The Taipei Philharmonic Orchestra (TPO) will travel to Fukushima with a string quartet formation to perform in a memorial concert at the Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster Memorial Museum in Fukushima on March 11.
The TPO founder Lai Wen-fu (賴文福) said this concert is a testament to the stout friendship between Japan and Taiwan. After the 2011 earthquake and Fukushima nuclear accident, Taiwan raised over NT$10 million ( US$ 317 thousand) for post-disaster reconstruction. Lai said he and members of the Shilin Rotary Club combined fundraising efforts. Lai hopes to convey cross-national friendship through music, having visited Fukushima on many occasions and seen its recovery.
Lai said the TPO will also hold a concert at the Suntory Hall in Tokyo before moving forward to Fukushima. He said this concert will premiere composer Yiu-Kwong Chung’s (鍾耀光) "The Legend of Mazu" in collaboration with the Huazhou Yuan Glove Puppet Theater to showcase a symphony of auditory and visual elements.