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International Community Choir to hold a concert to raise funds for charity

International Community Choir to hold a concert to raise funds for charity

2022-11-25

Today, in our spotlight series, we meet members of the International Community Choir. The choir was founded in 2003 and has been a safe haven for talented foreign residents to perform and give back to the community. For almost 20 years, the choir has been holding two concerts every year to give back to a local charity. Their upcoming concert is on December 11. FTV reporter Stephany Yang met some of the members to find out more.

The members of the choir rehearse "Gloria in Excelsis Deo." This is the International Community Choir, a group of talented singers who perform together to help raise funds for Saint Anne’s Home, a local charity in Taipei. The choir performs songs in many different languages including English, Taiwanese, Mandarin, Japanese, French, Spanish, and Hebrew.

In addition, they sing a variety of music genres ranging from jazz, swing, traditional carols and classical pieces. They are led by Ruby Lai, a conductor who has over 30 years of experience as a pianist and choir conductor.

Ruby Lai
Conductor
My goal is to let everyone feel renewed and enriched after each rehearsal. I try to pick a variety of music genres. We sing traditional carols, we do folk songs, classical pieces. We also do jazz, swing, gospel, and sometimes a capella. We do African music, Latin American music, and we sing tunes from the Broadway shows.

Founded in 2003, the International Community Choir hopes to unite women from the international community who love to sing and to raise funds for Saint Anne’s Home. There are currently 19 members, hailing from the U.S., Canada, Germany, India, and more.

Carrie Chiles
Member of choir
I’m originally from Canada but have lived in Taiwan for almost 30 years. When my children were young, I had a large family, and I had no personal time for myself. A friend of mine in the choir said, "Come and sing with us." I didn’t even know I could do that. But she helped me to facilitate to come and sing in the choir. It was the only time of the week that I had time for me. It filled my soul. I just felt like I met other people, it was a great social connection, and I was around music.

Sahar Shaikh
Member of choir
When I sing in the choir, it gives me the sense of togetherness, the sense of happiness. To see so many different ladies from diverse backgrounds imparting a truly multicultural aspect to the choir. The common thread underlying that all these ladies have is the joy of singing.

The choir meets Wednesday mornings for a 1.5-hour practice. Choir rehearsal practice starts with stretching, followed by vocal warm-ups, and singing songs. For many of the members, joining the choir has helped them find true friendship, belonging, a home away from home, and self-care.

Meredith Lee
Member of choir
I joined the choir in September of 2015. I had just moved to Taiwan. I actually served as manager for about six years. What I love about the choir is that in all honesty, it’s the highlight of my week. I always feel better when I get back from the choir. Just the sense of being around other people and singing gives me great joy. My day is always better after I spend time in the choir.

Shangning Postel-Heutz
Member of choir
Especially During COVID, there was one Christmas concert during COVID. No one of the expats could go home to their home country. They were here in the audience. You could feel their sadness but also their gratitude to be there. We as an expat community celebrating Christmas together due to COVID. This was an emotional moment for me.

Antonia Hoffman
Member of choir
All the money that comes from ticket sales goes to Saint Anne’s Home. Which is right next to the church here that we are in now. If you look out of the window, you can already see it. We try to invite as many people as possible because the home is for children with special needs, so they really need a lot of money. We are always happy that we can provide that.

Every year, International Community Choir holds two concerts, one in December and one in May.

Stephany Yang
FTV reporter
The concert will be held at the Mother of God Church. All proceeds will go to St. Anne’s Home.

All ticket proceeds are donated to a Saint Anne’s Home, a local charity in Tianmu that serves people with intellectual disabilities. The people at St. Anne’s Home also attend the concert every year.

Hannah Shu
St. Anne’s Home director
The most important thing here is to accommodate extremely severe cases. The youngest patient here is 23 years old, and the oldest is 52 years old. Our services here start from the moment they come in. We provide them with shelter, food, clothing, housing, and transportation. As soon as the person comes in, they will stay here until they grow up. The choir has sung for more than 20 years, twice a year without interruption. It also allows our patients to show their gratitude through their voices. We are very grateful for their help.

The choir will hold a concert on Dec. 11 at 3:00 p.m. at the Mother of God Church in Tianmu. The choir hopes to continue to give back to the community and bring holiday cheer to all.

國際社區合唱團舉辦音樂會 為社福機構募款

2022-11-25

今天在我們的人物專訪系列中,我們來認識"國際社區合唱團"的成員。合唱團成立於2003年,讓有才華的外僑有機會表演和回饋社區。近20年來,合唱團每年都會舉辦兩場音樂會,回饋當地的慈善機構。他們即將在12月11舉行音樂會。

國際社區合唱團的團員正排練合唱聖詩,他們每年都會為台北當地的社福機構"聖安娜之家"募款。合唱團以多種不同的語言演奏,包括英語、台語、中文、日語、法語、西班牙語和希伯來語。

不只多國語言,他們演唱的音樂類型也很多元,包括爵士樂、搖擺樂、傳統頌歌和古典樂曲。指揮賴柏如擁有超過30年鋼琴演奏和合唱團指揮經驗。

[[指揮家 賴柏如]]
"我的目標是讓每個人在每次排練後,都感到煥然一新和充實。我嘗試選擇各種類型,我們唱傳統頌歌、民歌、古典樂曲、爵士樂、搖擺樂、福音音樂,有時還唱無伴奏,我們還會選非洲音樂、拉丁美洲音樂,以及百老匯演出的曲子。"

國際社區合唱團成立於2003年,集結來自各國熱愛唱歌的女性,同時為聖安娜之家籌款。目前成員有19名,來自美國、加拿大、德國、印度等。

[[合唱團成員 Carrie Chiles]]
"我來自加拿大,但在台灣生活了將近30年。我的孩子還小的時候,因為是大家庭,沒有屬於自己的個人時間,在合唱團的一個朋友說:來和我們一起唱歌吧,但我不知道如何加入,她就帶我加入合唱團,這是我一星期中唯一能有自己的時間,我感到非常充實。我認識了很多人,這是一種很好的社交關係,而且可以接觸音樂。"

[[合唱團成員 Sahar Shaikh]]
"當我在合唱團唱歌時,它給我一種團結和幸福的感覺,有這麼多不同背景的女士,展現合唱團多元文化的一面。大家的共同點是熱愛唱歌。"

合唱團每週三早上花一個半小時練習,從伸展運動開始,還有開嗓和唱歌。對於許多成員來說,他們在合唱團交到好朋友、擁有歸屬感、像來到另一個家,也懂得怎麼照顧自己。

[[合唱團成員 Meredith Lee]]
"我2015年9月加入合唱團,那時候剛搬到台灣。我擔任了大約6年的經理。老實說,我喜歡來合唱團,因為這是我每一週期待的事。當我團練回來,我總是感覺心情變得很好。單純跟其他人一起唱歌就讓我很開心。練合唱之後,通常會比較愉快。"

[[合唱團成員 林鄉寧]]
"特別是在疫情期間,舉辦了耶誕音樂會,沒辦法回到家鄉的外僑坐在觀眾席時,你可以感受到他們的悲傷,也可以感受到他們充滿感恩。我們這個外籍人士的社區一起慶祝耶誕節,對我來說相當感動。"

[[合唱團成員 Antonia Hoffman ]]
"所有門票收入都會捐給聖安娜之家,就在我們現在所在的教堂旁邊,如果你向窗外看,你已經可以看到了。這個機構是收容身心障礙的孩子,他們真的需要很多錢,我們很樂意幫助他們。"

國際社區合唱團每年會舉辦兩場音樂會,一場在十二月,一場在五月。

[[民視英語新聞記者 楊怡安]]
"音樂會將在天母天主堂舉行,所有門票收入都將捐給聖安娜之家。"

所有門票收入都將捐給照顧身心障礙者的機構聖安娜之家,聖安娜之家的服務個案每年也會參加音樂會。

[[聖安娜之家主任 許春惠]]
"我們這裡最主要是安置極重度的一些個案,這邊孩子最小是23歲,最大已經52歲。我們這邊的服務從一進來,住在這裡,食、衣、住、行,我們都協助他們,我們這裡的孩子一進來就是一直到終老那刻,20幾年不間斷,一年兩次,用他們的歌聲讓我們的孩子可以唱出心中的感恩,我們非常謝謝他們的幫忙。"

國際社區合唱團將於12月11日下午三點,在天母天主堂舉行一場音樂會。他們希望繼續回饋社會,為大家帶來耶誕節的歡樂。

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