How a Small Chiayi Town Built a Youth Orchestra
A unique children's orchestra in the rural town of Budai in Chiayi county is bringing together elementary students from five different schools to perform all across the country. The group faces a critical shortage of music teachers willing to travel long distances, but the young musicians continue to find confidence on national stages.
These young musicians are part of a local orchestra in the small town of Budai in southern Taiwan. Without their instruments, they are students from five different elementary schools, but together, they’re among Taiwan’s youngest touring musicians, performing across the country.
Chiu Chun-chang (Young flautist):
I come from Budai township, and I’m proud of it.
Performing on stage gives me a sense of achievement.
Putting together musical talents and resources for the orchestra is Hsiao Yu-pei, who’s been working to bring arts and music into this rural part of Taiwan.
Hsiao Yu-pei (Chair, Light for Growth):
I came to Budai over a decade ago.
Every year, I try different networks or channels to get to know a lot of art and cultural groups.
I’d bring them to Budai township to perform and have musical exchanges with the kids.
Year after year, you can see the kids changing.
The biggest obstacle: not enough music teachers. Those who stay say few of them are willing to travel long distances to teach in these schools, even with a higher salary.
Huang Kai-chieh (Principal):
I hope rural town children can have equal educational resources.
I hope that as these resources come in they will allow the children to get on different stages, broaden their horizons, and be seen by more people through this opportunity.
With passion and ambition, members and teachers of the Budai Youth Orchestra prove that a small town can make a big hit.
