TAR UC Choir in traditional Malay attire together with Ms Ang (in black top) performing at Qingbaijiang.
TAR UC Choir performing at Eastern Suburb Memory Park located in Chengdu East which is the main venue for the festival.
A group photo of the performers from the 31 countries.
Having accepted the invitation by the Chengdu Municipal Foreign and Overseas Chinese Affairs Office and College of Chinese & Asean Arts, Chengdu University to take part in the Chengdu International Sister Cities Youth Music Festival 2018, TAR UC Choir of 14 members led by its choir advisor cum conductor, Ms Ang Yaw Feng flew to Chengdu in China where they spent almost a week from 25 – 31 July 2018 for the music festival.
The main venue for the festival was at the Eastern Suburb Memory Park located in Chengdu East. On top of this, there were 9 other venues that concurrently hosted various programmes related to the music festival in the city's Qingbaijiang, Shuangliu and Pidu districts, Dujiangyan, Pengzhou, Qionglai and Chongzhou cities, as well as Jintang and Dayi counties. TAR UC Choir had the privilege to perform in 3 different venues namely the Eastern Suburb Memory Park, Shuangliu and Qingbaijiang where their performance in Shuangliu was broadcasted live on TV.
At the opening ceremony held on 26 July 2018 in the Eastern Suburb Memory Park, TAR UC Choir performed 2 songs which were Night Jasmine and Malaysia Medley. The choir’s second performance was held on 27th July 2018 in Shuangliu where the group performed 4 songs namely Chengdu, Wild Goose, Malaysia Medley and Wau Bulan. Their last performance for the festival was held the following day on 28 July 2018 at Qingbaijiang where they performed 3 songs namely Wild Goose, Malaysia Medley and Wau Bulan.
Citing the music festival as an excellent source of exposure for her and the team, Ms Ang expressed her gratitude to TAR UC for providing them with the opportunity to be a part of the festival. “I am very grateful to TAR UC for providing us with this opportunity of a lifetime to be a part of such a renowned music festival. The highlights for me are the team’s performance being telecast live on the local tv station in Shuangli as well as the opportunity to meet Ms Liza Wang Ming-chuen, a famous artist from Hong Kong as well as Mr Luo Qiang, the Mayor of Chengdu. I am also very proud of the team for consistently giving their best in every performance at the festival as I have received praises from the organising committee members and performers from other countries on how well TAR UC Choir performed,” she shared.
“The experience I had in Chengdu will always remain colourful and wonderful in my memory,” Josephine Oon Pei Ying, a Bachelor of Accounting (Hons) student and the choir leader enthused. “What we took home with us was much more than what we gave during our time in Chengdu. Through our interaction with the other performers, the team and I were able to learn first-hand of the different cultures of many different countries besides China such as France, Mexico, Peru, United States, New Zealand and India. We also learnt a thing or two by watching the different styles of performances by other participating countries during the festival. I personally feel very fortunate to be a TAR UC student where I am given the chance to capture experiences that are truly memorable,” she continued.
