The 3rd International Piano Festival for People with Disabilities in Vienna – Taiwanese delegation has outstanding achievement -Ministry of Education Republic of China (Taiwan)

The 3rd International Piano Festival for People with Disabilities in Vienna – Taiwanese delegation has outstanding achievement

Date: 2013-11-18

The 3rd International Piano Festival for People with Disabilities in Vienna – Taiwanese delegation has outstanding achievement

The 3rd International Piano Festival for People with Disabilities, formerly known as the piano Paralympic, is an international festival of piano music performed by people with disabilities. The purpose of this festival is to use the "Piano" as a synthetic language of expression for people all over the world to connect. The applicants may be either amateur or professional. There is no age limit, as long as they love music and are able to perform.

The first Piano Paralympics started in Japan in 2005 and was held every four years. This year, 9 Taiwanese pianists passed the preliminary contest. Ms. Angela Chen, the chairwoman of the Association of the Care of Music Learning for People with Disabilities, Taiwan, accompanied them and their families to participate in this event from November 14 to November 16, 2013 in Vienna, Austria.

This competition has two courses: A & B. Both are for pianists with disabilities; however, their goals are different. Course A is a competition, where the contestants are asked to play compulsory pieces of music, while Course B is a stage where pianists will play works of their own choice within a given time so as to enjoy their performances with the audience.

After 2 days of strenuous competition, Mr. Yung-Kai Ku won the gold award for the group under 18 years of age in course A, and Ms. Fan-Chen Chung won the bronze award for the same category. Mr. Wun-Guei Lyu won the silver award for the group over 18 years of age in course A. In course B, Mr. Shang-Hsuan Lee won the gold award for the autism group, and Mr. Rong-Jian Wang won the silver award for the same category. Ms. Fan-Chen Chung not only won the gold award for the visual disability group, but also won a special prize from the jury. Mr. Rong-Jian Wang was also the winner of special skill prize. Though these participants were hampered by some form of disability, they never gave up chasing their dreams. Their effects reflect the Taiwan spirit!

Photo: Ambassador Chen (middle), Taipei Economic and Culture Office in Vienna, and the 9 delegation members.