After first absorbing European culture and a structured education, Wanchen expanded her interests to include classical Chinese and Taiwanese music. She came to realize that deep inside she had always wanted to leap from her structured conservatory training to freely explore the wider world of music.

“Over the last ten years as I traveled in Europe, studying the music and absorbing Western influences, I became deeply influenced by European aesthetic view points and ways of logical thinking. Then, one day when I was asked about the unique features of Taiwanese music, and what music was sung in Taiwan, I found that I was unable to answer, even though I had been born and raised there.

Coincidentally around that time I was introduced to the production team at Wind’s Music who took me to listen to folk songs created by the Paiwan and the Rukai (Taiwanese aboriginal tribes). They showed me how Hakka eight tunes, Nan-guan and Bei-guan were played. They also opened my eyes to appreciate the Formosa Aboriginal Song & Dance Troupe….. I now realized where my true roots were and I was able to reconnect with my Motherland.”
–By Wanchen Hsieh

When Wanchen Hsieh plays, she seems to become another person. “She is full of dazzling energy as she passionately and completely throws herself into the music. She acts flawlessly, like an angel.” This is how a German Newspaper described Hsieh when she won the 7th International Handel Oboe Competition and became the first oboist from Taiwan to gain this prestigious award. Hsieh studied with the well-known Oboist Burkhard Glaetzner, and received her diploma from the Berlin University of the Arts in 2000. She also completed the Konzertexamen, the highest degree for music performance in Germany. In recent years, she has performed frequently in Taiwan, receiving extraordinary audience response, playing pieces from German, French, Japanese and Korean contemporary music.