The Taiwan International Contemporary A Cappella Festival (台灣國際重唱藝術節), the biggest event of its kind in the country, celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. Twenty-two a cappella groups will compete starting at 3pm tomorrow afternoon at Taipei City Fu Hsing Elementary School (台北市福星國小), with the top eight groups facing off in a final contest at 8pm.
The festival also includes master classes taught by a cappella groups from Germany and Hungary on Oct. 22 and Oct. 23. The international groups will perform in two concerts on Oct. 24.
The Taiwan International Contemporary A Cappella Festival was launched in 2001 to connect singing groups in this country. Founder Ray Chu (朱元雷), along with fellow members of Double Chin (雙下巴), had asked a composer to arrange pop tunes for the group. At that time, Chu says, many choral groups focused on classical music. Curious to see if there were other a cappella groups with similar musical interests, Chu went online and found that many countries had competitions dedicated to a cappella music.
Photo courtesy of TCMC
“We looked for a competition in Taiwan and since we couldn’t find one, we decided to launch one ourselves,” says Chu, who is also cofounder of the Taiwan Choral Music Center (台灣合唱音樂中心), a non-profit group. The first year was really lively and had a friendly atmosphere, so we’ve kept it going.”
The competition became international in 2005 after forming an alliance with the vokal.total International A Cappella Competition in Graz, Austria. Winners from each contest are invited to compete and take classes in the other country. For this year’s Taiwan International Contemporary A Cappella Festival, however, only domestic groups will be competing. To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the festival, its organizers have invited Germany’s Klangbezirk, Vocaldente and Niniwe, as well as Hungary’s Fool Moon, to give master classes focusing on singing techniques, vocal percussion, rehearsal skills and recording, among other topics.
The four a cappella groups, which have each competed at previous Taiwan International Contemporary A Cappella Festivals, will perform in two concerts, one at 3pm, the other at 7:30pm on Oct. 24 at Taipei Zhongshan Hall (台北市中山堂). A highlight of the 3pm concert on Oct. 24 is the Eurasian Project by Klangbezirk, which will perform its own arrangements of classic Taiwanese pop songs, including tunes originally sung by Teresa Teng (鄧麗君).
Photo courtesy of TCMC
FESTIVAL NOTES:
WHAT: Taiwan International Contemporary A Cappella Festival (台灣國際重唱藝術節)
WHEN AND WHERE: Starts at 3pm tomorrow with 22 Taiwanese a cappella groups competing at Taipei City Fu Hsing Elementary School (台北市福星國小), 66, Zhonghua Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市中華路一段66號). The top eight groups will square off in a final contest at 8pm
Photo courtesy of TCMC
ADMISSION: Tickets are NT$200
ON THE NET: Go to festival.tcmc.org.tw for a complete schedule and to preorder tickets
ADDITIONAL EVENTS: A cappella groups Niniwe and Klangbezirk will perform at 3pm on Oct. 24 at Taipei Zhongshan Hall (台北市中山堂), 98 Yanping S Rd, Taipei City (台北市延平南路98號). A second performance at 7:30pm will feature Fool Moon and Vocaldente. Tickets are NT$300 to NT$1,200 each. The four groups will also teach master classes on Oct. 22 and Oct. 23 at Taiwan Choral Music Center’s studio, 8F, 35, Zhongxiao E Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市忠孝東路一段35號8樓). The fee is NT$3,000 for one day of classes or NT$4,000 for both days. To register, go to the studio, visit festival.tcmc.org.tw, send an e-mail to info@tcmc.org.tw, or call (02) 2351-9199 X301. Classes will be taught in English
Photo courtesy of TCMC
For additional performances by Niniwe, Klangbezirk, Fool Moon or Vocaldente throughout Taiwan, visit festival.tcmc.org.tw
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