It's approaching the end of 2010. Happy Holidays!
Some a cappella news. The second season of NBC's "The Sing-Off" is now airing in North America. For those who didn't watch it last year, it is a national competition among American a cappella groups with money and recording contract prizes. Hong Kong has had the pleasure of hearing several groups from this show, including BYU Noteworthy (they visited in Feb 2010) and the Tufts Beelzebubs - they came in second place last year, and are the voice of the Dalton Academy Warblers on the hit TV show "Glee". This year, two former members of Noteworthy are competing in another group, The Backbeats. Click here to see a low-quality video of their performance (it's amazing!)
In Hong Kong, our very own sing-off will happen this coming Sunday! The 2010 a cappella Music Contest will be held from 10:00 to 16:30 at the HKFYG Building (MTR Quarry Bay Exit C) with 18 groups competing in the Secondary School Division and six groups in the Open Class Division. Last year's winners were Music Shake of the Hong Kong Sai Kung Chorus (Open Class) and Diocesan Girls' School (Secondary School Class).
Also... it's out! Our boys are featured in two songs from Chet and Eman Lam's latest concert CD! We're very excited, it's the first time that our voices are on an actual commercial product!
2010年12月9日星期四
2009年7月11日星期六
HKFYG 2009 a cappella Festival Music Contest
The HKFYG 2009 a cappella Festival Music Contest was held today in Typhoon Signal Number 3 weather.
Being MC of a competition is HARD! First of all, we only got the script on the morning of the competition, so preparation time was very limited. We also didn't know what each group was going to sing. Furthermore, there were many non-planned events that required quick thinking (such as dragging out the intermission time between two competition groups; time-filling in the looooong break while the judges were deliberating the results; last-minute changes in rundown etc). In addition, it seems that you have to be very careful not to say anything that could be construed as favorable to any particular group. Then you have to pay attention to diction and fluidity, and watch your language... Anyway, I still think we did quite well under these circumstances, regardless of what others might say.
As for the competition, it was a pleasant surprise. Thirteen groups competed today (it was supposed to be nineteen, but a few dropped out after their school was hit by H1N1 Influenza A), and there were good things to see. Of course some were not good, but a lot of the groups were impressive. It's very exciting to see the sheer number of high school students that are enthusiastic about a cappella singing. I was quite impressed by a high school girl's statement: "We'll definitely be back next year." Perhaps this will start a new wave of secondary school vocal groups, who knows?
The Open Division competitors were also good. Some have improved vastly compared to a few months ago (when they had attended masterclasses), and there's a lot to admire: simple/effective staging, a really young vocal percussionist, and interesting arrangements.
This competition shows that there's a lot of untapped talent and potential out there. It also means that other groups are catching up fast... we'd better work harder.
See you next year!
-by Ju
Being MC of a competition is HARD! First of all, we only got the script on the morning of the competition, so preparation time was very limited. We also didn't know what each group was going to sing. Furthermore, there were many non-planned events that required quick thinking (such as dragging out the intermission time between two competition groups; time-filling in the looooong break while the judges were deliberating the results; last-minute changes in rundown etc). In addition, it seems that you have to be very careful not to say anything that could be construed as favorable to any particular group. Then you have to pay attention to diction and fluidity, and watch your language... Anyway, I still think we did quite well under these circumstances, regardless of what others might say.
As for the competition, it was a pleasant surprise. Thirteen groups competed today (it was supposed to be nineteen, but a few dropped out after their school was hit by H1N1 Influenza A), and there were good things to see. Of course some were not good, but a lot of the groups were impressive. It's very exciting to see the sheer number of high school students that are enthusiastic about a cappella singing. I was quite impressed by a high school girl's statement: "We'll definitely be back next year." Perhaps this will start a new wave of secondary school vocal groups, who knows?
The Open Division competitors were also good. Some have improved vastly compared to a few months ago (when they had attended masterclasses), and there's a lot to admire: simple/effective staging, a really young vocal percussionist, and interesting arrangements.
This competition shows that there's a lot of untapped talent and potential out there. It also means that other groups are catching up fast... we'd better work harder.
See you next year!
-by Ju
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