Almost 20 musicians – most of whom are TNUA teachers and students who have been beneficiaries of a loan program under which they have been able to borrow some of the world’s best violins and other string instruments in CHIMEI Culture Foundation’s collection – performed Richard Strauss’ “Sextet for Strings from Capriccio, Op. 85,” Julius Klengel’s “4 Pieces for Four Cellos, Op.33,” Julian Milone’s “Fantasy on Bizet’s Carmen for Four Violins & Double Bass,” Edward Elgar’s “Serenade for Strings in E minor, Op. 20,” and Ming-Hsiu Yen’s “Unbounded Bliss for Violin and String Orchestra.”

It was a world premiere of “Unbounded Bliss for Violin and String Orchestra,” which Prof. Yen composed specifically for the concert to pay tribute to a generous businessman who passed away in November 2023 at the age of 95.

Dean of the School of Music Prof. Shien-ta Su conceived of such a concert early this year, and Prof. I-Ching Li was tasked with materializing it.

Prof. Su recalled how Mr. Shi first established ties with TNUA in 2008 when the university marked its 25th anniversary. CHIMEI, which at the time had a collaboration program with TNUA, donated 25 52-inch multimedia LCD displays to the university for teaching, exhibition and performance purposes. In 2010, the Department of Music and CHIMEI struck a loan program under which students and teachers would be able to borrow violins, violas and cellos from the CHIMEI Culture Foundation. Since then, up to 30 students every year – and a total of more than 400 -- have borrowed high-quality instruments from CHIMEI.

In 2017, TNUA conferred an honorary doctorate on Mr. Shi in recognition of his contribution to arts education.

Prof. Su said that for students, playing iconic violins of the world would have been impossible without CHIMEI’s help. He added that many teachers of the Department of Music, including himself, and many other musicians in Taiwan have also been long-term loanees of CHIMEI’s string instruments.  

Prof. Li said she started borrowing violins from CHIMEI when she was a student, and she was excited to have the opportunity to organize the concert.

Prof. Yen said that for the composition of “Unbounded Bliss for Violin and String Orchestra,” she visited the CHIMEI Museum early this year trying to understand what Mr. Shi loved.