Reported By: LI Shiqi
Photographed By: FENG Jian
Translated By: MENG Huan
Edited By: Jennifer Taylor
Updated: 2013/6/3
At 19:00 on May 16th, with the clock sounding rhythmically, the friendship concert The Season of Voice jointly organized by Mixed Company from Yale University and the MUSICA Chamber Choir from HIT was held in the HIT school auditorium.
Across geographical and national boundaries, this musical extravaganza brought a visual feast to teachers, students and international friends in HIT. The two choirs divided this cultural fusion of classical and pop elements into two parts. In the first half, Yale Mixed Company brought more casual performances; and in the second half, the MUSICA Chamber Choir brought more traditional choral performances.
Yale Mixed Company, as one of the prestigious a cappella choirs in Yale University, has always shouldered the task of building a bridge of communication between the university itself and the world. Choir members are all learning and artistic leaders as undergraduates at Yale. They have the tradition of at least three foreign visits, with 13 performances a year. Founded 32 years ago, Yale Mixed Company has met with President Ronald Reagan, Queen Elizabeth II and other dignitaries from dozens of countries around the world and performed for them. They have released over 12 albums with footprint across five continents. In this concert, Yale Mixed Company brought the songs Hodja, Some Nights, Take Me Home and other classics such as Gavin’s Song, Shadowland and No Air. The background of casual a cappella and the snap of fingers as a special note added a dash of color to the concert. Among the songs, Nothing but the Water sung by a soprano and an alto together had the right mix of high and low tones, and won applause again and again. The singer of the song Home walked off the stage out into the audience, issuing a warm invitation. Choir members introduced themselves in fluent Chinese and won bursts of applause. Finally, in the song Lollipop, male and female lead singers gained a great welcome from audience for their sincere dialogue and rich body language.
In the second half, the MUSICA Chamber Choir sang solemn baroque classic Latin songs like Viva la Musica, Ubi Caritas and Credo, one difficult English song Dance in the Fire and Chinese songs with national characteristics such as Sweet Home, Under the Blossom Tree and The Song of Yimeng, winning warm applause from the audience. Founded in September 2011, the MUSICA Chamber Choir has made great progress in moving from the basics to singing representing HIT on the world stage in less than two years. The MUSICA Chamber Choir held the first concert in June 2012, took part in the Opening Ceremony of the Third Sino-Europe Forum in September 2012, and attended the 14th International Choir Competition and Festival Budapest held in Budapest, the capital of Hungary, winning the silver medal in the Mixed Choirs Without Compulsory Piece Group in March 2013.
At the end of the concert, members of two choirs sang the song If I Were a Boy together, fused two different choral styles as a whole and leading the entire audience to sing a beautiful melody for the friendship between the two schools and the two countries.
After the concert, the Assistant President XU Xiaofei posed for pictures with all the performers.
Yale Mixed Company from Yale University performing.
A lead female singer from Yale Mixed Company singing.
Yale Mixed Company from Yale University performing.
MUSICA Chamber Choir from HIT performing.
MUSICA Chamber Choir from HIT performing.
Mixed Company and MUSICA singing the song If I Were a Boy together.
The audience enjoying the concert.
Group photo of performers from Yale Mixed Company and the MUSICA Chamber Choir
