Performance: Formosa Quartet – Jasmine Lin & Wayne Lee, violins; Che-Yen Chen, viola; Deborah Pae, cello; Live at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts in Vancouver, BC

About Pasibutbut:

Pasibutbut was commissioned by the Formosa Quartet, who are committed to championing music of Taiwan and pioneering new string quartet repertoire. Pasibutbut is a prayer song for a rich millet harvest from the Indigenous Bunun Tribe of Taiwan. Six to ten of the tribe’s most powerful tribe members perform the song until the group achieves the most harmonious and holy intonation. The Bunun believe that the success of the harvest depends on how harmoniously the song is sung to praise God.

About Wei-Chieh Lin:

“Wei-Chieh Lin, composer (New York, NY) was born in Taichung, Taiwan, and his music has been performed at venues in the U.S. and abroad, including the Gaudeamus Muziekweek, Centre Pompidou, Lincoln Center, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Jordan Hall, and the National Concert Halls in Taiwan. Among the ensembles that have performed or commissioned his works are the Ensemble InterContemporain, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, Taipei Philharmonic Orchestra, Le Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, Insomnio Ensemble, Xasax Ensemble, Makrokomos Ensemble, The New Juilliard Ensemble, the Juilliard Orchestra, the Hudson Symphony Orchestra, and the New York Classical Players Ensemble, as well as members of eighth blackbird and Klangforum Wien. Mr. Lin also has upcoming performances with the Asko/Schoenberg Ensemble, Cadillac Moon Ensemble, Formosa Quartet, and Alarm Will Sound.

Wei-Chieh’s compositions have received awards including the selection for the 2012 International Composer Pyramid Competition, Honorable Mention of the Gaudeamus Muziek Prize of 2011, two ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Awards, First Prizes of the 2009 and 2010 National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan Composition Competitions, the 2010, 2011, and 2012 National Taiwan Symphony Composition Award, and the Palmer Dixon Award from Juilliard. Wei-Chieh has participated in music festivals including the Aspen Music Festival, Wellesley Composers Conference and Chamber Music Center, MusicX Festival, Académie musicale de Villecroze, Domain Forget, Asian Composers League Music Festival, and Foundation Royaumont Music Festival, as well as being an active participant in the Manifeste/Acanthes@Ircam Composition Workshop and a resident at Cité International des Arts in Paris.

Wei-Chieh completed his BM, MM, and DMA in composition with scholarship at The Juilliard School under the guidance of Milton Babbitt.”

– Yellow Barn