VietNamNet Bridge – More than 1,000 artists from 10 countries and territories will compete in the fifth Viet Nam International Choir Competition in the historic city of Hoi An on June 7-11.

Romantic venue: An overall view of Hoi An City. — Photo courtesy Hoi An City’s Culture and Sports Centre

Interkultur, the world’s leading organiser of international choir competitions and festival, picked Hoi An for the fifth time as the favourite location to host the 30-choir event. Since the success of the first event in 2011, the event has become an inherent part of international choir tours.

The city’s culture and arts centre said the competition has been a positive promotion for culture and tourism, highlighting Hoi An as a peaceful rendezvous for choirs. It’s also an opportunity for Vietnamese artists to exchange performance experience with international choirs at the UNESCO-recognised World heritage site.

Language of song: An old treet in Hoi An City. Choir teams will parade in the old quarter after the competition.

The Ha Noi Catholic Youth Choir, found in 2015, will represent Viet Nam at the competition. The Hanoian team will focus on sacred music that it usually performs in masses. The singers, aged 18-31, qualified last year for the TV show "Viet Nam’s Got Talent".

Japan will be represented by the female La Fontana choir that has been singing together for over a decade. The choir consists of working women and has a wide range in its repertoire, including mainly unaccompanied pieces. The group visits hospitals and nursing care facilities and hols concerts in and around Kagoshima, according to organisers.

The organisers also said the competition’s artistic committee will include Prof Dr. Ralf Eisenbeiß (Germany), Vietnamese Dang Chau Anh and Johan Rooze (Republic of Korea/Netherlands). The jury comprises Randy Stenson (USA/Japan), Kittiporn Tantrarungroj (Thailand), Jonathan Velasco (Philippines) and Wang Jin (China).

International harmony: A local choir team performs in the fourth Viet Nam International Choir Competition in 2015. Hoi An City will host the fifth competition on June 7-11. — Photo Interkultur

In 2015, the PSM Unpar Tabela Harati choir team from Indonesia won the highest prize at the fourth Viet Nam International Choir Competition. The Hue Academy of Music Choir won gold in the Mixed Choir category.

Vinschool One Choir received a gold and Hoi An Children’s Choir Club bagged the silver in the Folklore category. A Vietnamese team also performed Ba Trao ("holding paddle"), a special dance from the coastal central region. The organising committee gave out 41 gold and 12 silver prizes in the competition in 2015.

The five-day event will be held at Hoi An Theatre, Hoi An beach resort, Kazik Park and the old quarter. The event’s organising committee will present awards to competition winners at the Hoi An Theatre on June 11, and all participating teams will join a parade in the old streets of Hoi An with a farewell party.

The fifth International Choir tournament is part of the 6th Quang Nam Heritage Festival, being held in Hoi An, My Son Sanctuary and Tam Ky City from June 7 to 14. 

VNS