The beautiful voices of Asia

“100% of Braveness” performed by The United Voices of Asia Japanese Male Choirs together with UTAR Choir Unit Conductor Osamu Moroe

Seven Japanese male choir teams from various economies, namely China, The Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia were seen performing at the “14^th Asia Japanese Male Choir Festival” on 23 February 2019 at UTAR Sungai Long Campus. Also performing along with them were the UTAR Choir Unit and UTAR Sungai Long Chinese Orchestra (USLCO). The event was jointly organised by the Department of Student Affairs (DSA) and UTAR Choir Unit.

UTAR Choir Unit and USLCO performing “Sejahtera Malaysia” along with conductor Osamu Moroe

USLCO in action

The event aimed to provide “UTARians” an opportunity to watch spectacular performances besides establishing the bond between the Japanese choirs and UTAR Choir Unit. It also aimed to create a platform to help the Choir Unit in raising funds for a brand-new piano and keyboard while promoting the name of the UTAR Choir Unit.

From left: Then, UTAR Choir Unit Advisor Tan Chun Yuan, Prof Faidz, Kawanishi and DSA Assistant Manager Nurul Izwazi Mohd Nor

Speaking at the opening remark, Organising Committee Chairperson Then Sin Yee said, “It is an honour to experience and see the performances of the Japanese male choir units with their amazing voices. I believe the UTAR Choir Unit members will truly benefit from their experience, knowledge and specialities. I hope UTAR Choir Unit, as a whole, will continue to grow and achieve greater things in the near future.” Quoting George Shinn, she said, “There is no such thing as a self-made man. You will reach your goals only with the help of others.”

Prof Faidz (second from left) presenting a token of appreciation to Kawanishi, while Then looks on

14^th Asia Japanese Male Choir Festival Chairman Kawanishi Kazuo said, “It is our pleasure to be here today. I heard that UTAR has achieved well not only in the academic aspect but in its musical activities as well. This year, the UTAR Choir Unit is going to Japan for a 12-day concert tour. It is very rare to see Asian students’ choir unit involving in the concert tour which will be taking place in a foreign country. Hence, I believe the UTAR Choir Unit must be prominent in terms of music and their management skills as well. Also, not to forget about the UTAR Sungai Long Chinese Orchestra. I learnt that the Chinese Orchestra is also very active and they give opportunity to the local people to listen to their performances on traditional Chinese as well as contemporary music.”

Kawanishi (first from right) presenting a token of appreciation to Prof Faidz, while Then looks on

UTAR Vice President for R&D and Commercialisation Prof Ts Dr Faidz bin Abd Rahman said, “I refer to a quote from Sarah Dessen’s novel “Just Listen” which says ‘Music is a great uniter; an incredible force; something that people who differ on everything and anything else can have in common.’ I believe this is true and well said. This festival has successfully united the talented male choirs from various Asian countries to perform together on this beautiful afternoon. An event as such has created an opportunity for students to open up their ears to enjoy the harmonious voices and beautiful songs from the various choir groups.”

The festival saw soul-touching performances by UTAR Choir Unit and USLCO on “Sejahtera Malaysia”, conducted by Osamu Moroe; USLCO on “Matsuri (Festival)” and “Misirlou”, conducted by UTAR Faculty of Accountancy and Management Department of Building & Property Management Dr Goh Hong Lip; UTAR Choir Unit on “Ultramarine Blue”, “Sing to the Lord in B♭” and “Mamma Mia”, conducted by Osamu Moroe; Shanghai Glee Club on “The Club Song”, “Listen to the Sea Roars”, “Sound of the Sea”, “The Eternal Fragrant Life” and “Welcome Your Birth!”, conducted by Narita Masato; KL Glee Club on “Norman Luboff’s ‘Songs of the World’— ‘Click Go The Shears’”, “Carmen Carmela”, “A-Roving”, “Colorado Trail” and “Lift A Glass To Friendship”, conducted by Kamei Seiichiro and Pianist Lee Wei Tang; Bangkok Glee Club & Ma Ma Yo on “Songs for Youth— Let the Victory with You”, “Go! Go! Hyuma!”, “Go straight for Judo”, “Let us say good-bye to my tears”, “Ban, Bo, Bon”, “Attack No.1”, “Plaza for youth” and “My Old Song”, conducted by Ito Shuichi; Singars Limited on “Grandfather's Clock”, “The Sea”, “Found a part of Autumn” and “Vienna, My Dream City”, conducted by Mita Masahiro and Pianist Utada Nami; Manila Glee Club on “Manila glee club song”, “I will love you just once”, “Voltes V”, “Summer is coming” and “Do not forget”, conducted by Kamimura Masatsugu and Pianist Chris Laurence O. Balintona; Hong Kong Japanese Chorus Club—Male Chorus on “The Longest Time”, “My Pride”, “You raise me up”, “Plink, Plank, Plunk” and “Sing to the Lord”, conducted by Sakono Chika; Jakarta Male Choir on “Into our Dream”, “A Drinking Song”, ”Azure” and “The Bridge of Glory”, conducted by Suzuki Yoshinori and Pianist Ueda Yuji; The United Voices of Asia Japanese Male Choirs on “Choral Suite ‘Moonlight and Clown’—‘Moonlight night’”, “Clown in autumn”, “Clown”, “Grief of clown” and “Arabesque design by moonlight, clown and his partner”, conducted by Kamei Seiichiro. The last performance saw The United Voices of Asia Japanese Male Choirs joining together with UTAR Choir Unit on “100% of Braveness”. It was conducted by Osamu Moroe.