Voices that care

Cantabella Children’s Chorus from the United States

World Vision Korea brings int'l youth choirs for helping children

Artistic director Kim Hee-churl

By Chung Ah-young

In 1960, Korean children who were left in disarray after losing their parents during the Korean War (1950-53) were living in an orphanage supported by the World Vision, an international relief agency.

Among some 15,000 orphans, 43 musically-gifted children ― 36 girls and seven boys ― found their way through music after joining the inaugurate World Vision Korea Children’s Choir. The choir members toured the world to give singing performances anywhere ― prisons, military units, hospitals and churches ― to those who need comfort through music. Their performances contributed to lifting the national image which was regarded as a war-stricken, hopeless nation into the promising land home of new hopes from children who lost their parents but grew through support and education when the performances were aired across the United States in 1961 through television.

In 2000, when the choir celebrated the 40th anniversary of its birth, it turned its eyes to the world to invite international youth choirs in a bid to contribute to world peace through children’s voices, launching the World Vision Korea International Children’s Choir Festival. The festival takes place every three years.

Now growing into the internationally acclaimed children’s choir festival, the upcoming event will kick off on July 27 and continue through Aug. 1 at Seoul Arts Center in southern Seoul. This year’s event will invite six world-class diverse choirs from five countries in the hope for uniting and helping the underprivileged under the theme “A Voice for the Voiceless.” As 2013 was declared as the Year of Water Cooperation according to the U.N. resolution, parts of the proceeds of the festival will be used for clean water projects for children suffering from unsanitary water.

“The World Vision Korea Children’s Choir which was created in the ashes of the Korean War found hope through music and touched the world through their innocent vocals. This festival was also launched in a similar way to give back their hope to other suffering children in the world,” Kim Hee-churl, artistic director of the festival, said. Kim who has taken the helm of directorship since the festival’s inception in 2000 has seen the festival’s growth into one of the sought-after events in the world.

“The world’s top-class choir vied for taking part in our event as the festival not only offers musical exchanges but also Korean cultural experience. The festival is getting international recognition,” he said.

Kim said that the festival judges have selected the participants based on the criteria of their conductor’s capacity, repertoire and musical quality. For this year’s event, numerous choirs applied and some can’t attend due to tight competition. “We are trying to strike a balance when selecting the choirs evenly from each continent but there are few applicants from African and South America this year,” he said.

Queensland's Hillcrest Christian College Children's Choir from Australia

Pursuing peace and stability for children across the world in accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the festival brings children and adolescents from all over the world by singing peace through various genres of music such as folk, classical and contemporary music.

La Schola from Switzerland, Queensland's Hillcrest Christian College Children's Choir from Australia and Taiwan’s Crystal Children's Choir, Consortium of Voices Children's Choir from the Philippines and Ragazzi Boys Chorus, Grammy Award winner, Cantabella Children's Chorus from the United States, including the World Vision Korea Children’s Choir will grace the festival. Among others, Taiwan’s Crystal Children's Choir will draw attention as they will present a rearranged version of “Tell Me” by K-pop girl group Wonder Girls at the festival.

Boasting of some 80-year-old tradition since it was found in 1930 to provide quality education both in general education and religious music to underprivileged children, La Schola will show the essence of European traditional choir music. It consists of more than 150 choir members who are from aged from 6 to 25. La Schola have performed in France (Paris), Italy (Rome), Belgium (Brussels), Germany (Munich and Salzburg), Israel, Canada, Greece, Russia and perform more than 30 times a year.

The hosting choir, World Vision Korea Children’s Choir is also renowned as a cradle for many talented singers such as David DQ Lee, one of the world’s top three countertenors, lyric soprano Hong Hei-kyung, singer Park Nam-jung. They were the early members of the choir in their childhood.

The director stressed that the festival will be a venue for the audience to see international music from various continents at one viewing.

“I want to make the festival a message-oriented event. Children from the world not only sing together but also share their ideas and exchange cultures despite different races and nationalities. I hope that children would think others as global neighbors not competitors. Unlike other similar events, this is a rare festival that puts more emphasis on cultural exchange than competition,” he said.