I am excited about my upcoming concerts in Taipei and Tokyo this month. I heard about Ecole Café from a Taiwan University student as a potential venue for a toy piano concert while I am visiting. I was surprised to see the quaint venue located close to Daan Park in the middle of Taipei City, right in my parents’ neighborhood. The curator of the venue, Taven, has done a wonderful job bringing unique local musical acts and films to the venue for the last couple of years. She responded to my request for hosting a toy piano show that will take place this coming Monday, March 15 at 4pm.
I am rather ignorant to the contemporary art and music scene going on in Taipei. Taven is so thrilled that there will be a toy piano performance here. I guess it is something that doesn’t exist at all in this country. From a classical music background, it is apparently rare (or unheard of) to see someone that “crosses over” to something less traditional. I was encouraged to hear that there is now a developing art/music scene that has never existed in Taipei city before.
The café is beautifully decorated with interesting antique furniture and a good collection of art magazines, postcards and Asian toys/gadgets. I also have never seen a row of theater seats in a café. We went down a spiraling staircase to see the basement where all of the performances take place. There was a really interesting art exhibit by a Taiwanese artist, Mia Liu. There is also a velvet curtain that drapes over a nice view of a small rock garden. I feel very lucky to be performing in such a unique and eccentric space. Thanks to Taven, I will have the opportunity to present the toy piano to a group of people in Taipei.