In the mood for music

Clear, blue seas. Warm sun. Cool breezes. Breathtaking sunsets. A recipe for love? More like an aphrodisiac for making music.

In February this year, Victoria Chorale was invited to sing at the Western Division Conference of the American Choral Directors Association. The location? The beautiful and warm Hawaii. Lucky us.

We had the chance to bake in the warm heat of the sun at the beautiful Waikiki beach, pay our respects to the unsung heroes of Pearl Harbour, climb the long and winding Diamond Hill, snorkel in the shallow waters of Hanauma Bay, shop at the massive Ala Moana Shopping Centre and pig out at practically every eatery we can find.

But lest one thinks that we went there solely for holiday, rest assure that we did what we went there for - to sing. It was a great honour to have been one of two choirs selected to perform for the closing ceremony of the conference.

To showcase the multi-racial culture of Singapore, we dressed in the ethnic costumes of the various races and complemented that with a repertoire that comprised of Asian folk melodies and sacred music. What a heady feeling it was, to sing to an audience that was so vocal in their appreciation.

Besides performing at the closing ceremony, we also had the pleasure to sing in the beautiful St. Augustine Church at its Sunday mass, at its invitation.

Looking back, the trip has been extremely memorable and enriching. We not only had the chance to hear the top choirs of America perform, we also made a new friend in the form of Mr. Eric Whitacre, a leading contemporary composer of America. This new friendship led to the collaboration with Mr. Whitacre for Victoria Chorale’s latest project, Cloudburst (Composers Series II - Eric Whitacre).

What a potent combination it was - warm people, great weather, good food and beautiful surroundings. And most certainly, it was a wonderful opportunity to make good music.