The 11th China International Choral Festival
The 11th China International Choral Festival was organized by the Bureau for External Cultural Relations, Ministry of Culture, P.R.C. together with the International Federation of Choral Music, China Arts and Entertainment Group, and the National Center for the Performing Arts and was held in Beijing, China. The festival theme was “Voices in Harmony”. The focus is on meeting and sharing the world’s cultures through choral music.
There were 166 participating choirs and nearly 10,000 people in total, which included 135 choirs from 23 provinces and autonomous regions in the mainland as well as 31 overseas choirs covering USA, Australia, Czech, Spain, Romania, New Zealand, Venezuela, South Africa, Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, Korea and Hong Kong. The festival was structured into seven days of activities such as Opening Ceremony, World Choral Summit, International Choral Conducting for Master Class and Workshop, Choral Competition, Concerts, Performance, Closing Ceremony and Awarding Ceremony.
The school choir, YMCA of Hong Kong Christian College Choir, under the vocal ensemble category, performed during the friendly concert, along with the choirs from Romania, Macau, China, Korea and Singapore.
The festival was founded in 1992 and the most prestigious of its kind in China. Renowned choirs from China and other countries attended the festival. We aimed to create ties of friendship among other countries through choral singing. This festival created a venue for the students to expand their horizon.
In the festival, we were able to perform during the friendly concert and participate in the choral competition under vocal ensemble category. The days that we weren’t performing were the most valuable. Those were the days that we had to focus, undergo extensive choral training (“no pain, no gain” so to speak), and learn very important lessons that we will carry on for the rest of our lives. Those were the times that we were able to grow together as individuals and as a family.
The closing ceremony was the much-awaited event of the festival where they announced the winners. YHKCC choir got the Excellent Performance Award.