The Chinese University of Hong Kong Chorus (aka CU Chorus, formerly named The Student Chorus, the Student Union of the

Chinese University of Hong Kong The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is a public university, public research university in Sha Tin, New Territories, Hong Kong. Established in 1963 as a federation of three university college, collegesChung Chi College, New Asia Coll ...

, ) is founded by a group of students of the

in December 1972. For each season, the chorus would have its Annual Concert and Christmas Concert held respectively on the middle and the end of a year. While the former one would have a showcase on serious choral music chosen with selected artistic themes, the latter one would be a demonstration of the chorus' vividness and ability in engaging a pop, contemporary style featuring arrangements of Christmas pieces. The most recent Annual Concert and Christmas Concert would be respectively "The Music of Jan Tien-hao" held in June 2014 and "CU Chorus x

Howard McCrary Howard McCrary is an American musician, entertainer, and actor. He was nominated for Grammy Award in 1986 for a gospel record entitled, ''So Good''. He has also been credited for vocal performances and arrangements on the albums of Chaka Khan, Qui ...

", featuring the Grammy-nominated jazz musician Howard McCrary with a good number of jazz arrangements from traditional Christmas songs in December 2012. Throughout the years, the chorus encompasses a repertoire ranging from Renaissance motets to Mahlerian choral symphonies (the chorus is the first university chorus in Hong Kong which has performed all choral symphonies of Mahler), up to the most avant-garde pieces from composers all over the world. As the pioneer of contemporary choral music, the chorus commissions young Hong Kong composers for new works every year. Recent commission works includes Dennis Wu's ''Below the Kau To Shan'', Andy So's ''The Flower of Love'',

Samson Young Samson Young (born 1979) is a Hong Kong artist, working primarily in the mediums of sound performance and installations. Early life and education Samson Young was born in Hong Kong. He received both his BA degree in Music, Philosophy and Gende ...

's ''When He Said'' etc., with the most recent one being Lok-yin Tang's ''Frozen Tears I and II''. To lay a better foundation for its never-ending artistic pursuit, CU Chorus established charitable organization status with "CU Chorus Association" (a limited company) in January 2012. The new governing body, with its finer division of labour in artistic, management and administrative aspects, could facilitate the collaboration of CUHK undergraduates, postgraduates and alumni in their efforts to boost CU Chorus—a group coming from and basing in CUHK—to ever-greater artistic heights.

Attention from Israel

In May 2009, the chorus won high praise in Israel because of a video clip that its members posted on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

. The

video clip documents a performance of ''Choral Selection from

Schindler's List ''Schindler's List'' is a 1993 American epic historical drama film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg and written by Steven Zaillian. It is based on the historical novel '' Schindler's Ark'' (1982) by Thomas Keneally. The film follows ...

'' (sung in Hebrews and Yiddish) by the chorus in 2007, and the clip was posted immediately after the performance. Shortly before the Holocaust Day 2009, after the film had been on the site for a long time without drawing much attention, it was discovered by an Israeli viewer who had started to distribute it via Email to his friends as "A Chinese choir performs songs in Hebrew to celebrate Holocaust Day". Within a few days, the film became a great hit in Israel and had over 100,000 viewings in Israel and abroad within one month, it also receiving hundreds of moving reactions by Israelis and Jews. The popularity of the clip attracted a broad media coverage, including a news article by

Yedioth Ahronoth (, ; lit. "Latest News") is an Israeli daily mass market newspaper published in Tel Aviv. Founded in 1939, is Israel's largest paid newspaper by sales and circulation and has been described as "undoubtedly the country's number-one paper."

, the best-selling newspaper in Israel.

Selected repertoire

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

: Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125, "Choral" *

Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic music, Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and ...

: Symphony No. 2 in C minor, "Resurrection" *

: Symphony No. 3 in D minor (Thailand première) *

: Symphony No. 8 in E flat major (Hong Kong and Macao première) *

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

: ''Requiem'', K626 *

: Mass in C major, K317, "Coronation" *

Arvo Pärt Arvo Pärt (; born 11 September 1935) is an Estonian composer of contemporary classical music. Since the late 1970s, Pärt has worked in a minimalist style that employs tintinnabuli, a compositional technique he invented. Pärt's music is in p ...

: ''Which was the son of...'' * Andy So: ''The Flower of Love'' (World première in 2008 Shanghai Concert) *

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century c ...

: ''

Symphony of Psalms The ''Symphony of Psalms'' is a choral symphony in three movements composed by Igor Stravinsky in 1930 during his neoclassical period. The work was commissioned by Serge Koussevitzky to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Boston Symphony Orch ...

'' *

Xian Xinghai Xian Xinghai or Sinn Sing Hoi (; 13 June 1905 – 30 October 1945) was a Chinese composer. He was among the first composers in his country to draw on western classical music and has influenced many later Chinese musicians. Xian composed in all t ...

: ''

Yellow River Cantata The ''Yellow River Cantata'' () is a cantata by Chinese composer Xian Xinghai (1905–1945). Composed in Yan'an in early 1939 during the Second Sino-Japanese War, the work was inspired by a patriotism, patriotic poem by Guang Weiran, which was a ...

'' (original version, Moscow version) *

Dennis Wu Dennis or Denis is a first or last name from the Greco-Roman name Dionysius, via one of the Christian saints named Dionysius. The name came from Dionysus, the Greek god of ecstatic states, particularly those produced by wine, which is sometime ...

: ''Below the Kau To Shan'' (World première in 2008 Annual Concert) *

: ''When He Said'' (World première in 2009 Annual Concert) * Lok-yin Tang: ''Frozen Tears I, II'' (World première in 2012 and 2013 Annual Concert respectively) * Ng Wah-hei: ''The Blossom'' (World première in 2013 Annual Concert) * Jan Tien-hao: ''Dream Catcher'' (World première in 2014 Annual Concert)

Touring record

*1977:

University of the Philippines Diliman The University of the Philippines Diliman (also called UPD; ), also referred to as UP Diliman, is a State university and college (Philippines), public, coeducational, Research university, research university located in Diliman, Quezon City, Ph ...

(

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

University of the Philippines Baguio The University of the Philippines Baguio (UPB; ), also referred to as UP in the North or UP Baguio, is a public university, public Research university, research university located in Baguio, Philippines. It was established in 1921 through the i ...

(

Baguio Baguio ( , , ), officially the City of Baguio (; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Philippines. It is known as the "Summer Capital of the Philippines", ...

) *1987:

National Taiwan University National Taiwan University (NTU; zh, t=國立臺灣大學, poj=Kok-li̍p Tâi-oân Tāi-ha̍k, p=, s=) is a National university, national Public university, public research university in Taipei, Taiwan. Founded in 1928 during Taiwan under J ...

(

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

) *1991:

National Cheng Kung University National Cheng Kung University (NCKU; ) is a Public university, public research university located in the East District, Tainan, East District of Tainan, Taiwan. Founded in 1931 during Taiwan under Japanese rule, Japanese rule as an engineering ...

(

Tainan Tainan (), officially Tainan City, is a Special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality in southern Taiwan, facing the Taiwan Strait on its western coast. Tainan is the oldest city on the island and commonly called the "Taiwan Prefecture, ...

) *1994:

Central Conservatory of Music The Central Conservatory of Music (CCOM; ) is the national music academy of China, located in Beijing. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education. The academy is part of Project 211 and the Double First-Class Construction. Overview Fo ...

(

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

Tsinghua University Tsinghua University (THU) is a public university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of China. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Constructio ...

(

) *1996:

(

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

(

) *1997:

Nanjing Union Theological Seminary The Nanjing Union Theological Seminary () is the flagship theological seminary of Protestant Christianity in China today. It is managed by the China Christian Council. Prior to the founding of the People's Republic of China, the institution had ...

(

Nanjing Nanjing or Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a population of 9,423,400. Situated in the Yang ...

) *2001:

National University of Singapore The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national university, national Public university, public research university in Singapore. It was officially established in 1980 by the merging of the University of Singapore and Nanyang University ...

(

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

), Singapore Bible College (

Guangzhou University Guangzhou University (GU; ) is a public university in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, China. Guangzhou University is currently one of the 13 high-level universities in Guangdong Province. Guangzhou University was established in 2000 through the m ...

(

Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...

) *2003:

Shanghai Jiao Tong University Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) is a public university in Shanghai, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Ministry of Education of China. The university is part of Project 211, Project 98 ...

(

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

) *2006:

Shih Hsin University Shih Hsin University (SHU; ) is a university in Taipei, Taiwan. SHU is best known for its media and mass communication departments in Taiwan, founded in Muzha, Taipei in 1956. History Shih Hsin University was re-established in Taiwan in 1956 ...

(

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

) *2007: Macao International Music Festival (

Macao Macau or Macao is a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most densely populated region in the world. Formerly a Portuguese colony, the ter ...

Sun Yat-sen University Sun Yat-sen University (; SYSU) is a public university in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education, and co-funded by the Ministry of Education, SASTIND, and Guangdong Provincial Government. The university is p ...

(

) *2008:

Shanghai Normal University Shanghai Normal University (SHNU) () is a public research university in Shanghai, China. SHNU is one of the three Key Universities (上海市重点大学) (Along with Shanghai University and University of Shanghai for Science and Technology) i ...

(

) *2009:

Dayeh University Dayeh University (DYU; ) is a private university in Dacun Township, Changhua County, Taiwan, and accredited by ACCSB. History The school was established in 1990 as Dayeh Institute of Technology by Song Gen Yeh who wanted to establish the fir ...

(

Changhua County Changhua (Wade-Giles: ''Chang¹-hua⁴'') is a Taiwanese County (Taiwan), county that is the smallest on the Geography of Taiwan, main island of Taiwan by area, and the fourth smallest in the country. With a total population of 1.24 million, Chan ...

), Taipei Fushin Private School (

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

) *2010: Siam Philharmonic (

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

) *2011: Crescendo Voices (

Johor Bahru Johor Bahru, abbreviated as JB, is the capital city of the Malaysian state of Johor. It is the core city of Johor Bahru District, Malaysia's second-largest district by population and the second-largest district economy. Covering an area of ...

) *2013: Taichung Chamber Choir (

Taichung Taichung (, Wade–Giles: '), officially Taichung City, is a special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality in central Taiwan. Taichung is Taiwan's second-largest city, with more than 2.85 million residents, making it the largest city in Ce ...

) *2014: National Tainan University (

) *2015:

Shanghai Spring International Music Festival Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

(

) *2018:

National Taiwan Normal University National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) is a National university, national comprehensive university in Taipei and New Taipei City, Taiwan. The university enrolls approximately 17,000 students each year. Approximately 1,600 students are Intern ...

, Taipei Contemporary Choir (

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

) *2019: Taipei International Choral Festival (

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

)

References

External links

*(Chinese/English
CU Chorus, Official SiteCU Chorus YouTube ChannelThe Chinese University of Hong Kong
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chinese University of Hong Kong Chorus Chinese University of Hong Kong Musical groups established in 1972 University choirs Hong Kong choirs