Taiwanese percussionist to perform 43 instruments in U.S. concert

Taipei, Feb. 18 (CNA) Taiwanese percussionist Wu Pei-ching (吳珮菁) will play 43 instruments in a guest performance with the Portland Symphony Orchestra in the United States on Feb. 25 after months of practice that she described as a "rewarding" challenge.

"I have been practicing the piece since mid-2023. The concerto was composed to demonstrate new sounds and rhythms not usually associated with percussion," Wu told CNA on Friday, referring to the piece she will perform, American composer John Corigliano's "Conjurer."

Wu first received the invitation from the orchestra based in Portland, Maine in January 2023 to join it and guest conductor Marco Parisotto in a performance of the Grammy and Oscar-winning composer's only percussion concerto, she said.

The 35-minute piece requires a solo percussionist to play 43 instruments corresponding to the titles of its three movements -- Wood, Metal and Skin -- according to the orchestra's introduction to the concerto.

The 43 instruments range from a marimba, wood blocks, glockenspiel, and tubular bells to various drums, including a "talking drum," an hourglass-shaped West African instrument Wu had never played before but that has an important role in the third movement, she said.

"In Corigliano's composition, the 'talking drum' is not played with a stick or under one's armpit, but with the hands and between the legs. It's very difficult because each leg has to play it to a different rhythm," Wu said.

According to Wu, all three movements of the concerto start with the percussionist going solo before the orchestra begins playing.

Wu, a senior member of the Ju Percussion Group, spent the recent Lunar New Year holiday rehearsing the piece at the music group's headquarters in Taipei rather than returning to Taichung to spend the break with her family, she said, and it was time well spent.

"I think I finally kind of feel like I've got it," she said.

Parisotto, artistic director of the Ontario Philharmonic in Canada, said he had never heard Wu play, but many of his colleagues recommended her, so he began listening to her works.

The Montreal native said he was drawn to the emotions and exquisite musicality expressed in Wu's performances.

The concert Wu will perform in as a soloist is titled "American Beats," and it features other "uniquely American compositions," including Leonard Bernstein's "Overture to Candide," Aaron Copland's "Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes" and George Gershwin's "Catfish Row: Symphonic Suite from Porgy and Bess," according to the orchestra.

The concert will take place at Merrill Auditorium in Portland, Maine.