Ju Percussion Group Ju Percussion Group

Rooted in Taiwan and shining on the world stage, the Ju Percussion Group has continued to maintain its “Moving On” spirit and unique approach to “Blending tradition and modern, balancing East and West.” To date, the group has played in 34 different countries around the world, and cultivated more than 150,000 percussion learners by means of its instruction system. The growth of the Ju Percussion Group is a reflection of the development of contemporary percussion on the island of Taiwan.

In 1986, the Ju Percussion Group met at a hot pot restaurant in Taipei and announced to the world that Taiwan’s very first professional percussion band had been born. When the Ju Percussion Group was first established, most people in Taiwan were unfamiliar with its percussion music genre. Thanks to the group’s activities, however, the Ju Percussion Group soon became a household name throughout the island. In 1991, the Ju Percussion Group introduced its instruction system, which swept the country with its absorbing and authentic teaching format. At present, there are 24 existing percussion music schools around the world.

To lend its performances further variety, the Ju Percussion Group holds three grand concerts every year, and these events serve to demonstrate its creativity, showcase its inherited cultural legacy, and fuse Western and Asian culture. Apart from its concert performances, another feature of the group is its composition of original musical pieces. The Ju Percussion Group is one of the few ensembles with its own exclusive composers, and the group has commissioned the creation of as many as 267 pieces. It invests massive resources in domestic and overseas creation to develop and treasure the voice of this era.

Meanwhile, the Ju Percussion Group is widely recognized and has been invited to various international events such as the “Quartier D’ete, Paris,” “Budapest Spring Festival, Hungary,” “2005 World Exposition, Japan,” and “Chekhov International Theatre Festival, Moscow, Russia.” The group has also performed in Washington D.C., and has served as a cross-Strait cultural ambassador by performing in such different parts of China as Xian, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xiamen, Nanjing, and Hangzhou.

Since 2013, the Ju Percussion Group has been chosen as a “Taiwan Brand Performing Arts Group”. In 2014, the Ju Percussion Group conducted a European tour in Linz, Vienna, Germany, and Hungary, and also performed in the Wiener Konzerthaus for the first time. Throughout this tour, the group received enthusiastic responses from audiences and favorable comments from critics. The unique professional performances of the Ju Percussion Group have successfully captured the heights of the performing arts world and let the world hear the sound of Taiwan.

Based on the vision of bringing the world to Taiwan, and taking Taiwan to the world, JPG has hosted the triennial Taiwan International Percussion Convention (TIPC) since 1993. Over the past two-plus decades, the successful events which were supported by world-renowned percussion ensembles and musicians, the TIPC has become an important venue exploring global percussion trends. To further the spirit of the TIPC, the Taipei International Percussion Summer Camp (TIPSC) was held every year since 1999. And in 2017, the first Taiwan International Percussion Convention Competition (TIPCC) was held in conjunction with the 9^th TIPC.

In 2016, the founder and artistic director of the Ju Percussion Group, Mr. Ju Tzong-Ching, has been inducted by the Percussive Arts Society (PAS) into its Hall of Fame, which is considered the highest honor, representing the international percussion world’s recognition of Taiwan’s achievements in the development of percussion music.

The Ju Percussion Group has grown and developed since its establishment. In recognition of the creativity of youth, the Ju Percussion Group 2 devotes itself to holding concerts for children. The Jumping Percussion Group performs at schools in order to foster the development of future performing talent. The Juvenile Percussion Ensemble recruits learners primarily from the group’s instruction system. Both of these groups display the vitality of percussion music among the younger generations in Taiwan. To date, the Juvenile Percussion Ensemble has established 100 groups throughout Taiwan, and the groups are instructed by members of Ju Percussion Group and members of the JUT percussion instructors’ group.