In the era of hybridism where arts are crossed over and mutually informed, the ancient form of choral music has long since taken up contemporary influences and exploded into a polymorphous spread. Organized by Taipei Philharmonic Foundation for Culture and Education (台北愛樂文教基金會) every two years since 1999, the Taipei Philharmonic Summer Festival (台北愛樂夏日音樂節) has positioned itself as a celebration of choral fusion. It has invited four world-famous vocal groups and choirs from Russia, Hungary, the Philippines and China to join this year's lineup for an island tour starting tomorrow night at the National Concert Hall with a concoction of the classical, jazz, R&B, folk and Broadway music, pop and rap.
First to take the stage is Russia's award-winning A'cappella ExpreSSS comprising six singers crooning its mix of contemporary jazz-pop, R&B, folk and classical. It is a frequent guest in international music festivals in Asia, Europe and the US.
"The vocal group's wide success is a proof that a cappella music has long crossed the borders of the US and western European countries and has been embraced and advanced by musicians in other regions," said Ku Yu-chung (古育仲), one of the event curators and guest conductor for Taipei Philharmonic Chorus (台北愛樂合唱團).
Evolving from its humble origins on the streets of Budapest in 1995, vocal jazz group the Cotton Club Singers is now an international act starring four vocalists and a jazz trio of piano, drum and bass players. For its Taiwan shows, the group will delight local audiences with the celebrated jazz standards as well as its latest project - the ABBA Jazz show - featuring some of the Swedish pop act's greatest hits arranged in the group's own style of swing and jazz.
For true choir lovers, the world-class China Children's Choir (北京中央少年兒童合唱團) returns with a lineup of orchestral music-adapted choral numbers and art songs from countries across the world. Under the leadership of eminent conductor Yang hongnian (楊鴻年), the chorus has trekked the globe and performed over 400 concerts. It is widely applauded for it impeccable singing skills, as the young singers are selected from the choir's highly competitive entrance exams, ensuring they are able to handle even the most technically challenging songs at ease.
"If you make the comparison between China Children's Choir and local children choruses, you can easily tell the rigorous training behind the Chinese choir while Taiwan's kids sound freer and happier," Kuo said.
Perching on the fusion end of contemporary choral music, the Philippines' multi-award winning University of Santo Tomas Singers (UST Singers) will prove itself to be a lively embodiment of the rich tradition of the art form with its dazzling repertoire drawn from everywhere from the Renaissance to contemporary and folk music from Asia, Europe and Africa.
The cross-over celebration will reach its height at the closing concert joined by Cotton Club Singers, Festival Chorus, Taipei Philharmonic Chorus and Taipei Philharmonic Youth Orchestra (台北愛樂青年管絃樂團) under the baton of Internationally acclaimed conductor Gabor Hollerung of Hungary, who "is known for his creative interpretation of music and continuously breaks through the existing frame to work with young composers on contemporary, cross-over pieces," said Kuo.
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