Pre-opening tour of Weiwuying: See what the vineyard-style concert hall looks like

A guide introduces the Asian-largest pipe organ inside the Weiwuying Concert Hall. (Photo by Lin Hongcong)

A guide flips the reflective wooden panels to demonstrate different acoustic effects. (Photo by Lin Hongcong)

The National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying) is set to open next October. Currently in the final stages of fine-tuning and testing, the Operations Promotion Team, in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture’s experiential education program and in partnership with the Kaohsiung City Bureau of Education, invited 20 music students from elementary and junior high schools for the first-ever tour on the 29th. They visited Taiwan’s only vineyard-style seating concert hall to experience firsthand how the overhead reflective panels affect sound. The children were enthralled and expressed excitement about the official opening next year, looking forward to enjoying world-class performances with their parents.

Jian Wen-pin, the incoming artistic director of Weiwuying, said that when he was a music student, Taipei’s National Theater and Concert Hall had already opened, and everything inside was fully equipped. This time, taking advantage of the final phase of construction at Weiwuying, they are able to fully showcase the behind-the-scenes operations of the performance and concert halls to the children.

Students from ten elementary and junior high schools in Kaohsiung—including Sinyi Elementary, Yancheng Elementary, and Fengshan Elementary—who are learning music, were invited as the first VIPs to take the Weiwuying tour. Guided by professional docents, they entered Taiwan’s only 2,000-seat vineyard-style concert hall, where they observed the Asian-largest pipe organ made up of 9,085 pipes. The organizers also invited three teachers to perform Dvořák’s String Trio live. By adjusting the height of the retractable reflective panels to 17.8 meters, 14 meters, and 9 meters, the students experienced different acoustic effects for various instruments.

Yang Sheng-kai, a fifth-grade student from Yancheng Elementary School, said the facilities in the Weiwuying Concert and Performance Halls left a deep impression on him, especially the building’s fish-like exterior design that reflects strong ecological awareness. Chen Qian-han, a third-grade student and member of the Yangming Junior High School string orchestra, said she has bought tickets to many performances. She noted that the acoustics in the Weiwuying Concert Hall are very different from other venues, and that the massive pipe organ is especially exciting. She is eagerly anticipating the official opening and can’t wait to come and enjoy performances at Weiwuying.

Yang Tzu-pao, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Culture, said that the key concept of “cultural education experience” is “direct engagement.” Children must see and hear things firsthand to truly understand how music varies across different spaces and equipment. With Weiwuying currently fine-tuning, testing, and adjusting its facilities, this entire process offers an exceptional opportunity for cultural immersion—and Kaohsiung’s Weiwuying is the only venue in the nation that can provide such a rare learning experience.

Weiwuying is expected to officially open in October 2018. Chu Tsung-yao, chairman of the National Performing Arts Center, said Weiwuying will be one of Asia’s top-tier arts and cultural venues. He is optimistic that the high-quality programming planned for the future will gradually attract audiences, though he emphasized that cultivating an arts-consuming public takes time and cannot be achieved overnight.

The Weiwuying Promotion Team stated that before the official opening, guided tours of the concert and performance halls will continue. Based on feedback from the students’ visit, the tour content will be refined. Starting from March next year, group reservations are expected to be available, primarily for school groups, especially those with music-related majors or music classes.