Fusion and Metamorphosis

Asian Composers League Conference and Asia-Pacific Music Festival

The Asian Composers League (ACL) is the oldest and most important international cultural organization in the Asia-Pacific region. Conceived by the late Taiwanese composer Professor Hsu Tsang-houei, it was founded in 1973 with the support of Japan, Korea, and Hong Kong to encourage musical creation in the Asia-Pacific region and to carry forward Asia’s musical heritage. Beginning with the 3rd Conference in 1975, member countries have taken turns hosting the Conference and Music Festival, working together to foster new music in the region and to pass on Asia’s musical heritage; the League has also become a leading international organization for the research, preservation, and promotion of traditional Asian music.

Fusion and Metamorphosis: 2018 ACL Asia-Pacific Music Festival

“Music is a wonderful vessel of culture: it binds communities together and carries the cultural essence of peoples and nations.” Professor Hwang Long Pan, Honorary Chairman of the Asian Composers League Taiwan, notes that Asia’s cultures are diverse and rich — sometimes crossing a single mountain brings you into another country, with an entirely different culture and music. With members extending from Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia to West Asia and even Central Asia, as well as the participation of Israel and Turkey, the League’s cultural range is more varied than ever. Composers cannot simply regurgitate traditional music; they must be able to “fuse” and then “transform.”

Choral / Vocal Arts Concert

For the Choral / Vocal Arts concert on 21 October, the Taipei Chamber Singers was once again invited as the designated performing ensemble. The program features 11 choral and vocal works selected from submissions across Asia, by composers from Australia, Hong Kong, Israel, Korea, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, and Taiwan, including Professor 呂文慈’s “Om Ah Hum: Song of the Half Mountain” (嗡啊吽之半山謠), based on Hakka mountain songs from Meinong. Three works on the program are world premieres and six are Taiwan premieres.