Desertisland Disc

CHINA DAILY | HONG KONG EDITION Thursday, July 11, 2019 | 21 LIFE Desert-island disc The Rainbow Chamber Singers are set to perform songs from their new album on a four-city tour, Chen Nan reports. n January 2016, a performance solo parts for alto and bass rather by Shanghai-based amateur than the traditional soprano or choir the Rainbow Chamber tenor. Singers went viral online. We already have a “The songs challenged me and the IUnder the baton of conductor Jin choir,” Jin adds. stable fan base, but Chengzhi, the choir put on their For the audiences, who were sunglasses and sang the song, after the show, even introduced to the choir through Where On Earth Did You Leave the more people know such hit songs as Where On Earth Key to My Apartment, Zhang Shi- Did You Leave the Key to My Apart- chao?, at the end of their concert. who we are. I felt ment, Zhang Shichao? and 2016’s So Unlike many choral works, which excited, yet uneasy.” Far, The Sofa Is So Far, which take on serious themes and are per- depicts the hectic daily lives of formed with demanding vocal tech- Jin Chengzhi, conductor young people, the new songs offer a niques, the song has simple lyrics different kind of choral singing and and the choir members performed it entertains. with humor. parents got old. In the end, he was Born in Wenzhou, Zhejiang prov- Jin, who wrote the song, didn’t left alone on the island until his ince, Jin learned to play the piano expect such attention and warm death. during his childhood and partici- feedback from the audience. The Jin captured seven moments of pated in local school choirs. In performance was viewed nearly the man’s life and turned them into 2007, he joined a conducting pro- 30,000 times, and within a week, songs, including Sail, Island of gram at the China Conservatory of about 300 people had applied to join Stained Glass and Shore by the Music in Beijing and learned choral the choir. Flowers. In January 2017, under his singing and songwriting. A year lat- “We already have a stable fan baton, the Rainbow Chamber Sing- er, Jin was transferred to the Jin Chengzhi (above), conductor base, but after the show, even more ers began performing the seven Shanghai Conservatory of Music, and songwriter of the Rainbow people know who we are. I felt excit- songs at the concert hall of the where he and some schoolmates Chamber Singers, leads the ed, yet uneasy,” says Jin. “I had to Shanghai Symphony Orchestra founded the Rainbow Chamber group that has earned a growing adjust to the changes of my life, like during their regular concerts. On Singers in 2010. fan base for their songs with a more hectic schedule that made June 30, the choir released seven In the beginning, music majors simple lyrics and humorous me uncomfortable.” songs on the album, The Songs of were the main members of the choir, performances. The choir will tour The sudden transformations in Eventide. which soon started to attract ama- four Chinese cities from July 13. his everyday life became the “When I showed the seven songs teur singers, like white-collar work- PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY source of inspiration for Jin, who to the choir members, they ers, who joined as a hobby. pictured himself as a man being enjoyed the songs but found it’s Now, with 70 members — mostly shipwrecked on a desert island hard to sing them. The lyrics are amateur singers — the choir meets er. We never forget that,” Jin says. another song, Bamboo Forest, is heading to Shanghai on July 20, along with his parents and his lit- abstract. They’re about oceans, once a week to rehearse and gives Jin’s parents live in a mountain- performed in the Wenzhou dia- Beijing on Nov 16 and 17, and tle dog. The man was intrigued by mountains, winds and clouds, and one show a month. Jin writes 30 to ous area of Wenzhou, and he lect. Guangzhou, Guangdong province, the mystery of the island and was the singers had to use their voices 40 new songs for the choir every spends about 20 days a year at From July to December, the choir on Dec 8. curious about everything, like the to portray the scenes in the songs, year. their home. One of his works, will tour four Chinese cities, start- plants and the natural views. As rather than a concrete story,” Jin “Music is fun, and that’s what Zeya Anthology, is inspired by the ing with a concert in Nanjing, Contact the writer at he grew up, his dog died and his says, adding that he composed the brought the choir members togeth- Zeya mountain there, while Jiangsu province, on July 13, before [email protected] Innovative kung fu musical staged in New York NEW YORK — A kung fu musical ter for artistic invention in NYC. have strong physical abilities but are Phoenix Rise tries to approach the preserve their own identities. that tells a survival story of Chinese “I have been fascinated by martial willing to put in hundreds of hours of theme from a unique angle. But Chen did not only cast actors immigrants in New York City has arts since I was a boy — by their training so that the integrity of mar- The musical is set in Flushing, with Chinese backgrounds or use been staged at the Big Apple’s Hud- explosive energy, meticulous preci- tial arts is not sacrificed. He and the where many Chinese immigrants lyrics that were only familiar to Chi- son Yards neighborhood. sion and flowing movements,” says cast found a way to present martial live. It tells the story of an under- nese people. The “Chinese story” is The experimental musical, Drag- Chen, who adds that his passion was arts in a new form, blending the ground sect called the House of presented by performers drawn on Spring Phoenix Rise, tells the sto- fueled by reading martial-arts nov- fighting styles with dance moves that Dragon. The sect practices an from many backgrounds, and the A scene from the kung fu musical, ry of a secret sect in Flushing, els, including many titles by Jin are not traditionally Chinese. ancient martial art in order to pro- music is composed by a Western pop Dragon Spring Phoenix Rise, that Queens, that possesses the magical Yong (Louis Cha Leung-yung), one One of the cast members, Jasmine tect a secret treasure. artist because Chen believes that the tells a survival story of Chinese power to extend human life, and a of the greatest authors of the genre. Chiu, who is a native of Hong Kong, The main character, Little Lotus, “human experience is not exclusive immigrants in New York City. twin brother and sister caught in the When Chen was asked to make a says exploring the discipline of mar- was born and raised in a traditional but rather transcendental in nature”. PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY struggle to control it. new piece for The Shed, he showed tial arts was both challenging and household. Her journey to find her- “Like America at its best, Dragon The production has drawn talent Alex Poots, The Shed’s artistic fascinating as she picked up move- self led to betrayal, near death and Spring Phoenix Rise is about shared from around the world. It is directed director, a video clip of Bruce Lee’s ments she had never thought of resurrection. Eighteen years later, cultural values and experiences,” by Chen Shi-Zheng and written by first audition reel for Paramount before. her twins, Little Phoenix and Little Chen says. Kung Fu Panda’s Jonathan Aibel Studios in 1964. “Martial arts is so specific because Dragon, grow up unknown to one The musical has been applauded Like and Glenn Berger. It features songs In that clip, Lee attempts to explain it is for combat. You have to know the another: one in a humble apartment by many as one that bridged Chi- by Sia remixed by Bobby Krlic and the basics of martial arts, which were way that you attack and that every- in Flushing and the other in a pent- nese and Western cultures since its America at Arca, movement choreography by largely unknown in the United States thing is for a purpose,” says Chiu. house on Fifth Avenue. Taught an world premiere in June. its best, Akram Khan and martial-arts cho- at the time. A half-century later, there It was her first time learning about identical martial art by their respec- Chinese consul general in New Dragon reography by Zhang Jun. are few fighting sequences in world martial arts, and Chiu felt grateful tive parents, the twins lead lives that York Huang Ping says the production Fast-paced martial-arts sequen- cinema, superhero movies, television that she could take the opportunity are a mystery on many levels until showcases the talents of Chinese art- Spring Phoenix Rise ces and contemporary and hip- and theater that are not based on tra- to dedicate her performance to her the day they meet and discover their ists on the world stage and presents is about shared hop dance moves unfold in front ditional martial arts. late grandfather, Jin Yong. shared destiny. the essence of the Chinese culture. of, around and above the audience Chen has always aspired to do a The theme of immigration has Chen says the story was mainly He hopes the production team will cultural values and in this original production musical about Bruce Lee, but finding been explored by many musicals on about the hardship Chinese immi- create more works that prove popu- experiences.” designed specifically for the soar- the right cast proved to be very difficult.

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