The Young People's Chorus of New York City (YPC) and the Guangdong Experimental High School Choir (SSC) jointly performed a feature concert at Gerald W. Lynch Theater in New York on October 4.
The concert kicked off with YPC presenting a repertoire of works for female, male and mixed voices. Their rich performance style and powerful stage presence deeply moved the audience.
SSC then performed a selection of international and Chinese pieces. Works such as Soaring on the Wind, which embody the essence of Chinese culture, captivated the audience, immersing the venue in a vibe of Oriental culture.
YPC and SSC concluded the event by performing the theme songs A Wish from Across the Sea & The Calling of the Song and Give Us Hope, bringing the entire performance to a successful close.
Chengjie Huang, a member of SSC, noted that prior to the performance, the two choirs lived and interacted together during rehearsals, despite linguistic and cultural differences. When rehearsing, they listened to each other's voices to balance the vocal parts. He felt that as they rehearsed together, their hearts were truly connected.
At the final segment of the grand chorus, Huang found it incredibly exciting and deeply moving, as many people singing the same song together made them feel truly connected as a World Bay Area community.
"Through our voices, we built a bridge of harmony spanning the world's bay areas. This event brought our cultures together and fostered mutual understanding between us and the young people from the US," he added.
Rachel, a member of YPC, highlighted her counterpart's performance. She really enjoyed their first song and the piece with the movements in which SSC members sat in circles and spun. The member of YPC was happy to be able to interact and make friends with everyone.
"When you're younger and when you're a child, you think less about barriers in the world and social barriers and seeing that connection between all of these kids, it was very beautiful," a member of the audience said after watching the concert.
Led respectively by Francisco J. Núñez, Artistic Director and Founder of YPC, and Xie Mingjing, Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of SSC, the two choirs demonstrated the power of music to unite across languages, cultures and continents.
Reporter | Zhang Ruijun
Script | Zhang Ruijun
Video editing & poster | Pan Jiajun
Photo provided to South from Guangdong Experimental High School
