THE MISSING PULSE for Wind Ensemble by JUI-YING (RAY) HUANG (Taiwan, 1990)
- WASBE Marcom
- Oct 13
- 3 min read
[#325] Oct 13, 2025 Taiwan | 2025 | Wind Ensemble | Grade 4 | 8’ | Brief tone poem
Premiered by Taiwan MND Wind Band on 01 Mar 2025 in Taipei, Taiwan
The Missing Pulse, by Taiwanese composer, pianist and artist Jui-Ying (Ray) Huang is our Composition of the Week.
The Missing Pulse was premiered at the National Concert Hall of Taipei, Taiwan, in March 2025, by the Taiwan Ministry of National Defense Wind Band.
The work is structured in four sections performed without interruption, for a total time of around 8 minutes.
They are named I. Heaven’s Mercy; II. Misty Jungle; III. Pulse and IV. Taking Root.
The Missing Pulse is scored for
Piccolo, Flute 1-3, Oboe 1-2, Basson 1-2, Clarinet 1-3, Bass Clarinet, Alto Saxophone 1-2, Tenor Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone; Trumpet 1-4, Horn 1-4, Trombone 1-2, Euphonium 1-2, Tuba 1-2, Double Bass, Piano, Timpani, Percussion 1-4 (Marimba, Suspended Cymbal, Rain Stick, Cabasa, Snare Drum, Cymbals, Bass Drum).
The Missing Pulse is available directly from the composer.
The piece is inspired by the solemn ceremony held in June 2023 at the National Revolutionary Martyrs’ Shrine in Taipei, where, under the auspices of the Ministry of National Defense and Mr. Wang Shao-Zhang, the name tablets of fallen soldiers from the Thai-Burmese lost army were officially enshrined.
Using techniques such as air sounds, vibrato, and unstable overtones, the composer weaves together an abstract soundscape, condensed into pulsating rhythms, to evoke the emotional and atmospheric conditions of that day—when rain poured from the heavens as if grieving, and mist blanketed the landscape. This work narrates how the lost army eventually found a new sense of home after the war, and how they defined a unique identity—marked by solitude, distance, and resilience—that gradually solidified into a heartbeat of its own.
The unresolved questions and reflections left by the Thai-Burmese Lost Army are perhaps already deeply imprinted in our collective memory and life—indelible and enduring.
Jui-Ying says about her music: “my military background is not my topic—it is my structure, my grammar. I don’t write about the army; I write through the lens it has given me.
The “human” rhythmic discipline, the layered simplicity, and the ‘freedom’ marching within music…The tension of the paradox of two: orders and spontaneity/ oppression and release —that’s how I compose.”
“The Missing Pulse does not describe an actual omission of beats but rather draws from the idea of a military pulse — the band evolving from chain-like fragments into a collective heartbeat — to reflect on how loyalty and nationhood persist across distance. Subtle use of air sounds and tremolos in the opening passages colors the sonority with fragility and uncertainty, framing breath as both life-force and vulnerability. Within this sound world, the music evokes a desolate emotional landscape shaped by resilience, solitude, and an enduring love for the homeland. Through contrapuntal build-ups and fractured textures, the work conveys a resonance of something lost yet still remembered” Program Notes by Jui-Ying Huang
Jui-Ying Huang (also Ray Huang), comes from Taichung City, Taiwan. She is a composer, pianist, and multi-artist influenced by military, Asian cultures and film music. Her work is described as: “Sincerely moving, genuine and rich in musicality.”
After graduating from National Sun Yat-sen University (Kaohsiung, Taiwan) and National Defense University (Taipei, Taiwan), she is currently pursuing her music PhD at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance (London, UK) and seeks to express her messages and lively rhythm soundscapes with different forms of musical physicality, tension, and momentum. She works with materials from military, social, and bodily rituals — not as themes, but as internalized grammars. Her music seeks to find a poetic logic within structures shaped by tension of control and freedom.
Having spent years immersed in Paiwan culture—one of the Indigenous peoples of Taiwan—she also draws profound inspiration from traditional Taiwanese and related aboriginal music. In particular, she is captivated by the Lalingedan (double-pipe nose flute, which means 'breath of life’), a unique instrument invented by the Paiwan people.
Her strong motivation is to provide feedback to individuals and the world, those who are creating actual and priceless art.
Other works for winds include
• Be in the Same Boat (2021), for Wind Ensemble
• Unforgettable Times by Gen. Fan (2023), for Wind Ensemble
More on Jui-Ying