Tour to Xiamen 2018
Date: 15/07/2018
After presenting the Pre-tour Concert 2018 in Hong Kong City Hall on July 13, The Hong Kong Children's Choir headed to Xiamen for the Kulangsu Choral Festival 2018 on July 15. The renowned choral festival has been held since 2002, and both domestic and international choirs are invited to perform on July 16-20 this year with the aim of boosting intercultural art communication.
Day 1 (15 July 2018)
Members gathered in the Hong Kong International Airport in the morning and took the flight to Xiamen under the lead of Music Director and Principal Conductor Ms Kathy Fok. The touring group arrived at Xiamen at around 4pm and took the bus to Dongdu International Cruise Terminal. The choir gave a flash mob performance of Yo! before taking the ferry ride to Kulangsu. With fabulous dances, the choir gained a burst of applause from the tourists. That night, members grasped the chance to travel around after dinner and returned to the hotel to prepare for the concert next day.
Day 2 (16 July 2018)
At noon, members went to the Gulangyu Concert Hall to rehearse for the performance at night. The HKCC Concert is named as the Opening Ceremony for the Kulangsu Choral Festival 2018 as well and the concert hall was filled with audience, including the prominent Chinese conductor Ms Zheng Xiaoying, Chairman of Xiamen Kulangsu Piano Art Research Association of China Mr Li Weiming, Chairman of The Xiamen Chorus Association Mr Guo Wei and representatives from other organizations. In the first half of the concert, members focused on western songs such as Volta do Mar Largo and Children of Light with various instruments including Djembe and guitar, bringing the audience into members' amazing voices until the end of the first half of the performance.
In the second half of the show, members wore HKCC uniform and performed mostly Chinese and Hong Kong works including the theme song Big Fish of the well-known Chinese animated epic fantasy film Big fish & Begonia (Da Yu Hai Tang). Members also performed a number of works from Dr. Steve Ho, such as Let Music Flow, Kung Fu and the HKCC 50th Anniversary theme song I Just Want to Sing. Presenting with various dancing skills, the performance brought the concert to the climax. Members sang HKCC's 45th Anniversary theme song Yo! to bring the concert to the end and received endless applauses by showing their passion in singing.
Day 3 (17 July 2018)
Members attended the workshop in Xiamen Music School in the morning. Mr. Xu and Mr. Gao, music teachers from No.6 High School of Xiamen, hosted the workshop and introduced the importance of 'Groove' by a number of activities. Later, the students performed a new version of Rice Field from Jay Chow which impressed our members with their singing habit and techniques. In the next half of the workshop, an Open Rehearsal from Concert Choir started under the lead of Music Director and Principal Conductor Ms Kathy Fok, Conductor Mr Dominic Lam and Accompanist Ms Lin. Through performing 2 songs including Ave Maria and MTR Song, the warm-up exercises and the singing skills were introduced to the audience and teachers from all over the country. It was our honor to witness the appreciation from the teachers during the workshop. The workshop ended with the In Search of Plum Flowers in the Rockies conducted by Conductor Ms Vivian Suen.
In the afternoon, members went to Shuzhuang Garden and Gulangyu Piano Museum for sightseeing. It was no doubt a fabulous experience for the members to visit the first piano museum in China and to witness numerous antique pianos which brought the name of "The Island of Music" and "Piano Island" to Kulangsu. Members also visited the newly-built Kulangsu Organ Arts Center and enjoyed the music from the largest organ in Asia.
Another flash mob performance was ready after the sightseeing. Since vehicles and bicycles are not allowed on this pedestrian-only island, tourists can only reach the attractions by walk and so our a cappella performance was also started when walking to the ferry terminal, Union Church, Gulangyu Concert Hall, Gulangyu Person Stadium and the Xiamen Marine Garden Hotel. Despite the hot weather, members performed enthusiastically and were greatly appreciated by the crowds. At night, members returned to the Gulangyu Concert Hall again and enjoyed the concert by the Inner Mongolia Children's Choir which impressed our members with the traditional Mongolian songs and music instruments.
Day 4 (18 July 2018)
It was already the end of the Tour. Members were ready to leave Kulangsu and took the flight back to Hong Kong. HKCC would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere appreciation and thanks to the organization of Kulangsu Choral Festival 2018 for their invitation and opportunities for our members. Also, thanks to the generous support from BOD, Music Director and Principal Conductor Ms Kathy Fok, Conductor Mr Dominic Lam and Ms Vivian Suen, Accompanist Ms Lin and the touring staff, the concert tour ended with great success. On July27, Concert Choir will be starting their 14-day tour to Finland and Estonia, and we wish them all the best!
