As the 21st century moves forward, the boundary between different types of Western modern arts and cultures is becoming increasingly blurred. Various novel art genres that have been invented do not fit cleanly into previous categories. As the emphasis on hybrid and interdisciplinary art forms continues to enjoy popularity, the variety of performance forms and narrative contents is expanding and experimental creative elements are gradually increasing. In Taiwan's modern music market, creators have ample space for self-determination while performers play a supporting role in the performance process. The positioning of roles within this structure has gradually brought about the division of labor in the industry. Audience feedback has slowly started to influence group management, creating a mechanism in which two-way interactions occur between supply and demand.

 

In 2017, the National Culture and Arts Foundation (hereinafter referred to as "NCAF") launched the Taiwan Composers Database project. The database is a compilation of information about composers who received NCAF funding over the years through NCAF grants in the music category—"Creation", "Commissioned Creation" and "Artist-in-Residence". Personal pages are built for composers and their works to not only present the creative results of NCAF's music grants, but also to facilitate mutual exchange between Taiwanese composers and observations on each other's works. In addition, experts, scholars, and critics in the music field have been invited to use the grantee works created in the past as materials for relevant research and writings. It is hoped that various topics in the domestic art and music creation ecosystem can be explored from different perspectives. It is also expected that research will reveal the creation process behind the grantee projects as well as the beneficial results of various artistic and cultural collaborations.

 

In response to the Stage I invitation for experts and scholars to compose study papers, this article examines the projects funded by NCAF between 2017 and 2019, including case studies of commissioned creations in the music category and works by artists-in-residence of music ensembles. Then, the article discusses the creative value generated in the economic structure of Taiwan's cultural and arts industry through the co-existence, co-prosperity, and collaboration between domestic groups in the creative, arts, and cultural sectors as the global cultural and creative industry progresses. The process of producing a performance can be an extended value generated from the collaboration between an individual composer and a group. This reflects the concept of artistic innovation at the time and is further connected to general music listening habits in the industry, which include pleasant music layers, texture, homophony, and audiences' general auditory impression of music.

 

One key to exploring trends in the industry is to let the mode of audience contact and participation indicate the shape of the industry ecosystem and guide market analysis.1  In terms of the level of acceptance for project contents and consumption preferences among audiences, one may investigate and analyze ticketed events, relevant conferences, and workshops organized by private music groups to observe the acceptance in the overall music market. Although the economic and consumption structures of the arts and culture industry are affected by the overall development of society and economy, feedback can still be obtained through various forms of interactions between groups and audiences to discern market benefits.

 

This article will first describe relevant domestic information on the dynamics of the music industry and then focus on case studies in which Western music is used as a medium by organizations. Attention is placed on standard-setting platforms that have been established in the field of music for a long time and private music groups with gradual and steady development: The groups include Taiwan Computer Music Association, a promoter of modern music creation focused on new media; ISCM-Taiwan, a platform that promotes the performance and development of contemporary and modern musical works; TMC Culture and Arts Foundation, an organization that has facilitated comprehensive development in the field of choral music in recent years; and Kaohsiung City Wind Orchestra and Taipei Percussion, two music ensembles with long-term partner composers-in-residence and the capacity to bring about artistic progress. Interviews with the aforementioned platforms and groups were conducted based on their respective role positioning and creative contents. Qualitative research methods were used to explore various challenges in the field of modern music, including commissioned creations, composers'-in-residence role positioning, audience feedback, and supply and demand mechanisms in market management. In addition to summarizing the key points from oral interviews, this article also includes the interviewees' understanding of the past and present of the industry ecosystem. This helps to more clearly examine the value-multiplying productive/creative relationships and cultural industry value that already exist in various musical domains.

 

 

The existing domestic research data on the field of music—including the regular census reports released by the Ministry of Culture—offers a retrospective on relevant reports on the industry environments and consumption surveys of 2005, 2007, 2010, and 2016. To this day, the Ministry of Culture has not conducted regular in-depth research projects on the music industry ecosystem. 2 On the other hand, retrospective surveys that focus more on the overall trends in the field of culture and arts, as well as the analysis and statistics on various activities in the industry, include the Taiwan Music Yearbook of Taiwan Music Institute, National Center for Traditional Crafts. As an effort to promote the Ministry of Culture's policy plan of "Reconstructing Taiwan's Music History", Taiwan Music Institute compiled the annual Taiwan Traditional Music Yearbook from 2009 to 2012, and began inviting experts and scholars from different musical domains to participate in the compilation of Taiwan Music Yearbook's 2018 and 2019 editions. The annual yearbooks are collections of various emerging music activities in Taiwan in their corresponding years, which are also used as materials for observation. Movements in the four major fields of traditional music, artistic (contemporary creations) music, popular music, and interdisciplinary music and other subfields are specifically documented in their corresponding years. Several supporting articles explain the development directions of each field's cultural ecosystem, allowing readers to get an overview of flourishing developments in Taiwan's music field during every time period. ³ First published in 1995, the Performing Arts Yearbook released through the Performing arts redefined magazine issued by the National Theater & Concert Hall, National Performing Arts Center has always been an important publication for Taiwan's performing arts. The Yearbook has been documenting the creations and ecosystemic changes in Taiwan's performing arts industry for many years. Since its revamp in 2004, the Yearbook has been planning and editing its structure based on the concept of being a "reference book". It objectively lists major events and trends in the performing arts field every year in a thematic and event-oriented manner. In summary, official institutions are not able to conduct in-depth periodic studies on a single type of culture or art to produce trend analyses and reports relevant to the industry due to the complexity and diversity of the observed scope, domains, and types of industry trends. Also, due to the difficulty in defining roles, readers have not been able to truly fathom the reality of the progress in the industry ecosystem via official research reports.

 

 

In 2019, Taipei Male Choir commissioned composer Fang-Wei Luo to create Microcosmos. The choir's discussions about the commissioned creation included considerations for ticket sales and the choir's familiar singing styles. Taipei Male Choir has always placed importance on the selection of materials for writing lyrics. Their lyrics not only gracefully contain literary elements, but also maintain a contemporary style and present the theme of love while being expressed through tonal music. For this reason, the composer chose passages from the two volumes of Microcosmos written by poet Li Chen. Microcosmos was inspired by Japanese haiku poems and the two volumes contain nearly 200 short poems. Each poem simply consists of only three lines, but rich imagination and originality are embedded in the text. In the end, the performance version presented by the choir was the third version modified by the composer, which was created using a "quasi-tonality" that alternates between tonic and tonal modulations. Initially, the first sketch was created based on the concept of post-tonal music, but element utilization as well as the difficulty in presenting the timbre were taken into consideration. Then, for the second version, the tonality and timbre were still not well defined, and the obscure sonic palette would not be easily understood by the audience. In the process mentioned above, the commissioned creation served as the means for the composer to guide the singers to be a bridge that facilitates communication between the composer and the audience. This multiplied the benefits of collaboration and demonstrates the value of commissioned creative work.

 

Taipei Male Choir commissioned composer Fang-Wei Luo to create the music score for Microcosmos. The lyrics of the piece are from the two volumes of Microcosmos, a poetry collection by poet Li Chen. The final performance version is the third version revised by the composer after discussions with the choir, expanding the benefits of collaboration through the process of music commissioning.
 

 

Composer Fang-Wei Luo mentioned that there exists a century-long gap between the auditory aesthetics of composers and audiences. The sound textures, timbres, and structures displayed in modern musical works constitute an avant-garde combination. It is unfortunate that Taiwan's music education has made feeble efforts to cultivate basic understanding and learning of modern music among audiences. Most Taiwanese audiences build auditory aesthetics through cultural development. Taipei Male Choir deliberately seeks out collaboration with composers in Taiwan. The choir commissions music pieces with the hope that the process not only serves as an auditory training for choir members and audiences, but also opens up new perspectives on singing. For the most part, general audiences reacted by expressing interest in the presentation of timbre for each male voice type, showing the subconscious opinion that such vocal techniques are difficult. For audience members who are members of other choirs, this commissioned piece is challenging and entails a certain skill level. The choir itself hopes that the commissioned work will be published and hits the store shelves. However, when considering the following: the domestic market has only a few male choirs, the piece requires a high skill level, and other groups likely have low desire to choose the piece, the commissioned work may be regarded as a failure in the context of achieving target outcomes. But in terms of artistry for live performance, technique, and growth, the commissioned work achieved considerable results. Audiences may aptly demonstrate the mental states and physical feelings created by listening to the tension between musical dissonance and resolution. For audiences, modern music creation perhaps resembles more a learning tool. How should these creations be handled so that audiences do not feel intimidated by modern music?

 

Founded 23 years ago, TMC Culture and Arts Foundation began with cultivating male choirs. During recent performances, choir members have been reflecting on a few questions: what cultural values can be created through choral work? What makes the interactions between individuals and society relevant? What sort of messages and perspectives do music performances intend to convey to audiences? This reflection process resulted in the following works, which are recent examples of creations relevant to current issues: The 2014 Sunflower Student Movement, the Hong Kong anti-extradition bill protests which started in 2019, discussions on the human pursuit of equality and harmony are some topics that have inspired the choir to commission the rearrangement of Island's Sunrise, a song created by independent music band Fire EX for the Sunflower Student Movement. As COVID-19 shrouded the world this year (2020), the choir explored two topics through new works—the relationship between humans and the Earth, and the news of a pregnant elephant being fed a bomb in Kerala, India. This led to the making of a choral adaption of the song Happy Paradise. It is hoped that the choir's performances will bring attention back to important messages about cherishing our living and social environment. Moreover, the choir often receives new, boundless ideas from audiences, which then come into fruition through serendipity. For instance, the Taipei Male Choir & Ringmasters Barbershop concert held at the National Concert Hall in 2019 received enthusiastic acclaim, which led to the development of an upgraded barbershop concert in 2021.

 

The publication of creative works is a crucial contributor to the robust development of the domestic ecosystem for choral ensembles. A reason for this is the emergence of Pana Musica International Co. Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Pana Musica") in recent years, which has provided great support in the establishment of a system for choral pieces. It has fostered the development of Taiwanese choirs and the diversity of concert project execution. Another reason is that many Taiwanese choral groups, including Taipei Chamber Singers, TMC Culture & Arts Foundation, Formosa Singers, and Taipei Philharmonic Chorus, have been tenaciously working on the important undertaking of publishing modern choral works. Such underlying support has allowed both amateur and professional choirs to easily select the pieces they wish to perform through the aforementioned channel, which also reflects the general market demand for new works. In turn, the Taiwan Composers Database established by NCAF includes original and commissioned choral music. For these works, the composer's initiative contributes to the creative concept and aesthetic development to a high degree, and a smaller proportion of creative elements are influenced by market orientation.

 

Presently, only few existing commissioned choral works have eventually been published and started selling in the market. Before Pana Musica emerged, there were very few Taiwanese choral works, so most choirs could only find choral music through the Internet or foreign publishers. Consequently, for a long time in the past, choirs only performed foreign music. However, since the emergence of Pana Musica, it has been observed that the number of Taiwanese choral pieces increased from around 20 works at the beginning to 400-500 works presently. This has influenced the content of choral performance planning and gradually expanded the proportion of domestic works chosen for performance.

Furthermore, in the context of domestic subsidy distribution, professional groups supported by government resources actively take more initiative in inviting composers to create original works in comparison to average small ensembles. Generally, smaller ensembles unassisted by subsidies are unable to use commissioned music as the central part of a project due to factors such as budget, professionalism, choir members' skills, and overall business considerations. However, the reality of commissioned music is that a market-orientation approach is more or less adopted when the creator is faced with the self-evaluation of a modern-style work, requirements associated with choir members' style and techniques, and whether the work can strike a chord with audiences in alignment with the ultimate goal. In the end, as a commissioned creator, the composer is required to strike a balance between artistic expression and popular taste.

 

 

"Sound art" is a foreign term that first appeared in Taiwanese art magazines in the late 1980s. After all, sound creation is a type of auditory abstract art and providing visual aids for it is difficult. Without seeing the cultural context of sonic art and without live performances or audio recordings, it was difficult to interpret the sounds lying behind the texts. Coupled with the fact that very few people in Taiwan had experienced sound art, the term was just an ambiguous new type of art at the time. 4 In 1992, Taipei National University of the Arts founded the Research Center for Technology and Art, Taiwan's first research institution that focused on the field of technology art. Later, as an effort to build the foundation for the development of the research center over the following years, the Master Program of Arts and Technology was founded in 2000 to cultivate talents in the domain of technology and art integration. At the turn of the century, Taiwan was also influenced by the international trend of new media art, which was receiving increasing attention and favor of government bodies, arts and cultural groups, and artists year by year.

 

With regard to academic music creation in Taiwan, when the Taiwan Computer Music Association was established in 1999, most of the members at the time had learned Western academic music making approaches and concepts, and after they returned to Taiwan, they have attempted to use the association as a powerful performance platform to foster the aesthetics of progressive experimental electronic music, up until today. Today, the development of the new media art music ecosystem can be clearly separated into several aspects: Firstly, the commercially driven aspect puts focus on enhancing audiences' overall sensory entertainment experience through the improvement of technology hardware. Secondly, the visual art sector incorporates elements such as noise, aesthetics, techno music, and electronic music with visual sensory stimuli to create audio-visual performances and exhibitions. Thirdly, when academic music cultivated through classical music principles is integrated with new media elements to create a piece, the work is generally developed with mastery of music composition's essential structures, techniques, and textures.

 

Technology is one of the key parts in the creation of new media works, but it should be guided more by a humanistic spirit. When technology utilizes cultural characteristics in sound development, the sounds produced are more infused with local elements. For example, in Electric Connection—Cross-Strait Electronic Interactive Music Commission Creation Project organized by the Taiwan Computer Music Association in 2018, commissioned composer Pei-Fen Huang's work Lang Lau is a quadraphonic electronic music piece that draws inspiration from Taoist rituals in Taiwanese folklore and customs associated with funerals in the early times. Back then, to become a Taoist priest, one first had to learn to perform a type of funerary ritual consisting of a series of acrobatic stunts, called lang lau in Taiwanese Hokkien (nong nao in Mandarin). Quadraphonic sound is used throughout the piece to produce the effect of phase shifts and create connections between moving sounds. The piece including contains more than 30 effects including the shifts of one part and the concurrent shifts of multiple parts. It attempts to depict Taoist masters' performance of bagua (a type of Chinese martial art) and recreate the dynamic process in a sacred ritual space.5  

In recent years, innovative works from the new generation have had the intention to break through frameworks of the past and display original creative styles through new forms. They consist of collaborations between various art fields, such as visual art, theater, and dance, or contemporary music theater productions that portray a sonic philosophy. The current situation of common electronic music works in Taiwan is discussed in the interview with composer Chao-Ming Tung. Intending to be different from creative structures and techniques used in the past, new media are applied sparingly and put together using montage to produce a finished piece. It is an attempt to create works that meet the expectations of the wider public, but the creation no longer has the artistry that a music piece should have in itself. When a creator does not take a step further and think reflectively, their work will only be reduced to the utilization of strong elements to cover up the weak ones, a complementary interdisciplinary work. Interdisciplinary creations should aim to do more than merely using different art forms in a complementary manner. Perhaps Wilhelm Richard Wagner's concept of "Gesamtkunstwerk" can be incorporated in the creative process to assist the consideration and structuring of a total artwork's core value. For a new media music composition to become a language for the composer's self-expression through autopoiesis, it must stretch into various directions that form complex auditory structural layers. Only in this way can a unique style emerge from conflict.

 

 

 

Domestic music promotion platforms, including ISCM-Taiwan, Taiwan Computer Music Association, Shuanghsi Music Forum, and Asian Composers League-Taiwan National Committee, have been focusing on playing the role of advocates of academic modern music creation. This mission has already gradually blurred the boundaries of the platforms' creative developments under the influence of today's trend of creative development through interdisciplinary collaboration. However, it is observed there is a high degree of overlap between the main focuses and role division of various non-governmental music platforms, as well as among the contents of public organizations' projects. Contemporary music appreciation is a concomitant value of highly professional academicism and artistry. There are more barriers to appreciating contemporary music than appreciating popular music. Facing the reality of operating in the market, a large proportion of income sources depends on the long-term investment and cultivation facilitated by resources in the public sector, which are consequently essential to maintain the visibility of contemporary music in the industry ecosystem. This fact leads to another issue by switching perspectives. Regarding the future of Taiwan's modern music industry ecosystem, how can resources in the public sector be invested to assist the expansion of market value? What can be done to form a positive investment cycle that generates momentum for new developments and stimulate possibilities for various potential projects?

Looking at ISCM-Taiwan as an example, when it carried out modern music promotion programs, it proposed comprehensive planning and curation, but the current organization configuration of ISCM-Taiwan is faced with the predicament of being unable to support the required manpower and financial allocations. Furthermore, potential audience development, pressure of promoting ticket sales, and anxiety associated with the decline of Taiwan's capability in creating original music are some long-standing issues faced in the development of Taiwan's modern music industry ecosystem. As a creative platform, the role, responsibility, and mission of ISCM-Taiwan are even more important in today's music environment. On the other hand, even though ISCM-Taiwan is a member of the International Music Council (IMC) founded by UNESCO, development in the international domain still faces the pressure and various obstacles imposed by China. Despite the desire to engage in overseas interactions, ISCM-Taiwan's ability to expand internationally is limited. Consequently, ISCM-Taiwan deliberately cultivates the domestic market. In addition to providing composers with a platform to display creative works, ISCM-Taiwan assists in developing opportunities for domestic performers to interpret modern music. Attempts are also made to invite foreign composers to come to Taiwan and share ideas, expand Taiwanese musicians' horizons, and exchange ideas on creative aesthetics and concepts with Taiwanese composers. Another aspect of reality in the current music market is that non-governmental enterprises' decisions on who or what to sponsor are dependent on the brand value of a soloist or institute Such sponsorships aid in achieving high visibility and high profitability in a short period of time. However, due to the lack of professional understanding about the value of music itself, the enterprises are unable to interpret the important meaning of modern music in the development of Taiwanese music.

ISCM-Taiwan and other similar domestic platforms play a key role in the promotion of modern music creation. In addition to serving as a platform for information dissemination and regular publications of international creative work submissions, they host music festivals to enable exchange of professional ideas between composer and performer members. These efforts facilitate continuous development of domestic modern music. Take different projects for the 2017 and 2019 Taipei International New Music Festivals as an example: In 2017, under the guidance of Director Ting-Yi Ma, Professor Wenjing Guo—the chair of the Composition Department of the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing—was invited to be a composer-in-residence for the festival and share his personal experiences and creative knowledge. For the solo series, pipa performer Hui-Kuan Lin arranged a pipa solo, duet, and trio, which included the world premiere of Breath II by Ya-Ting Lee. Selected works by domestic composers, including Ling-Huei Tsai, Chao-Ming Tung, and Mei-Fang Lin, were also presented. In Taiwan's current environment, this pioneering project was the first to plan an entire concert with only contemporary solo pipa pieces. It was not only a good opportunity for performers to take a leap and meet the challenge of interpreting contemporary works and their musical aesthetic, but also an excellent occasion to demonstrate the necessity and cultural significance of the contemporary works in this age. Furthermore, commissioned creation was the central focus of the music festival, and music pieces by domestic composers were premiered in two projects: A Spectacular New World and New Voices of Youth. The following composers were commissioned compositions: senior composers Hwang-Long Pan and Chin-Yow Lin; middle-aged composers Ching-Wen Chao, Ching-Yu Hsiau, and Cheng-Wei Lee; and young composers Lily Chen and Hao-Yuan Chiu. The festival also collaborated with the Association of Vocal Artists of R.O.C. in organizing the 2017 Modern Vocal Music Recital, at which new works by Deh-Ho Lai and Chia-Lin Pan were performed by domestic singers. These series of performances of modern works revealed several features about creators from different generations, including the conceptual development, imagination and execution, life philosophy, and thorough understanding and interpretation of poems reflected in their musical works. They hold aesthetic characteristics that align more with creators' personal thoughts and ideas.

 

 

 

The breakthrough and change made by ISCM-Taiwan in 2019 was the result of suggestions from many Taiwanese performers on content planning. The current chapter president, Chia-Lin Pan, started various dialogues at the Taipei International New Music Festival through connections with diverse platforms. The planning approach for the music festival of 2019 was opposite to what was done previously. Instead of looking at composers as a starting point, the focus was on creating new auditory dimensions for audiences (the third party) through radical change and the concertato medium (involving performers' perspectives). On the other hand, as organizations worked in cooperation, composers concurrently acted as curators. Studio Acht, under the leadership of Fang-Yi Lin, and JU Percussion Group worked together to make necessary arrangements for the production of performances centered on composers.

 

 

Taipei Percussion has always adhered to the core spirit of promoting classical-style percussion music. In recent years, the ensemble has made adjustments and incorporated innovations in music projects to line up with market development. In addition to considering audiences' listening experience, performers' ideas are taken into account, all while continuously upholding operational goals and values. Percussion music generally receives higher market acceptance domestically than other types of music. Most adults or children have a basic knowledge of percussion music directly gained from the tapping of everyday objects. Therefore, percussion ensembles differentiate their audience groups through different projects, such as concerts for children or performances that can be enjoyed by the general public. Taipei Percussion wholeheartedly promotes further innovation of academic music. The ensemble attempts to arrange well-known classical works into percussion ensemble pieces and enable audiences to understand the diverse sounds and forms of presentation of the music. In fact, every group in the percussion music market has unique characteristics and they differ from each other to a relatively high degree. For instance, business directions that focus on theatrical styles or modern music allow audiences to gradually establish auditory aesthetics, recognize brands, and make consumption choices. Recently, the themes of Taipei Percussion's performances are planned according to the seasons. For example, in spring, the ensemble tends to present large-scale productions catered to the wider public's preferences; in winter, it is likely to produce small-scale concerts based on arrangements of iconic classical pieces. This not only allows audiences to choose between programs, but also maintains the artistic quality of each performance. While Taipei Percussion's business values are not completely market-oriented, the group creates new possibilities in every project without fail. Perhaps not everything presented can be accepted by audiences right away, but it is possible for understanding of innovation to be gradually established.

 

For Taipei Percussion's The Egoists Ⅲ—Percussion Concerto Night, composer-in-residence Ting-Chuan Chen was invited to plan the entire concert and compose and arrange all music for it.
 

 

Kaohsiung City Wind Orchestra was founded with the spirit of promoting the art of wind music. The group engages in diverse project planning, which includes concerts of academic wind music, arrangements, and movie and anime soundtracks. Its purpose is to promote and establish a strong foothold for wind music, with the hope of bringing more audiences into concert halls to get to know wind music. In the early days, most of the performances in the field of wind music were arrangements, as there were few choices of original compositions in the market. Arrangements of symphonic music are rarely selected for the concert programs of Kaohsiung City Wind Orchestra. The arrangement for wind parts and the presentation of sound qualities are taken into consideration, and the result presented by the ensemble may not necessarily surpass that of a symphony orchestra. The exceptions for this include themed concerts that are relatively more popular, such as concerts of movie and anime soundtracks. In recent years, original works of wind music have been increasing in number, enabling program contents to be planned according to different audience groups: Firstly, audiences who like listening to classical symphonic music may not necessarily enjoy wind music concerts; therefore, the main target audiences of Kaohsiung City Wind Orchestra are concert bands in the same field, including societies, student clubs, wind musicians in training, and wind music enthusiasts. Secondly, movie or anime soundtrack-themed concerts are organized for the wider public; such concerts are used to attract the general public in order to inspire interest in wind orchestra concerts that hold more artistic elements. Thirdly, seed-planting programs are implemented to cultivate understanding of wind music in children; such programs include inviting primary schoolers to watch performances at concert halls, giving them the opportunity to learn about wind music and cultivate their interest in it. Kaohsiung City Wind Orchestra's guiding business principles focus on attaining a balance between artistic and commercial orientations. The orchestra primarily uses compositions that are well accepted by the public to actively foster people's familiarity with music, and long-term business plans to generate ticket sales are implemented through the process of fostering people's interest in music. Income derived thusly is then used for concerts that are more artistic in style. Performing original wind orchestral pieces is one of the key purposes of Kaohsiung City Wind Orchestra, because the musical capabilities developed this way are especially significant in enhancing orchestra members' performance skills as well as establishing the group's core values. Furthermore, in addition to inviting foreign wind music experts to come to Taiwan and share knowledge with orchestra members and audiences, Kaohsiung City Wind Orchestra promotes domestic original wind music, too. Led by the orchestra's composer-in-residence Hsuan-Hung Chou, the orchestra integrates characteristic elements of different cities in Taiwan into the creation of music; however, it takes time for this type of project to come to fruition and cultivate the target audience. Japan, a nearby country with a relatively mature wind music market, can be compared to Taiwan. Japan's thriving industry is able to produce thousands of original wind music compositions every year. Japan's strategies include making domestic original wind music works compulsory for music competitions. Perhaps relevant organizations in Taiwan can adopt a similar method when organizing music competitions as an attempt to improve the overall morale of the wind music composition field and foster positive development.

 

The role of composers-in-residence, collaboration methods, and job tasks in orchestra organizations vary according to their different business directions. For example, Kaohsiung City Wind Orchestra invited Hsuan-Hung Chou to be the composer-in-residence with the hopes that he would compose original works, make arrangements, and be responsible for contacting foreign guest conductors and musicians. The orchestra is trying to expand avenues of foreign development and expects to bring the orchestra and original wind music creations to foreign markets in the future. Hsuan-Hung Chou has also dedicated himself to education. He not only gives pre-concert talks, but also goes into schools to help students learn about wind music. These different aspects of work are business goals and the mission of promoting wind music derived from the additional space given to the composer-in-residence by the orchestra. To Hsuan-Hung Chou, the multiple hats he wears as composer-in-residence enable him to exchange knowledge on music with students, audience members, foreign musicians and more. His multi-faceted work model also helps to enhance his experience and growth. Taipei Percussion, on the other hand, has been tenaciously promoting modern percussion works by domestic composers for a long time. The ensemble has gradually developed teamwork chemistry with composer and percussionist Ting-Chuan Chen. In addition to arranging and composing for the percussion ensemble, Ting-Chuan Chen took on the role of concert producer in order to enhance Taipei Percussion's development, and more ideas have been sparked in its project planning.

 

The Kaohsiung City Wind Orchestra invited composer Hsuan-Hung Chou to be their composer-in-residence, who not only creates original compositions but is also given multiple roles with different responsibilities. Picture: Pre-concert talk presented by the composer at the 2020 Brilliant Sound—KCWO 8th Anniversary Concert.

 

 

The purpose of creating music is to generate discussions and resonance through the process from performance to audience reception 6. Consumer networks are generated by music that later on can be repeatedly performed to and listened by wide audiences. In other words, perhaps creators can penetrate the landscape constructed by the market and media and think about the auditory needs of today's audiences, so as to create musical works that feature styles of this era. This article explores the current state of the industry ecosystem by discussing commissioned creations and artist residencies funded by NCAF. Besides examining musical works created between 2017 and 2019, interviews and interviewees' opinions are used in the article as the basis for further discussions about issues of resource distribution and whether music grants should be independently planned and individually funded. Furthermore, relevant Taiwanese institutions in the public and private sectors are unable to effectively join forces and repeatedly carry out similar promotional work. It is worth for such organizations to review and reorganize resource allocation. The Taiwan Composers Database of NCAF is highly anticipated by domestic composers. People are looking forward to the expansion of the database's scope of collected data as well as the optimization of the search function's backend settings. Cooperation with the Taiwan Music Institute can also be considered to avoid overlapping resource allocation and facilitate data integration and connection.
 

 

 

 

 

*Translator: Linguitronics