Members of the University of California, Los Angeles’ (UCLA) Bruin Marching Band yesterday arrived in Taiwan to perform during today’s Double Ten National Day celebrations.
The group of 127 students and 12 faculty, drawn from the 250-member UCLA ensemble, were greeted on arrival by General Association for Chinese Culture (GACC) members and the government’s National Day Preparatory Committee.
The UCLA band and a wind ensemble from Tokyo University of Agriculture’s Second High School were invited to take part in this year’s National Day celebrations to symbolize Taiwan’s friendly relations with the US and Japan, GACC secretary-general Lee Hou-ching (李厚慶) said.
Photo: CNA
The UCLA Bruin Marching Band is to start its performance today with renditions of Bruin Fanfare and Strike up the Band for UCLA. The latter was written for the university in 1936 by US composer George Gershwin, the GACC said.
The band is then to perform a medley of hits by late US Tejano singer Selena Quintanilla, before concluding with The Mighty Bruin, a song by the Oscar-winning composer Bill Conti, the GACC said.
The UCLA band members are also to travel to Chiayi to tour the Southern Branch of the National Palace Museum, the Cou Veoveoana Cultural and Creative Park and Fengtian Temple, at the invitation of Chayi County Commissioner Weng Chang-liang (翁章梁).
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