On September 14 and 15, Soka Chorus participated in a two-day concert titled “The Story of Singapore”, jointly organised by Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) and Singapore Chinese Orchestra (SCO), commemorating the 95th anniversary of Lianhe Zaobao. The concert was held at SCO Concert Hall.
President Halimah Yacob graced the occasion on September 14 as the Guest-of-Honour. With the theme centering on the history of Singapore and the role of the press, the concert brought its audience through a time tunnel to reminisce important milestones of the country’s history through pictures, newspaper reports and melodious Chinese music.
Together with the SPH Chinese Choir and SCO, 25 members of Soka Chorus joined a 50-member chorus to present an 18-minute composition of “Ode to Singapore” that portrays the spirit of the Singapore culture in the finale item.
Leo Zhao, Vice-chief of Soka Chorus shared, “This event was an enriching experience for us as we were able to collaborate with many professional musicians. We have learnt a lot from our participation such as how to project our voices above the musical instruments. SGI President Daisaku Ikeda also teaches us that ‘not to advance is to regress’, through this performance it reminds us that we must continually seek improvement and never allow ourselves to be complacent.”
(Adapted from SSA Times issue 593)
