Scotch College

Magical Music in Taiwan

Actually it was twelve nights at the Hyatt, which formed a marvellous base for our Taiwan Tour in September 2001. Our Chamber Musicians were exceptionally fortunate in being invited to perform overseas for the second year running. Last year we had a wonderful tour of Zimbabwe which resulted from an invitation from the Harare International Festival for the Arts. Following that tour we made a CD of the music from the African tour, and also included some music we had taken on the Asian tour a year earlier, hence the title Hong Kong to Harare. This year we received an enquiry from the organisers of the Australian and Taiwanese Business Council Meeting which was being held in Taipei. The annual meeting between these councils is a major trade event. By tradition, there is a performance of some kind at the dinner, which marks the conclusion of the meeting. Naturally the organisers needed assurances of quality and fortunately were able to supply the CD of the African Tour. As a result a formal invitation was forthcoming.

The ensemble left for Taiwan on Sunday 9 September. The boys were Allen Wang violin, Wilson Zhang violin and viola, Peter Chandler violin and viola, Ye-Lian He cello, Jason Abromowski double bass, Peter Sparkes clarinet, Peter Commons bassoon, Lin Jiang French horn and Frank Yang piano. We were accommodated at the Grand Hyatt Taipei in return for playing for various functions and for the guests most evenings. The main programme included the Rachmaninov Elegiaque Piano Trio, Beethoven Septet, Mozart Clarinet Quintet and the Mozart Horn Quintet. In addition, there were a number of Trios and some lighter items for performance in the hotel lobby. The main function of the tour was to perform for the Australian and Taiwanese Business Councils Meeting, but we also played for a Rotary Festival Lunch and a Dinner Function at the World Trade Centre. Daytime functions included playing at the Taipei American School and the Affiliated Senior High School of the National Taiwan University.

However, it was not all work, and on Saturday 15 September we set off for an overnight stay to Hwalien. Hwalien is essentially a holiday resort in the magnificent mountains on the east coast of Taiwan, and we had a wonderful tour of the spectacular Taroko Gorge, and visited the Light of Zen monastery and the Shrine of Eternal Spring. We were accompanied by former student and violinist Charles Tung. Following VCE at Scotch, Charles returned to Taipei to study medicine. He attended one of our concerts in Taipei, and then became attached to the ensemble for the remainder of the tour.

His fluency in Taiwanese as well as Mandarin proved particularly useful on the trip to Hwalien. While in Hwalien we received news that a typhoon was headed for Taipei, and Taipei subsequently suffered the most severe typhoon flooding for over a century.

The result was that we had to remain in Hwalien until we could gain access to Taipei. One particularly enjoyable trip was to the national museum in Taipei. Many of China's most wonderful art treasures are housed in the museum, and it made one truly understand something of China's rich and ancient cultural heritage.

One of the major musical highlights of the trip was to take place at the Public Television Service studios. The ensemble was recorded in great detail over almost an entire day for a television broadcast scheduled for January.

It was a tremendous experience for these young musicians to be recorded by a specialist music television producer and the associated technical crew and resources. Other highlights of the tour included some wonderful food (always a particular hit with the Director of Music!) and the spectacular scenery around Hwalien. The accommodation was particularly fantastic - the Grand Hyatt Taipei is certainly to be recommended, and the breakfasts defy description! We all remain most grateful to our hosts and sponsors in Taiwan, and for the wonderful help given to us by one of the parents, John Chandler.

To be given the chance to tour internationally and perform and be effectively ambassadors for Australia is a real privilege which our young musicians will remember all their lives.

Mr John Ferguson

Wide World of English

Communication skills are high on the agenda at Scotch. Next year, Year 9 and 10 English students will have the opportunity to explore the many challenging and enriching forms of communication provided in Dr Mark Collins' textbook recently published by Longmans. This second co-authored English text by Dr Collins is very much a family affair. His brother, Adrian, at Carey Grammar School, is the co-author, and Adrian's wife provided the professional illustrations for a book noted for its high standard of layout, in-depth reading and many choices in activities. There's something of interest for every student, including chapters on myths, sport and poetry.