Concert Report CHAN Wai Yu 1155029579

The Annual Performance of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University Students’ Union Choir was held on 23rd
March 2019 in Tsuen Wan Town Hall Auditorium.

The choir was split into 3 groups which were conducted by 3 conductors. The programme consists of 5 sets of
2-3 pieces, an acapella sung by a small group and a grand finale piece performed by the whole choir and
conducted by a student-conductor at the end.

The concert with Mr Ho conducting an energetic, rhythmic acapella piece titled “Nyon Nyon” by Jake Runstad,
followed by “蒲公英”, an expressive piano accompanied piece by 潘行紫旻. The conductor employed
contrasting gestures in these two pieces and was very clear with entries. He also reminded choristers of voice
projection at times and of pitch problems at long notes by pointing to his ear occasionally. Choristers sung from
memory for this set and the interatction between them and the conductor was effective.

The second conductor, Mr Lee, conducted the second set and the fourth set. The choir formation was in STBA
with the male voice concentrating in the middle. Such formation helped male voices with their intonation as
they could listen to each other clearly.

All the pieces in set 2 and 4 began in soft dynamics but the conductor had relatively larger circular gestures
throughout the pieces. This results in being unable to demand more at the climax from the choristers. In the
piece “愛情樹”, the piano introduction was quite long and the conductor gave many cues for the pianist which
was not quite justified necessary. He also frequently reminded choristers of position of their voice, such as
high notes from forehead and support at diaphragm level. It was also noticed that he standing position became
firmer when the music had more tension and a wider range. One more point to note was the conductor tend to
put down his hands at the end of pieces when the piano was still playing the outro and the music had not yet
ended.

As for the choristers, this group had the best ability in intonation and the choice of repertoire was more
challenging than the other sets yet the pieces were well performed. One of the reasons could have been the
fact that they did not sing from memory so choristers felt more secure and could have put more efforts on
intonation and other aspects.

The third conductor, Ms Kwok, conducted the third and fifth set. The choristers sang all pieces except the
German piece from memory, however, they were not familiar with the music enough hence all 6 pieces were
rather plain with limited polishing.

In the piece, “Zigeunerleben”, the choir probably found the German text challenging and hence at tempo
changes, they were not quite together, especially the entry after the soli. The percussionists playing the
tambourine and triangle could have been more accurate at the rhythm as well.

This was particularly apparent in “I am not Yours” by Z. R. Stroope. The text is a poem expresses heart
wrenching unrequited love. The score gave the instruction “Molto espressivo” in the beginning and “Molto
appassionato” at the climax but the tempo performed was quite straight even at the rallentando and fermata. It
is suggested that more time could be taken throughout the piece to increase tension. It is however
understandable that choristers themselves have to be very familiar with the music to allow the conductor to
conduct such delicate time taking. In the piece, “Didn’t my Lord deliver Daniel”, which is a traditional spiritual,
similarly, more polishing could have been done in layering different dynamics.

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The pianists in the concert worked well with the conductors. They were able to follow cues and articulation
instructed by the conductors only except in “愛情樹" in which the pianist played quite a number of wrong notes,
probably owing to the Db major key.
In conclusion, as a university choir, the choice of repertoire was appropriate in terms of difficulty and diverse in
style. The choristers, accompanists, soloists and conductors displayed strong bonding hence their efforts in
rehearsing could be reassured.

Programme
Conductor Piece Composer Choir Formation Books down

Ho Nyon Nyon Jake Runstad SATB Yes

蒲公英 潘行紫旻

Lee 前へ 佐藤賢太郎 STBA No

Entreat me not to leave you Dan Forrest

Kwok I am not Yours Z. R. Stroope TB Yes

Abide Dan Forrest SA
Didn’t my Lord Deliver Daniel Traditional Spiritual

Lee 群青 信長貴富 STBA No

愛情樹 冉天豪
Let my love be heard Jake Runstad

Kwok Zigeunerleben, Op. 29, No. 3 Robert Schumann TB No

Indodana Isixhosa SA Yes
I love you / What a Wonderful World Craig Hella Johnson Yes

/ Take Me Home - Pentatonix Arr. Roger Emerson / Yes

Yip Fix You - Coldplay Arr. Michelle Kwok, SATB No

Ng Kwan Ming,
Kennis Cheung
Concert Poster