Red Star Chorus of the PLA Academy Of Arts Visits Japan

Headed by Jing Dunquan, vice president of the CPAFFC, with Li Guoru, deputy director of the Publicity Department of the General Political Department of the People’s Liberation Army as his deputy, and Li Shuangjiang, the well-known tenor as art director, a 78-member Red Star Chorus of the People’s Liberation Army Academy of Arts visited and performed in Japan from February 8 to 14 at the invitation of the Min-On Concert Association (Min-On) of Japan.

Tokyo Performance Wins Enthusiastic Appreciation

As arranged by the Min-On, a concert was held in Tokyo at the most famous Japanese concert hall within the Tokyo Opera City. The hall was fully occupied and over one thousand audience enjoyed the Chinese young singers’ performance. They specially prepared some Chinese and Japanese folk songs, some songs well-known in the world. As the hall was filled with familiar melodies, the audience followed the beat and hummed with the chorus. Especially, when they heard the melody of Mother, the audience immediately gave a thunderous applause. As requested by the enthusiastic audience, the chorus sang the song for the second time, and all the audience sang with them, the people in the entire concert hall became one. When the conductor put down the baton, the last note lingered on in the air and the rhythmatic clapping of hands grew louder and louder until the hall was filled with a thunderous applause, a really joyous and harmonious scene. Many audience and the singers were in tears of excitement. The Chinese choristers were moved by the true sentiments of the Japanese audience, and with tears in their eyes, they said, “The Japanese audience are so great.”

After the performance, the audience interviewed said the show was really wonderful and we could see the potentiality of the Chinese young people and feel their friendship. It was privilege to have a chance to enjoy the chorus performance of such high standard. Hiroyasu Kobayashi， president of the Min-On, said, “True art goes beyond boundaries and today I see the high spirit of the students of the People’s Liberation Army Academy of Arts and their high artistic attainment. I believe, singing is the best way to connect peoples and nations. The performance today will further strengthen and enhance the friendship between the Japanese and the Chinese people.”

Chinese and Japanese media followed with interest the Red Star Chorus’ visit to Japan. Many of them gave coverage to its performance, stating that the performance by the Red Star Chorus has brought in warmth and friendship as well as the glamour of Chinese young generation.

Profound Friendship with Panasonic Corporation

On February 13, at the auditorium of Panasonic Corporation in Osaka, the Red Star Chorus and the Panasonic Choir jointly held a joyous concert. Panasonic Corporation has a 90-member chorus, known as the Panasonic Choir which has won the gold prize 18 times in chorus competitions in Japan. In April 2008, the chorus held a performance at the Beijing Forbidden City Concert Hall together with the Red Star Chorus. How sweet it was for old friends to reunite!

Before the two choruses met on the stage again, Yukio Shohtoku, adviser to the Panasonic Choir and former vice president of the corporation, delivered a speech, recalling the joint performance of the two choruses in April last year when the Panasonic Choir toured in China and the Choir’s singing of Jasmine Flower at the gate of the corporation to greet President Hu Jintao during his visit to Japan in May 2008. He said, we felt greatly honoured to greet the Chinese leader with the well-known Chinese song that they learned during their last tour in China. In his speech, Head of the delegation Jing Dunquan praised the Panasonic Corporation for its outstanding contribution to the economic and trade cooperation between China and Japan in the past 30 years, and its efforts to push forward cultural exchanges between the two countries. He hoped the joint performance of the Panasonic Choir and the Red Star Chorus would further deepen the friendship and promote Sino-Japanese cultural exchanges.

Their performance lasted more than an hour and the auditorium was filled with a friendly and harmonious atmosphere from the beginning to the end. It was an extremely warm scene when the 160 singers of the two choruses stood hand in hand, using the same songbooks, and sang together Jasmine Flower in Chinese and Sakura in Japanese. Head of the Panasonic Choir Junichi Watanabe said with emotion that the Red Star Chorus was the most vigorous art group that he had ever met. They performed with full vitality, showing high level of artistic attainment and appeal and expressing well their warm friendship towards the Japanese people. He hoped more exchange activities would be carried out between the two groups so as to jointly promote friendship between the people of the two countries.

At the evening party after the performance, members of the two choruses got together again in high spirit and enthusiasm. Although they could not speak each other’s language, they made every attempt to communicate in English, body language, and the few Chinese and Japanese words they had just learned, and every corner of the banquet hall was filled with friendly affection. In the end, all the participants sang Jasmine Flower and Sakura together and the beautiful melodies lingered for as long as the excitement of all those present at the party. They shook hands and hugged each other, reluctant to say goodbye and promising to meet again in Beijing.

In Osaka, the leading members of the delegation met with Yoichi Morishita，adviser to the Panasonic Corporation. The rest of the delegation visited the exhibition centre of Panasonic where they saw the latest advanced electronic appliances in the world, learned the efforts made by Panasonic to protect the environment of the earth, increased their knowledge in science and technology and environmental protection as well as their awareness of the importance of environmental protection.