ENSEMBLES 2024

Taipei Municipal Zhongzheng Junior High School

Zhong-Zheng Junior High School (ZZJHS) is one of the best junior high schools in Taipei, Taiwan. Our string orchestra, founded in 1999, is an auditioned group consists of approximately sixty students from the 7th and 8th grade who has 3-6 years of instrumental experiences. It also includes three chamber ensembles: string quartet, piano trio and piano quintet. Under the direction of Shang-Ching Lai, ZZJHS string orchestra has been recognized as one of the top junior orchestras in various competitions. Individual members and ensemble groups have also won solo and ensemble awards at local and national levels. With the dedication to strive for excellence at technical mastery as well as self-expression, the orchestra program consists of small group sessions taught by a group of talented musicians. It also gives students opportunities to perform with classical and modern repertoire in various venues. ZZJHS got the 1st place with Outstanding Success of 2019 Summa Cum Laude International Youth Music Festival in Vienna, and have traveled abroad to several schools in Japan and Australia in the past for musical and cultural exchange programs. They also attended the Australia International Music Festival in Sydney to win the GOLD medal. Following the excellence of previous work, with the pride in performing and the passion in music, this year, these young musicians once again won the High Distinction Award in the National Student Music competition string ensemble as well as piano quintet. We believe music is life. The true music connects people regardless of differences in languages, cultures and ages. With the support from enthusiastic parents and the school community, the orchestra continues its mission to bring live classical music to music lovers on campus, in the country, and over to the world.

Shang Ching Lai

Conductor

From the childhood, Shang Ching Lai started to accept orthodox music education. In 1994, she entered the Department of Music of the National Academy of Art (now Taipei National University of the Arts), and to set up a unique style of performance from the Professor Su Xianda. In 1999, she entered the Music Department of the Taipei National University of the Arts and performed her masterclasses with violinists Midori, Erick Friedman and Chang Wanjun to make the music field more international. During the 2001, she had outstanding achievements that admitted to the Taipei Symphony Orchestra, and the following year to obtain a master´s degree. She is currently the music director and conductor of the Taipei Municipal Zhongzheng Junior High School String Orchestra and the conductor of the Taipei Municipal Dongmen Elementary School String Orchestra. She also serves as the concertmaster of the Bao Jixiang Symphony Orchestra and has performed with Bao Jixiang as a soloist many times. Performances with the symphony orchestra include Saint-Saëns' "Prelude and Capriccio" at the Weiwuying Concert in 2019, Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" Violin Concerto "Spring" and "Summer" at the National Concert Hall in 2022, and 2023 "Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto" at the National Concert Hall.

Competition Program

Additional Concerts Program