor, who was awarded the Lithuanian National Prize for Culture and Arts in 1994. In 1989 he founded the Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra.
Felix Chiu-Sen Chen was a Taiwanese conductor and violinist. He was resident conductor and music director of the Taipei Symphony Orchestra from 1986 until his dismissal in 2003. He taught both Chien Wen-pin, musical director of the Taiwan National Symphony Orchestra from 2001 to 2007; and the same orchestra's current maestro, Lü Shao-chia.
Kaohsiung City Symphony Orchestra, also known as Kaohsiung Symphony Orchestra is a Taiwanese orchestra based in Kaohsiung. It is also the only professional orchestra in Southern Taiwan. The orchestra was owned and ran by the city government until its privatization in 2009.
Gordon Chin or Chin Shi-wen is a Taiwanese composer and conductor. He is a member of the faculty of National Taiwan Normal University. He earned his doctoral degree at the Eastman School of Music under Christopher Rouse and Samuel Adler. As one of Taiwan's most prolific composers, his works have been performed by the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, San Diego Symphony Orchestra, and Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, as well as by ensembles in Tokyo, France, the International Sejong Soloists, and many others. The Los Angeles Times has called him a "confident master of the Western modernistic large orchestral idiom used for dramatic rather than abstract purposes." Chin is now the music director of the Yinqi Chorus & Orchestra.
Henry Simon Mazer, was an American and later Taiwanese conductor, recording artist and music educator who was the founding principal conductor and music director of Taipei Philharmonic Orchestra from 1985 until suffering a stroke in February 2001. Prior to his move to Taiwan, he was the conductor and associate conductor of major American symphonies including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He contributed greatly to the refinement of the performances of classical music in Taiwan, leading local musicians to gain recognition overseas. There is a cultural center dedicated to him in Taipei.
