Once again, One Song Orchestra has gone on tour, this time in Yilan County. The orchestra, which specializes in Taiwanese music, embarked on a five-day, 15-concert tour on Thursday. One concert of the day was at Guting Elementary School, where they entertained the kids with familiar folk melodies. Through playing on tour, One Song Orchestra aims to bring traditional Taiwanese music to every corner of the country.

Ten string musicians put a new spin on the Taiwan folk melody “Maiden of Alishan.” They move up into the bleachers for some live audience interaction. This is the One Song Orchestra on its sixth grassroots tour. On Thursday, it arrived at Guting Elementary School, playing to a crowd of masked children who hung on to the melodies with rapt attention.

Lee Che-yi
One Song Orchestra musical director
We at One Song Orchestra have always performed the music of Taiwan. We believe this music shouldn’t be confined to big cities and performance halls. It should also flow into the grassroots, into rural areas.

One Song Orchestra takes its music on tour to small towns across Taiwan. Over the past three years, it’s played more than 100 concerts at some of the most farflung corners of the country. For this tour, concerts are scheduled at schools and attractions like National Center for Traditional Arts and Lanyang Museum.

Chuang Hsiu-chuan
Guting Elementary School principal
Today, this wasn’t just about listening to beautiful music. This was also a chance for Guting elementary, Yutian elementary and Dafu elementary as well as Guoling elementary to engage in a music exchange. Activities like this expose the kids to One Song Orchestra as well as the gorgeous sounds of Taiwan.

During Thursday’s event, Guting’s rhythmic gymnastics team put on a special performance for their guests. One Song Orchestra will tour for five days, playing 15 concerts at eight Yilan schools and six local landmarks, to bring Taiwan music to a wider audience.