| Makers | Yung-Tuan Ku, Che-Sheng Wu |
| Duration | 50 min |
| Part of |
Language no problem
Roots & Identity Future Heroes |
Elbowing your way into the world of classical music
What does it take to become a Grand Percussionist? How do you survive the snake pit, where your best friend is possibly your biggest rival? Two percussionists meet struggle and power in the world of classical music in The Grand Percussionist.
Whether it's realising their Asian parents' dream, fighting to get into a prestigious conservatorium or elbowing your way into building a career for yourself: it's not easy to keep up in the extremely competitive and over-critical culture of classical music. And it's hard to sound the alarm when your superiors exert their power on you. In The Grand Percussionist, Yung-Tuan Ku and Che-Sheng Wu explore these issues through percussion theatre with a slice of humour. They show the obstacles they overcame: from sexism during auditions to intimate and intimidating one-on-one moments with their mentors. Their journey and experiences also prove exemplary for other professions. With their show, Ku and Wu aim to make their audience aware of what negative experiences and psychological pressure can lead to. Because the body remembers more than you know.
"'A wry parody of the league atmosphere in professional circles (...) The opening image is phenomenal.'"
— Theaterkrant
Yung-Tuan Ku (TW/NL) is a percussionist, performer, and maker. She received her classical percussion master degree from the Conservatorium van Amsterdam with cum laude in 2015. After her graduation, she was invited for the artist in residency program (2016-2018) at Studio MAPA Nederland where she developed as performer and maker. She intertwines percussion and mime in her creation. Humour and imagination are the key elements of her work. She likes to surprise audiences with unexpected twists. Yung-Tuan performs with Mimewave, Frisse Oren, Silbersee, Plan-D, Toneelmakerij, Dutch National Opera, Theater Sonnevanck,and Noord Nederlands Toneel +Club Guy&Roni.
Che-Sheng is a Taiwanese-Dutch percussionist, performer, and maker. After finishing his Master education in classical percussion at ArtEZ Conservatory in Zwolle (NL), he explored the art of mime further. He has been specialising himself for the past years in physical theatre performances. Che-Sheng is now an interdisciplinary performer. He is enthralled by the commonality between sound and body movement - the shared quality of musicality. The unusual combination of percussion and mime gives him the freedom to associate with a colourful collection of productions.
| Concept | Yung-Tuan Ku / Che-Sheng Wu |
| Musical advice | Marc Alberto |
| TinCan props | Aart Marcus |
| Video | Che-Sheng Wu |
| Light | Ide van Heiningen |
| Performers | Yung-Tuan Ku / Che-Sheng Wu |
| soundmix | Mattie Poels |
| percussion | Yung-Tuan Ku / Che-Sheng Wu |
Korzo Zaal