Asian ensembles strike a chord at World Choir Games

Auckland has been awash with song over the past week as more than 11,000 participants from over 40 countries have gathered in New Zealand's largest city to compete in the 2024 World Choir Games.

Approximately 250 choirs are competing in 52 categories.

Choir groups from Asia make up almost half the participants, with 78 teams coming from China, nine from Hong Kong, nine from Taiwan, and 22 spread across other countries and territories in the region.

The Asian groups bring a diverse range of choral music to the performances.

Founded in the 1950s, the 68-member Diocesan Girls' School Choir from Hong Kong participated in the champion youth choir competition at Auckland Town Hall on 11 June.

Grace Chiang, conductor of the choir, said the team prepared four songs with different elements and choral styles for the competition.

The setlist included a collection of Chinese poems by composer Chen Yin that was based on two Tang Dynasty pieces - "Ascending Stork Tower" and "Quiet Night Thought" - alongside traditional folk song arrangements performed in Mandarin.

Chiang said the choir's performance was a blend of Western and Eastern cultures, offering the audience an enriched audio experience.

"It's a musical language that combines very interesting Chinese poetic elements with a little bit of Chinese folk music but uses Western harmony or sonata effects to present it," Chiang said. "Hopefully, this will give us a niche to introduce ourselves."

Chiang was eager to hear other performances and enjoy the diversity of music and culture during her stay.

"You can see great diversity in the presentation," she said. "It's very nice to be able to come together in one place to see so many different [music] sources and influences from around the world."

The World Choir Games has been held every two years since 2000, with organisers forced to postpone the 2020 and 2022 competitions by 12 months due to Covid-19.

Shanghai Xinyue Women's Choir made its fourth appearance at the World Choir Games.

Hailing from Shanghai in China, the group competed in the champion female choir competition at Auckland Town Hall on 11 June.

Qingyun Cheng, general-secretary of the choir, said the team incorporated several Chinese elements into its performance.

The members donned traditional Chinese skirts from the Han Dynasty and performed a well-known folk song titled "Ap Jie Lop", highlighting the folklore and indigenous heritage of the Liangshan Yi region, home to the Yi ethnic group in China.

Cheng said the choir brought traditional musical instruments from China and integrated traditional Yi choreography into its performance.

"This song also features instrumental music, including a jaw harp, a traditional instrument from Liangshan," Cheng said.

"We have added dance elements to our performance," she said. "The dance originated from the Torch Festival of the Yi people. The festival is like the Chinese Spring Festival (Lunar New Year), and it's very lively. We dance to express a desire for growth, joy and prosperity."

Cheng hoped the voices of Chinese women reached a wider audience at the World Choir Games, showcasing a passion for life, confidence and strength.

Qin Wang, first vice president of Interkultur, the group behind the World Choir Games, was excited to see the competition being held in New Zealand for the first time.

"China is a big country of chorus," Wang said.

"By participating in the World Choir Games, we can communicate with our friends from all over the world about Chinese culture and tell the stories of Chinese people through song," Wang said. "It's very meaningful."

Wang said many teams from China had undertaken a massive effort to attend the competition, as a lot of them had to change their approach due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Our team is full of love for chorus and the members are fully prepared," she said. "We also hope that our Chinese team will, once again, make us feel proud to be Chinese [through our performance] at the World Choir Games."

Guanghui Chen, a judge at the World Choir Games, said choral music was very popular in China.

Chen said several experienced Chinese choirs had travelled to New Zealand to participate in the competition, which also served as an opportunity to advance the development of Chinese choral music.

"There are many outstanding [Chinese] teams that have participated in the World Choir Games multiple times and have now come to Auckland," he said.

"Their excellent performance will further promote the development of Chinese choral art, as the [competition] is iconic and world-class."

Chen said a good choir performance should "bring out feelings of beauty" in addition to nailing the technical skills.

"I hope that [the teams] can express themselves to the fullest on the stage," he said.

"All technical performances are ultimately an expression of emotion," he said. "The delivery of such emotion is the ultimate expression of emotion. It is very important to use our voices to interpret the [music]."

To honor teams from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macao that travelled to Auckland for the games, three leading Chinese choral groups performed at Holy Trinity Cathedral on Friday, delivering a poignant show.

Titled "Night of the Dragon", a second performance has been scheduled at the same venue on Wednesday evening.

Wang said the two shows had been organised to mark the Year of the Dragon this year.

She said a traditional Chinese folk song titled "Jasmine Flower" would be sung at the closing ceremony's joint chorale on 20 July, offering audiences a chance to enjoy Chinese folklore and indigenous music.

Melissa Lee, minister for ethnic communities, said many participants at the World Choir Games who travelled to New Zealand for the competition would likely be shocked by how diverse New Zealand - particularly Auckland - was in person.

"We have more than 250 teams coming to New Zealand," Lee said. It's wonderful. It's a feast of music of all different colors. It's a feast of cultures."