The Taiwan-based “Ten Drum Art Percussion Group,” renowned for its traditional drumming art, is set to kick off their North American tour by making their first stop at the “Newton Taiwan Day” on May 4th, bringing a thrilling 80-minute performance to the audience.
“We integrate the physicality, musicality, and performance aspects of drumming art into one. Moreover, we incorporate a lot of martial arts movements into our performances, which can be seen during our show,” said Hsu Huai-yu, the artistic director of the Ten Drum Art Percussion Group.
Founded in 2000 by Hsu Shi, the father of Hsu Huai-yu, the group’s mission, as stated on their website, is to “inherit and create Taiwan’s indigenous culture, and promote the inheritance of percussion art,” with the word “Ten” symbolizing overlapping drumsticks, gathering energy from all directions.
Since its inception, the group has evolved over more than 20 years, starting from learning drumming styles from other countries to developing their original drum scores. The group has garnered numerous awards both in Taiwan and internationally. Band leader Hsu Shi has composed over 70 musical pieces, leading the group to be nominated for three major awards, including the Golden Melody Awards, the Grammy Awards, and the American Independent Awards, among other honors.
At 26 years old, Hsu Huai-yu began learning drumming at the age of three and, after graduating from a music institute, now leads the group alongside his brother. The members joining the North American tour are all young individuals, with the youngest being 17 and the oldest 35.
Speaking about the challenges of participating in the North American tour, Hsu Huai-yu mentioned that the biggest difficulty for the group is transporting their large drumming equipment. “However, we have streamlined our setup, bringing out our best and most exciting repertoire. Therefore, this setlist will be performed in a tour spanning 13 locations,” he said. The drums used in their performances are traditional cowhide drums handcrafted by the group’s drum makers and apprentices.
“We bring these traditional Taiwanese arts that represent our cultural heritage to this distant place with the hope of uniting the local residents and fostering our passion for this land. At the same time, we also aim to showcase to our foreign friends through this event how wonderful Taiwan is as an island,” Hsu Huai-yu remarked. After the performance at Newton Taiwan Day in Massachusetts, the Ten Drum Art Percussion Group will move on to their next show in Orlando.
On the evening of May 2nd, the Newton Taiwan Day Organizing Committee hosted a dinner at the Imperial Garden Restaurant in Needham to welcome the Ten Drum Art Percussion Group members who had just arrived. To allow them to taste Boston’s specialties, each member was served a 2-pound lobster along with Boston’s famous dishes such as mussels and clam chowder.
Director of the Overseas Community Affairs Council, Pan Chao-jung, mentioned that this was the first time they had hosted an art group from overseas since his arrival in Boston. “I believe this will bring more exciting activities to our Newton Taiwan Day and move our local residents. I also hope that we can introduce our traditional and innovative cultural performances from Taiwan to the mainstream society,” he said.
That evening, Overseas Community Affairs Commissioners Chen Shih-wei and Guo Jing-ru, Overseas Community Affairs Advisor Feng Wen-luan, and Overseas Community Affairs Promotion Commissioner Chen Yu-ying, and other honorary members of the Overseas Community Affairs were present at the restaurant to welcome the group’s arrival in Massachusetts.
Guo Jing-ru, the chairperson of the Newton Taiwan Day Organizing Committee, warmly welcomed the performance group’s arrival. “Their drumming will certainly bring a resonance to our Taiwan Day,” she said.
On that morning, Chen Shih-wei, who runs a fruit and vegetable business, personally drove his company’s truck to assist in transporting the large equipment for the performance group. He expressed his excitement for the Ten Drum Art Percussion Group’s performance at Newton Taiwan Day.