Here’s a rare opportunity to hear a percussion concerto – something almost inconceivable only a few decades ago. Jennifer Higdon’s concerto, first performed in 2005, has quickly risen to become one of the most popular works of its kind, and no wonder. “Higdon knows with an impresario’s certainty how to let an audience have fun,” wrote Newsday magazine following the premiere. This American composer is unquestionably one of the brightest lights on the contemporary music scene. Taiwanese-born Cynthia Yeh, principal percussionist of the Chicago Symphony, takes center stage here in Taipei to tap, hit, bang, rattle, rustle, and bonk a wide array of instruments. Conductor Mei-Ann Chen, also Taiwanese-born, opens the program with another American work, one she premiered with the Memphis Symphony (USA), where she was music directorfrom 2010 to 2016. Rachmaninoff’s last composition, the thrilling, superbly orchestrated Symphonic Dances, concludes the program.