【人物】 鍾耀光
｜作曲家、擊樂家｜
鍾耀光，1956出生於香港，從小即接觸廣東音樂以及香港商業電臺播放的古典音樂。1977入美國費城演藝學院，之後再入紐約市立大學主修打擊，1982年獲碩士學位。1986年以自修創作之大型打擊樂作品《兵車行》，竟獲得美國打擊樂協會（P.A.S.）作曲比賽冠軍，於是決定轉往作曲發展，1987年赴美國紐約市立大學，師事Robert Starer與David Olan學習作曲，並於1991、1995年分別取得打擊與作曲博士學位。他的作品在以西方作曲技法為基礎之下，常融合了中國哲學思想與人文情懷，亦常運用西方現代音樂技法結合科技，製造前衛的音響與效果。2007年鍾耀光接任臺北市立國樂團團長後，本著「新思路」的理念，與具有知名度的國外獨奏家合作，創作西洋樂器與國樂團合奏的作品，並且在其中注入民族音樂風格，將國樂演奏的能見度推向國際。
Born in 1956 in Hong Kong, Chung was introduced at a young age to Cantonese music and classical music through commercial radio programs in Hong Kong. In 1997 he was admitted to Philadelphia College of Performing Arts and later on to City University of New York, where he majored in percussion and got his Master of Music in 1982. In 1986, his percussion work Ode on An Army Procession, created during his self-study period, surprisingly won 1st prize at the P.A.S. composition contest, and he decided to shift track to composition. In 1987, he went to City University of New York to learn composition from Robert Starer and David Olan and received PhD in Percussion in 1991 and PhD in Composition in 1995. His musical works feature Chinese philosophical ideas and humanistic sentiments built on the foundation of western composition techniques, and he often blends western musical techniques with modern technologies to create avant-garde sounds and effects. In 2007, Chung became Director of Taipei Chinese Music Symphony and, based on his concept of New Thought Road, began to work with renowned soloists in Taiwan and from abroad and to compose musical works that incorporate western musical instruments as well as a style of national music into Chinese Music Symphony, thereby uplifting the international visibility of Chinese music performances.
