The JU PERCUSSION GROUP (JPG), founded by percussionist Ju, Tzong-Ching in January 1986, comprises 16 talented percussionists, and the group devotes itself to performance, education and percussion promotion. JPG has become known worldwide for its innovative blends of the East and West, traditional and contemporary. The members possess transcendental virtuosity in playing Western Percussion instruments as well as Chinese gong-drum music and other forms of traditional Asian music. Through more than 2,500 domestic and international performances it has greatly expanded Taiwan’s presence on the international percussion map. To date, the group has played in 28 different countries around the world, and at the same time it has cultivated more than 120,000 percussion students by means of its instruction system. Besides, the group has been commissioned to create as many as 188 pieces so far. The impressive growth of JU Percussion Group is a reflection of how contemporary percussion develops in Taiwan.

The group is widely recognized and has been invited to various international events occasions such as “Quartier D’ete, Paris”, “Budapest Spring Festival, Hungary”, “2005 World Exposition, Japan”, and “Chekhov International Theatre Festival, Moscow, Russia”. Besides, the group has also performed in Washington D.C, USA, and has toured Australia and Canada. On the other hand, JU Percussion Group has always been a cultural ambassador across the Strait, performing in different provinces of China like Xian, Beijing and Shanghai.

Founder & Artistic Director: Ju, Tzong - Ching

Ju, Tzong-Ching has played a significant role in enhancing the wide interest in percussion music in Taiwan over the last two decades, and the popularity of percussion music in Taiwan owes a great deal to Ju for his pioneering efforts in music education. Upon graduating from the National Taiwan Academy of the Arts, Ju continued his percussion studies at Hochschule fur Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Vienna with Walter Veigl and Richard Hochrainer, former principal percussionist of the Wiener Philharmoniker.

Upon returning to Taiwan, Ju served as the principal percussionist of the Taiwan Symphony Orchestra. He founded Taiwan’s first percussion ensemble, the Ju Percussion Group (JPG), in January 1986. Three years later, the Ju Percussion Group Foundation was formed to handle JPG’s administrative affairs. In 1992, Ju established the Ju Percussion Music School, the first domestically-developed percussion education system and the fastest channel to promote the percussive arts in Taiwan.

Ju, Tzong-Ching received a Youth Medal in 1983, and in 1988, he was named one of the Ten Outstanding Young Persons of Taiwan. In 2009, the Percussive Arts Society (PAS) has awarded Ju the 2009 Lifetime Achievement in Education Award. Ju was the Director of National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra and the Artistic Director of the National Chiang Kai-Shek Cultural Center R.O.C., National Theatre and National Concert Hall, from 2001 to 2004. He currently serves as the president of Taipei National University of the Arts and as a professor in the music department.

"The Ju Percussion group...has eager, active and highly competent performers.”

- The New York Times

"The Ju Percussion Group has dramatically increased percussion education and done an outstanding job of informing the public about percussion music.”

- Percussive Notes

"The Ju Percussion Group is marked by outstanding musicianship and disciplined playing, ...Their personalities come through, adding greatly to the enjoyment of the show.”

- Lawrence Journal-World