HUTB College Student Chorus Wins Gold Medal at the 17th China Choral Festival
2024-10-17
On October 13, to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the 17th China Choral Festival, organized by the China Chorus Association, concluded at the Shennong Grand Theater in Zhuzhou, Hunan. A total of 123 choirs from across the country, with nearly 6,000 choir members, participated in this year's competition.
With the high attention and strong support of CPC HUTB Committee, and under the guidance of the School of Music, our university's Changfeng Chorus from the School of Music performed the songs "Going Home" and "River Snow." Under the baton of permanent conductor Liu Junjie, the chorus stood out with their outstanding performance and won the Gold Medal in the Adult Mixed Voice category. Teacher Li Shilei from the School of Music served as the choreographer and percussion instructor.
The two competition pieces performed by the Changfeng Chorus, "Going Home” and “River Snow," have very different styles and are quite challenging. "Going Home" was composed during the important historical moment of Hong Kong's return to China, making it highly significant. It is a mixed-voice choral piece with strong national characteristics and a high level of vocal difficulty. The piece includes sections of a cappella singing, the integration of dialects, percussion, and dance movements, all of which enhance its expressive power. "River Snow" is an a cappella choral setting of an ancient Chinese poem, with a distant and profound artistic conception. The most complex section of the piece features up to eight vocal parts, demanding a high level of pitch accuracy, internal understanding, and expressiveness from the chorus members.
It is worth mentioning that nearly half of the members of the Changfeng Chorus participating in this competition are freshmen from the Class 2024. In addition to their military training, they had to learn the songs, memorize the scores, master the movements, and attend rehearsals, which was a great challenge and valuable training for them.
The China Choral Festival, organized by the China Chorus Association, is an authoritative, guiding, exemplary, and high-standard choral event in the field of choral arts in China. Since its inception in 1996, it has been successfully held 17 times and has become one of the important musical brands of the China Chorus Association. This clearly demonstrates the excellent choral literacy and stage presence of the Changfeng Chorus. As a vibrant "Artistic HUTB" cultural symbol of the university, the Changfeng Chorus will continue to use choral music as a medium to showcase the patriotism, national confidence, cultural confidence, and the positive spirit of the teachers and students of HUTB in the new era.
(Reported by Liu Junjie)
