A concert of folk songs from Taiwan filled the Carrie Chang Music Hall on the 53rd anniversary day, and was hosted by the Office of Alumni Services and Resources Development to invite both alumni and faculty. The singers included teaching staff from the Division of General Education and Core Curriculum, Lee Pei-yee Wang hsu-yao, and Philip Shieh. They performed some well-known Taiwanese folksongs and 10 new songs composed by Philip Shieh, which are related to the theme of ‘Taipei, the new old sweet home’. Both new and old songs provoked some fond memories and brought the audience alive. It was an eye-opening experience for the alumni to witness the artistic side of Tamkang.

The concert was supposed to end with a famous folk song a ‘Dark Cloud Covered Sky’; yet, after the song, through the thunderous applause and shouts of ‘Encore’, the performers, Lee Pei-yee, who played the piano, and Wang Hsu-yao, who sang soprano, performed another old song in Taiwanese entitled ‘If we open the window of our heart’ in response to the audience’s encore. The audience was deeply delighted and captivated by the experience, which was manifested in their thunderous applause that echoed through the entire concert hall and beyond.

Philip Shieh, who teaches and composes at the same time, pointed out that the program was designed as a way of evoking solidarity among the faculty and alumni, thus creating a heart-warming experience. The pianist, Lee Pei-yee thought that a concert as such at the anniversary celebration was rare, and therefore she was especially delighted when receiving the enthusiastic reactions and praise from the audience. She hoped to do better at the upcoming “Teacher’s Concert’. Finally, the beautiful voice and animated expressions of the Soprano, Wang Hsu-yao captivated everyone’s heart and brought the whole event to a climax.