On 9 February, the Voices of Spring 2007 – A Chinese New Year Song Singing festival was launched at the northern heartlands of Bukit Panjang Plaza. Guest of Honour for this event was Minister of State for National Development, Ms Grace Fu. Into her third year running, this year’s event is jointly organised by the Choral Association of Singapore, the Singapore River Hong Bao Committee and SSA. Some 40 guests were among the 500 people who attended the ceremony.
In her speech, Minster of State Ms Grace Fu commended the organising committee for preserving the Chinese culture through the promotion of Chinese New Year songs, and at the same time, enabling other ethnic groups to have a better appreciation of Chinese New Year customs through this event. At the launch ceremony, the People’s Association Indian Orchestra and the Malay dance troupe Sri Warisan also performed to Chinese New Year tunes, depicting the harmonious blend of ethnic cultures.
[About Voices Of Spring
First mooted in the year 2005 with the objective of spreading joy and peace during the festive season through harmonious melodies, Voices of Spring 2007 will see some 13 community choirs staging performances at various parts of Singapore, including the national libraries, community centres, and shopping malls. The objective of this two-week festival is to foster greater inter-cultural understanding and inter-racial bonding to promote racial harmony in multi-racial Singapore.
This year’s event is also supported by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports, the National Library Board, North East Community Development Council, North West Community Development Council, South West Community Development Council and the Hong Leong Foundation.]
(SSA Times issue 261)
