KUCHING, April 8: The Chamber Choir of St Joseph’s Private Secondary School (SJPSS) emerged as champion in the 7th Vietnam International Choir Competition held in Hoi An, Vietnam.
The choir, comprising 20 students and two alums led by conductor and teacher Benedict Lo Jin Chi, participated in the competition from April 3 to 5.
Lo said it was an exciting and challenging journey and was proud of the students.
“The discipline and passion gained through choral singing is a wonderful means of youth development, and I am grateful for being able to be part of this process,” he said in a statement today.
With a repertoire of local Sarawakian and Malaysian songs and other songs from around the world, the SJPSS Chamber Choir emerged as the winner of the G3 Youth Choirs of Mixed Voices category and won a Gold Diploma V for their efforts.
This was the culmination of many months of hard work as the choir honed their craft and voices in preparation for this competition. This was the first time that most of the choir members participated in an international competition.
The students also expressed their gratitude to their parents for their support, including the school’s choir teacher assisting Lo, and Vivien Ng, who accompanied them to Vietnam.
Following the competition, the choir went on to Danang where they did their bit for the local community by singing at an old-folks home managed by the Sisters of St Paul. The choir returned to Kuching today (April 8). — DayakDaily
