Nearly 500 music lovers squeezed into the auditorium of the 1st Student Activity Center on the evening of November 15 to celebrate NTU's 86th birthday at this year's Anniversary Celebration Concert, "Listening to the Sounds of Taiwan." Originally scheduled to take place under the stars in front of the NTU General Library, the event was relocated to the Activity Center due to drizzly weather. All the same, everyone packed in shoulder to shoulder to enjoy each other's warmth while appreciating the mellifluous sounds of Taiwan.

The lineup featured two excellent campus groups–a five-person brass ensemble from the NTU Wind Band and the NTU Chinese Orchestra–followed by the world-traveled aboriginal Vox Nativa Children's Choir. The two NTU groups put on moving performances, with the intimate pieces of the ensemble contrasting pleasantly with the majesty and beauty of the orchestra. The groups' respective conductors performed with a confidence and generosity that left the audience thirsting for more.

The young members of the main act set about quenching that thirst from the moment they hit the stage. The choir is an internationally-acclaimed group of Bunun aboriginal school children based in Nantou County. Led by their conductor Bukut Tasvaluan, the students demonstrated their talent by performing nine songs, among them a Bunun version of the Happy Birthday Song dedicated to NTU, in a variety of languages and musical styles.

While at NTU, the choir members also took part in special events organized by the NTU Center for the Arts and College of Social Sciences to address educational issues confronting aboriginal and remote communities. First, the children attended a fascinating class on world music and culture, experiencing what it is like to be an NTU student. Then, they participated in the "Sing toward Dreams Symposium on Indigenous Education," where they were given the opportunity to speak about their choir's mission and educational achievements.