TAR UC Choir posing in front of Soochow University
Ms Ang (front row, fifth from left), Ms Regina Ong, (front row, fifth from right) holding the first prize trophy with the members of TAR UC Choir and their medals of achievement.
TAR UC Choir experienced a moment of glory on the international stage when they won the First Prize in a choir singing competition, which was held on 5 October 2019 at Soochow University, Taiwan. The award-winning TAR UC Choir consisted of 2 alumni and 18 students, with Ms Ang Yaw Feng as the advisor and conductor of the choir and Ms Regina Ong Ween Yen as the assistant advisor and pianist.
For this year’s competition, 13 choirs from 5 countries namely the United States, New Zealand, Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia battled it out for the top position. TAR UC Choir performed 2 songs for the competition, which were “Sojourning Travelers and Drifting Clouds” (浮雲遊子) and a Taiwanese Hokkien Folk Song titled “Ti-O-O” (天烏烏) which means darkening clouds. One of the judges attributed the Choir’s win to the flexibility in their voices. The judge also remarked that TAR UC Choir performed with great enthusiasm and displayed excellent facial expressions and actions for the first song. The Choir was also commended for doing similarly well for the second song.
Ms Ang was very proud of the achievement which continues to strengthen TAR UC’s reputation worldwide. “This is a great team effort put forth by each choir member as well as my colleague, Ms Regina Ong, not to mention our external trainer, Ms Susanna Saw who guided and trained us very well, and Ms Farah Sulaiman who brilliantly choreographed the Choir’s actions for the first song. All of us gave our best and I am especially proud of the students and alumni who, besides singing melodiously, were able to bring forth the spirit of each song in the competition. In addition, this achievement is a great anniversary gift for TAR UC Choir which turns 15 this year,” Ms Ang enthused.
An Xin Ying has been a member of TAR UC Choir for 4 years and was one of the choir members who took part in the competition. The Bachelor of Social Science (Hons) in Psychology student has been active in choir singing since she was 9. “I love to sing! Having been in a choir since primary 3 has helped me develop a strong foundation in choir singing. However, the lessons and experiences I have gained as a member of TAR UC Choir has helped develop important skills such as teamwork and on how to deal with other members who learn at a different pace than me. This gives me the opportunity to help and share my knowledge and experience and at the same time build good friendships with them. The great synergy really helped, as I personally did not feel nervous competing. This is my second time competing in an international choir competition, and I am very grateful that I have gained valuable exposure with TAR UC Choir,” she said.
