Mosquito Music mixes up its
own brand of East-West fusion

--By James Su Translated by Cara Steenstra

In 1997, in a quiet corner of Taichung city, a group of music lovers came together to work diligently toward their musical dreams. The result of their time and musical energies was Mosquito Music.

The five members of Mosquito Music share a love of music and desire to spread its goodness to others. Their talent gives the common impression that they all perhaps graduated from music schools. Surprisingly, however, none of their previous educations have had any musical connections. Rather, Mosquito Music's passion and persistence for musical studies over a long period of time have gained them good results and recognition among music lovers and other residents in their hometown of Taichung city.

The group goes far beyond giving nice performances, as what is most appealing about them is their adventurous arrangements and combinations of Asian and Western musical instruments and music. These include the Chinese flute, Western flute, pan flute, piano, keyboards and other instruments, creating refreshing, lively, mostly-instrumental music that can best be described as an East-West fusion. They play old songs with new arrangements, as well as new songs that give listeners a sense of warmth and familiarity as they enjoy the bright notes of the Chinese flute, flowing melodies from the Western flute, the natural-sounding pan flute and ever-changing piano notes.

Their all-new 2005 album, "Unreachable Love", is filled with poetic expressions and the unlimited scope of imagination.

Mosquito Music is:
Leader Liao Wen-Ci, aka "Mosquito" (Chinese and Western flute): Beneath her good looks is a rich background in music that allows her to both write lyrics and arrange music.

Yang Xin-Yi (piano): Yang hails from the Atayal aboriginal tribe and was born with passion for music. Not only is she a talented pianist, but also an accomplished singer and an experienced choir teacher and director.

Yang Rong-Qiao (flute): Previously a teacher for Yamaha music classrooms and the Ming Dao School of Management Piano and Flute Society, Yang is proficient at the flute and the pan flute.

Wang Xiao-Han (keyboards): Once, Wang almost gave up on music, thanks to tough experiences while studying the piano as a child. However, a lucky coincidence brought Wang together with the rest of Mosquito Music and helped re-ignite her passion for music.

Wu Jia-Bin (pan flute): Still majoring in Environmental Planning and Design at school, Wu became interested in music when his mother gave him a pan flute eight years ago. From his aptitude with that instrument, one would never guess that he has never formally studied music.