The Houston Chinese School Association held its “Second Annual Singing Competition” at the Qiao Jiao Center Auditorium on Sunday, May 19th at 1:30 pm. The event featured three judges: Professor Yongwei Sun from Lone Star College, Dr. Peijun Wang, conductor of the Taiwan Voice Chorus, and music teacher Xiaojian Deng from ED WHITE Elementary School. The principal of ED WHITE, Franklin Chang, along with members of the choir, students from various schools, as well as teachers and parents, totaling over a hundred people, attended the event.
The competition was divided into three categories: elementary, intermediate, and advanced levels. The winners of the advanced level will automatically advance to the “Global Overseas Chinese School Singing Competition” organized by the Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission. To encourage participants, the Qiao Jiao Center will provide free professional recording studio sessions for the top three winners to send their videos to the competition. The final competition will be held in Taiwan, with the top three performers having the opportunity to showcase their talent at the National Day banquet and a chance to win substantial cash prizes and record a single to kickstart their singing career.
After nearly two hours of competition, the judging and selection process began. To ease the tension, the choir from ED WHITE Elementary School performed a Mandarin song. Teacher Xiaojian Deng introduced the enthusiastic Chinese choir students who actively engage in learning Mandarin and performing at local Asian community events. Principal Franklin Chang cheered the students on and expressed gratitude to the organizers for providing the students with performing opportunities. He also praised Xiaojian Deng’s dedication to music education and choir direction over the past three years.
Director Yingrong Wang from the Qiao Jiao Center presented the awards and encouraged everyone to utilize the center’s facilities to host various cultural and educational activities, hoping to witness the birth of more outstanding future stars. Judge Yongwei Sun advised participants, saying, “In a performance, the audience only cares about what they see and accept, which is the performer’s confidence.” As this was a Chinese song competition, special attention should be paid to the unique tonal qualities of the Chinese pronunciation. Peijun Wang pointed out the importance of song selection and the need to demonstrate the character of the song being performed. Deng Xiaojian encouraged students to exude confidence on stage, treat their voices and performances with faith, and convey the power of words through music to the audience, just as they read lyrics like reading a textbook.
The results of the competition are as follows: In the “Elementary Group,” third place went to Mulan Zhu from the Cultural Academy, second place to Ruo Zhen Qian from MIMS Immersion School, and first place to Ruo Yuan Qian from MIMS Immersion School. In the “Intermediate Group,” third place was awarded to Yuqing Yao from Tzu Chi, second place to Chunsheng Yang from Taiwan Plastics Chinese School, and first place to Hansheng Zhong from the Cultural Academy. In the “Advanced Group,” third place went to Xun Zhou from the Fu Bian Church, second place to Changze Wen from the Fu Bian Church, and first place to Zhizhen Zhan from Bellaire High School.