盛华合唱团 (CCCAS)

Columbia Shenghua Choir (hereinafter referred to as Shenghua) is a large choir located in Harvey County with more than 120 registered members. Its predecessor was the Harvey Chinese School Choir, which is composed of parents and school teachers who love music and singing. Adhering to the purpose of "establishing a warm and harmonious home for music lovers, promoting Chinese culture, enriching community cultural life, improving the musical and cultural quality of members, making friends with songs, and cultivating sentiments", Shenghua was officially renamed in 2006 and has continued to grow and become the most popular, largest, and most balanced choir in the Greater Washington area. Most of its members are professionals who love music and chorus and live in counties such as Harvey, Anne Arundel, and Baltimore. In recent years, chorus enthusiasts from Montgomery and Frederick County have joined it. At present, Shenghua has a waiting list for new members to join the group. After the quota is opened, they will be absorbed into the group according to the rehearsal needs. At the same time, there are old members who do not attend the rehearsal for the time being and pay to become sponsored members.

Shenghua has regular rehearsals for two semesters every year. Unless there are special performance assignments, the troupe will take a break during the summer vacation and arrange travel and social activities for the entire troupe. Shenghua's singing activities mainly include the annual "Haihua Literary Festival: Folk Art Song Concert" in the Greater Washington area and the New Year's Eve concert at the Harvey Chinese School. In addition, they often participate in various cultural activities in the community, perform on stage, and exchange ideas. Shenghua has participated in the "China Garden" fundraising concert held at the Strathmore Music Center in 2007, the 2007 Beidahuang Chorus' visit to the "Songs from the Black Land Concert" for exchange performances, the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake relief charity performance held at the University of Maryland Park Campus, the 2008 "Blessing 2008 Olympic Games Celebration New Year Song and Dance Gala" held in Northern Virginia, and the 2008 Lyric Opera The Johns Hopkins Chinese Students and Scholars Association's "Spring Festival Art Performance" held at the Johns Hopkins Chinese House, the 2009 Harvey Chinese School's 10th Anniversary Art Performance, the 2010 "Music of Love" Charity Concert of the Chinese American Physicians Association (co-organized), the 2010 "Golden Autumn Full Moon 2010" large-scale art evening performance across the Taiwan Straits, the 2012 Mormon Visitor Center Theater's Shenzhen Chorus visited the "Washington Choral Gala" four-group exchange performance, the 2012 "Running to the Future" large-scale symphony chorus concert and the performance of this work in other cities in North America in the following years, the two 2013 and 2015 The performances included the 2013 Washington DC Spring Festival Gala, the 2013 College and University Association Gala, the 2013 Mormon Visitor Center Thanksgiving Concert (hosted), the 2015 Ode to Peace (co-organized) and Eternal Memory concerts commemorating the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Second World War and the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the participation in the Shanghai special performance of the overseas tour of Ode to Peace in the fall of 2015 (co-organized), the "Washington Chinese Center Information Release Conference and Art Performance" in the early summer of 2016, the performance at the "Harvey Cultural Center Inauguration Ceremony" in May 2017, and the stage performance of the Chinese Overseas Chinese Federation's "China Family" Art Troupe's 2017 overseas tour "China Family-Gathering in Washington" in September of the same year. In addition, Shenghua Choir also actively communicates with the mainstream community and has been specially invited by the World Artist Exchange Association (WAE) in the capital of Maryland several times to participate in the Annapolis Music Festival held at St. Ann School in 2008 and two annual performances organized by WAE. In 2011, the choir was introduced by the relevant departments of the Montgomery County government of Maryland and was invited to participate in the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Tribute and Celebration held in Strathmore and performed as a chorus. In order to contribute to the society, Shenghua also actively participates in mainstream community charity activities and has visited local elderly recreation or activity centers for New Year or holiday condolences.

In addition to the formal performances outside, Shenghua also organizes members to hold a grand New Year party, summer retreat, summer and Thanksgiving concerts every year. The two most recent ones were the "Midsummer Night's Voice" concert in August 2017 and the "2018 Shenghua Spring Festival Gala Variety Show" in January 2018.

The current conductor of Shenghua is Ms. Xu Yuqing, a doctor of conducting who has been committed to music education and chorus training for many years and has accumulated 30 years of experience. Conductor Xu Yuqing also has a master's degree in piano. The piano accompaniment in the rehearsal class provides great help for the members' singing practice and ensures the effective grasp of the pitch of each part. At the same time, Conductor Xu's unique vocal training is the key and core of the Shenghua Choir's great progress in singing in recent years. The lingering sound of "Forgetting"* in "Haihua Art Festival 2017" and the full interpretation of the Chinese ancient song "Yangguan Sandie"** in "Haihua Art Festival 2016" all reflect Conductor Xu's conducting skills and profound grasp of music. Shenghua's selection of songs is mainly Chinese art songs, as well as classic chorus repertoires from folk songs. At the same time, it purposefully picks up the exotic flowers and fruits of world famous songs in other languages, embracing them in order to further improve and mature the chorus skills.

Shenghua welcomes everyone who loves life and singing to join us, but the number of places is limited, so we only recruit boys with a basic level of singing skills. Girls with a good vocal foundation and chorus experience will be interviewed. If you are interested, please contact Director Huang Jin (443-834-8405). In the years to come, Shenghua Choir will be your home of music and friendship.