Taipei Chinese Orchestra (TCO), the first professional Chinese orchestra from Taiwan, will begin its European tour with a performance at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall in the evening of 15 June. The TCO will perform jointly with Dame Evelyn Glennie, the legendary Scottish percussionist and composer. The performance includes works from Oscar winner Tan Dun’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Northwest Suite, originally commissioned by the TCO.
Since its foundation in 1979, the TCO has staged over 50 regular concerts annually, as well as collaborating with world-renowned music masters, and performing in over 20 countries across Asia, Europe and the Americas. The TCO has won international recognition in recent years for its outstanding performance, with the Swedish BIS Records, a leading record company for classical music in Scandinavia, distributing its albums worldwide. Its Whirling Dance released by the BIS Records in 2009 won the “Jury Award” and the “Best Traditional Music Album Award” at the Taiwan 21st Golden Melody Awards in 2010.
Dame Evelyn Glennie, despite losing nearly all of her hearing by age 12, is the first successful full-time solo percussionist in the 20th-century music history. She has released over 28 CDs and received over 86 international awards to date, including the Grammy. In 2007, she was awarded Dame Commander of the British Empire. Her collaborations with celebrated performers include Kodo, Bela Fleck, Bjork, Bobby McFerrin, Sting, Emmanuel Ax and Kings Singers.
For the performance information, please visit:
http://www.bridgewater-hall.co.uk/performance/18780.aspx
Taipei Chinese Orchestra website:
http://english.tco.taipei.gov.tw/np.asp?ctNode=10876&mp=119042
TCO’s joint performance with Dame Evely Glennie for the 21st Summer Deaflympics in Taipei 2009:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WT_qSPB17Ts
Dame Evelyn Glennie website:
http://www.evelyn.co.uk/evelyn-glennie.html#evelyn-glennie.html
http://www.ted.com/speakers/evelyn_glennie.html
