TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The National Symphony Youth Orchestra launches its fifth annual summer tour, “Dreams Unleashed,” with performances across Taiwan and Japan.
Founded in 2023 by Jun Markl, Music Director of the National Symphony Orchestra, the youth orchestra annually selects nearly 100 talented young musicians from around the world, providing training and touring opportunities. This year’s ensemble brings together young talents from Taiwan, Germany, Japan, Thailand, the US, Spain, the Netherlands, and Singapore.
Following its debut international tour last year in Singapore and Thailand, this year’s NSYO will give five concerts: three in Taiwan and two in Japan.
Taiwan’s schedule includes performances at Miaobei Arts Center in Miaoli on Friday, the National Concert Hall in Taipei on Saturday, and the Kaohsiung Center for the Arts on Sunday. The orchestra will then travel to Japan for concerts at Yokohama Minato Mirai Hall on Aug. 1 and Kunitachi College of Music’s Main Concert Hall in Tokyo on Aug. 2.
A notable highlight of the tour is the NSYO’s first-ever collaboration with members of the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie, one of Germany’s leading youth orchestras.
Under the baton of Jun Markl, the orchestra will present a vibrant program anchored by Sergei Prokofiev’s “Piano Concerto No. 3,” performed by Russian pianist Dmitry Shishkin. The program also includes selections from Prokofiev’s “Romeo and Juliet Suites Nos. 1 and 2” and Richard Strauss’s “Don Juan,” a vivid tone poem composed when Strauss was just 24.
The “Romeo and Juliet” ballet suites are characterized by flowing melodies with a folk-like quality, blending lyricism with rhythmic energy, capturing the emotional entanglements and distinct personalities of the characters in the story. “Don Juan,” meanwhile, offers a dynamic musical portrayal of the legendary figure’s complex character and daring adventures through bold thematic development.
NSO Executive Director Kuo Wen-chen (郭玟岑) said the NSYO, now in its fifth year, continues to evolve beyond a regional ensemble. Its mission focuses on nurturing the next generation of musicians with a global outlook, Kuo said.
Paying tribute to its origins, the tour opens in Miaoli, where the NSYO was established.
