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A group of musicians in Taiwan has drummed to their beat for four decades. They’re the world-renowned Ju Percussion Group. Members of the ensemble say that percussion music’s primal and rustic appeal brings their music closer to the audience. And for forty years, they’ve touched the hearts of listeners from all walks of life, from concert halls to temple squares. Let’s take a look in our special report.

A large group of people departs from Taipei. They’re members of the Ju Percussion Group, heading to Hualien with a mission.

Earlier, the ensemble was invited to perform in Hualien, but the performance was postponed due to severe flooding from an overflowing barrier lake on Matai’an Creek in a typhoon.

Shovels and buckets are turned into musical instruments into the new arrangement, which kept the audience on the edge of their seats and elicited enthusiastic applause at times. The scene in which members passed buckets to each other showcased the power of unity and mutual support.

Hwang Kuen-yean
Senior member
I hope to bring the joy and passion of music to the audience here. It’s not that we want to do anything great, but just to create a little something to inspire them, so that maybe they’ll have sweet and fuzzy dreams before they go to sleep. I think that would be wonderful.

Wu Shih-san
Senior member
Percussion instruments are very close to the human heartbeat, and drumming is also a human instinct. We love to interact with people through percussion instruments, and we hope that they can get to know music in a relaxed state and become more familiar with music.

This performance in Guangfu Township, Hualien was a collaborative effort by 14 members of the Ju Percussion Ensemble spanning four generations. Among them, Peng Ching-ying, who stood on the stage, is not only a musician but also a teacher in the Ju Percussion Music School system.

Away from the stage, Peng Ching-ying takes the podium, imparting her musical experiences to inspire the next generation.

Before practicing the “Pirates of the Caribbean” theme song, she wants kids to imagine they’re about to sail out to sea. This puts them in the right state of mind to interpret the piece.

Peng Ching-ying
Member
After becoming a teacher, I could finally understand, more or less, how my teachers guided us in class, and what kind of feelings they hoped we could adopt. Actually, I used to get nervous every week before entering the classroom. At times I might not have practiced well enough. So when I’m about to scold students, I would be remember that I used to be exactly like them.

As a kid, Peng was pretty shy. At the age of 5, her mother enrolled her in the Ju Percussion Music School. Slowly, she gained confidence and found her calling.

Peng Ching-ying
Member
I initially chose percussion because I love it. I really find it fun, enjoyable, and gives me a sense of accomplishment. We also go on tours, and we accomplish things together. It’s not just the result that matters, but the process of improvement. I think that has had a significant impact on me. I’ve always wanted to feel these things in a group because I feel that those things are very genuine.

Peng has followed the group for almost 30 years, from pre-school to a full-time member. Among the current 20 members, 7 are “lifelong members of Ju Percussion Group” like her.

Ju Tzong-ching
Founder and Artistic Director
This teaching method isn’t to train performers. Instead, it’s an extracurricular program outside the formal schooling system. It draws on the human instinct to tap and play to connect with music. Later, we discovered that many people have embarked on an artistic path because of this method. So, this process has been going on for 35 years, and 160,000 people have joined over the years. This is something I never expected.

Ju Percussion Group, founded in 1986, is Taiwan’s first professional percussion ensemble. In 1991, it established a teaching system, which later branched out and formed the Ju Percussion Group 2, the Jumping Percussion Group and others. To date, the group has performed in 35 countries and regions around the world, with more than 3,500 performances.

Ju Tzong-ching
Founder and Artistic Director
When I founded the group, it was simply out of love for musi
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