The 2018 Tainan City Band Festival kicked off with a Marching Band Parade on the afternoon of May 26 at Tavocan Cultural Park. The opening parade of the fourth edition of this annual festival included local groups such as Sinhua Elementary School Wind Ensemble, San-Hsin High School of Commerce and Home Economics Band and Color Guard, Chung Cheng Armed Forces Preparatory School Band and Honor Guard, Dongshi Junior High School Band and Color Guard, Taipei Municipal Jianguo High School Band and Color Guard, Shu-Te Home Economics & Commercial High School Band, Dance, Color and Honor Guard, Tavocan Children’s Songjiang Battle Array, and Black Beauty Dance Association. The parade began at Xinhua Old Street, went through Xinhua City and stopped at Xinhua Elementary School’s sports field for a performance. Mayor Li Men-yen expressed that Tainan is a city that loves wind and band music, and we welcome all band and wind music lovers to come to Tavocan in Xinhua for this wonderful summer musical treat!
Mayor Li remarked that although the weather is extremely warm, it did not dampen the spirits of the participants. He thanked the performing groups and music aficionados for coming and taking part in the opening parade. Wind music and related arts are very popular in Tainan City. Currently there are more than 120 schools in Tainan that have wind bands or orchestras. Xinhua Cultural Center has a resident professional wind orchestra that gives performances regularly, enriching the art and cultural lives of residents. Li also expressed that he hopes this Band Festival, which will present 25 quality performances by 36 orchestras and individuals, will offer an opportunity for participating bands and musicians to interact with each other, stimulate wind orchestra and band music development in Tainan, and encourage Tainan residents to take part in the arts.
Tainan City Government Cultural Affairs Bureau added that Tavocan Cultural Park officially opened in 2015, the same year Tainan Symphonic Band was established. Since the first Band Festival and Cultural Park opening concert, every year the highly acclaimed festival attracts nearly ten thousand visitors. Furthermore, Tainan City successfully won the bid to host the 2020 Asia Pacific Band Festival at the 2017 Pacific Band Directors' Association (APBDA) Conference. This year, as the host of the next edition, Tainan is invited to take part in the Band Festival hosted in Hamamatsu City, Japan, where Tainan Symphonic Band will perform and accept the APBDA flag at the closing ceremony. To celebrate the successful bid, there will be a pre-departure concert given by Tainan Symphonic Band with Daqiao Junior High School Wind Orchestra at Xinhua Performance Hall on July 14 to share this honor and joy with the citizens.
The 2018 Tainan City Band Festival will run from May 26 to September 1 with 36 bands presenting 25 performances. Xinhua Performance Hall will be the performing venue for many outstanding local and international orchestras between May 26 and August 26. We also invited top-notch wind orchestras from Singapore and Hong Kong to perform with famous Taiwanese orchestras on May 27 and July 1. Admission is free for these concerts, though admission vouchers are required to enter the venue. On September 1, Tainan Symphonic Band will be performing with Maestro Philippe Ferro, former music conductor of the band of the Gardiens de la Paix de Paris (the Guardians of the Peace of Paris). Buy your tickets for this concert quick and get ready for an exciting musical delight!