There is a widely held belief in the Republic of China that it is a waste of time for the Chinese to learn Western music. Differences of culture and geography, it is said, preclude orientals from achieving any true proficiency in this purely occidental art. The Hwashin Youth String Orchestra, founded in 1976 among a group of amateur musicians led by Chen Chiu-sen, has gone a long way to prove that this opinion is a matter of prejudice rather than prescience. After two years of hard work, the 20-member orchestra demonstrated that it had finally broken through Rudyard Kipling's classic barrier by winning first prize in the string section of the prestigious international musical contest held in Kerkrade, the Netherlands in July. Confirmation of the orchestra's achievement came during a subsequent concert tour in Amsterdam and the Hague, when audiences expressed admiration for the way these young Chinese players had absorbed the techniques and emotional contents of Western music. Conductor Chen was encouraged after his European trip. It was indeed a fitting reward for a career devoted to music. Born in Miaoli in Central Taiwan, Chen practiced the violin since he was a small boy. After graduating from Tamkang College in 1965, Chen went on to study violin, piano and musical theory at the Munich Music College in 1965. He came back to Taiwan in 1969 and taught music for a period before returning to Europe for further studies in the violin and conducting. This gave him the experience necessary to conduct the Taiwan Provincial Symphony Orchestra and later the Hwashin Orchestra, which he founded. A humble and quietly spoken man, Chen said: "A musician should not expect to be rewarded immediately. He should ignore temporary setbacks or even abuse, and devote all his time, sacrificing everything if necessary, to practice. The sowing may take a long time, but the harvest will make it worthwhile."
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