Taiwan Superstar – David Chen
David Chen is a man on a mission! He knows the power of the ukulele to touch lives, to help heal lives, to bring people together and to fuel fun! We had the pleasure of getting to know David, and Brian (a super talented and sweet young man who David mentors) while on our recent Hawaiian ukulele tour.
David is almost single-handed making “ukulele” a household word and instrument in Taiwan. Too, he is traveling the world in order to learn as much as he can about this beloved instrument. Our paths crossed via our mutual friend Kimo Hussey.
You can find David via his website. He is president of the Taiwan International Ukulele Association and he has published a book on ukulele (and he is working on his second publication).
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In addition to having a great visit with David, he graciously agreed to an interview with Jay and to share his style of playing on a Lichty ukulele.
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Here is a brief bit of David’s bio …
David Chen is from Taiwan. In 1997 he graduated from York University in Music Technology in UK. When he came back to Taiwan he struggled with selecting a job between the fields of music & engineering. Finally, he chose the career of software engineer.
Five years ago he lost his passion for his engineer job and he prayed to God to help him find a job he could be passionate about. One month later this happened when a doctor asked him whether he was interested in doing music therapy?
As a music therapist David strived to find the best musical instrument for kids. In 2009 he found ukulele and used it in music therapy. He found it helped autistic children to be able to speak – children who could not talk previously. Also he worked as a volunteer teaching youths in jail, working with associations for the blind, and more.
He has found that ukulele has the power to change people and to help make them happy.
David has become a full-time ukulele promoter in Taiwan and within just four years he has more than 2000 students.