On the evening of January 7, at the performance site, members of the Yue Chorus released paper airplanes to the audience. Photo courtesy of Guangxi Culture and Art Center
“Are you nervous?”
“So nervous.”
As the performance approached, the members of the choir gathered behind the door on the side of the stage to cheer each other up. Outside the door, the auditorium that was empty yesterday was already full.
At 8:00 pm on January 7th, the Nanning Yue Choir's popular choral concert "The Unknown Man" was held at the Guangxi Culture and Art Center Concert Hall. This was their first official performance after an absence of 5 years, and it was also the first The first choral concert of China-ASEAN (Nanning) Cultural Month in 2024.
Nanning Yue Choir was established on March 6, 2015, and is composed of a group of people who love music. The choir aims to promote the local culture of Guangxi. The "Yue people" in its name refer to the ancestors of the Zhuang-Dong language group in the ancient south. Members range from those born in 50s to those born in 00s, and come from all walks of life and regions. His adaptation of "Black Cat Sheriff" has been viewed online for 20 million times and has been forwarded and praised by many media outlets.
"There is no salary, no income, and most of the group's expenses are paid for by themselves. Transportation, dinners, props, and group uniforms are all paid for by the members themselves. The choir's mascot, the Yue Ren doll, is designed and made by the members themselves." said Wang Ling, a new member who just returned from studying in South Korea.
When asked about the reason for joining the band, Wang Ling said that she had never thought about what she wanted before coming. "When they sang, I saw the enthusiasm in their eyes in the audience, which moved me deeply."
This The theme of this concert is "The Unknown Man". Hu Manli, the head of operations of the Yue Chorus, explained: "We are all unknown people. We are small and ordinary, but each of us can light up the world. We gathered on the stage because of our love for music to celebrate every ordinary person. But he is a nameless person who stands upright."
Dong Hongyun, a member who is over 50 years old, is a policeman. He comes to the choir to help in his spare time. "Although I can't sing, I am very happy to work as support for everyone."
At the performance site, the concert hall was almost full of people from the first row to the 24th row, from the first floor to the second floor. The audience was sometimes intoxicated by the music, and sometimes laughed out loud by the host's playful language. The audience was even more delighted when the children playing the role of kittens suddenly ran from the backstage and meowed in front of the audience.
While staring at the control screen, Hu Manli would glance at her phone from time to time to see if there was any important news. She was originally a music student, but after graduation she found a job that had nothing to do with art. She feels that music cannot be missing from her life. So in 2016, Hu Manli joined the choir while on maternity leave.
"Now the choir is 8 years old and my daughter is 7 years old. It feels like the choir is growing up with my daughter." Hu Manli said.
member Huang Shan has similar feelings. He once loved music very much, but later became an administrative staff member. He followed the choir when it first formed. After being a fan for 7 years, he finally decided to join last year. "I feel very happy after joining, as if I have returned to my student days. I used to spend my spare time scrolling through my mobile phone, but now I just memorize music scores."
Lan Zhuangqing, the artistic director of the Yue Choir, believes that art can make life better, and singing It is a joyful thing in itself, and chorus can make everyone involved fall in love with music and experience happiness.
In the eyes of many choir members, participating is more than just singing together.
Ms. Lu was one of the first members to join the choir. She quit the choir for a few years because of having a child. She returned to the choir when her child could live independently to a certain extent. Soon, due to family reasons, she had to take care of two children alone.
"The pressure was very high. One was in college and the other was still very young. We had to worry about her. She was in a particularly bad state during that time." Hu Manli said. After the choir members found out, they gave her a lot of help. Some chatted with her, others invited her out to eat and took her to relax.
“When I was at a low point in my life, the members gave me a lot of love and help.We are here to heal each other and fulfill each other. Now I feel like I can overcome anything. "Ms. Lu said that during the chorus she felt as small as a grain of sand, but yet indispensable.
On the stage, Ms. Lu's eyes were shining.
"Police officer? What? Caught? Alian is a—a man! "With a plop, the male singer on the stage sat on the ground.
This "Mask" is an anti-fraud work composed by Lan Zhuangqing and written by all the members. In the work, the male protagonist and the "heroine" went through an online relationship. After being asked for money many times, we finally found out that the other person was a man. "We put a lot of effort into creating this work, hoping it can remind everyone to be wary of online scams. " Lan Zhuangqing said.
Ms. Lu found love in the choir, and Zhong Lijuan, who played the female liar in "The Mask", found her way forward.
Zhong Lijuan is a vocal teacher. She found that the chorus here is as good as the school. Differently, many of the choir's innovations can broaden her teaching horizons. After coming here, she began to try to combine popular elements with traditional music, and she also felt a sense of responsibility for inheriting Guangxi's local music.
When singing "Looking Back Again" , Lan Zhuangqing, who was conducting on the stage, was so excited that he almost shed tears; when singing "Until the End of the World", the audience cheered with surprise; when singing "Broad Sea and Sky", some audience members unknowingly joined the chorus; After the official performance, the choir was applauded by the audience and asked to come back for another performance...
After being asked to come back 4 times by the audience, Hu Manli knew that the performance was over. Her heart was about to let go, and her heart on the other side was about to drop. Still hanging - her daughter was infected with influenza A just yesterday and still has a high fever.
"There are many people who have quit due to the pressure of life or work, but we, a group of people, are still running for what we love. "Hu Manli said that sometimes a member who has been with the choir for a long time suddenly leaves. They loved singing so much during a certain period of their lives, but they found something more important.
Since the establishment of the choir, the members have often moved around. Today's Most people are no longer the same people as before. “We are like a train, some people get on and some get off, but the train will keep moving forward. "Hu Manli said.
Jiang Chang, China Youth Daily·China Youth Daily reporter Xie Yang Source: China Youth Daily
Source: China Youth Daily
