People from a range of cultures will join together this weekend to share an Ode to the Moon.
Nearly 200 singers of all ages, along with Aroha String Quartet will perform songs from China and New Zealand, including 'Hine e Hine', Gareth Farr's 'Mondo Rondo' and 'The Moon Represents My Heart' – a Chinese folk song.
Oriental Voices Choir Photo: Supplied
Wellington Community Choir, Oriental Voices and the Lyrica Choir from Kelburn Normal School lend their voices. Each group will perform separate pieces before coming together for the finale.
The performance at Te Papa celebrate the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival on Sunday afternoon, supported by Wellington City Council and the China Cultural Centre.
Haibo Li, director of Oriental Voices is looking forward to the performance. “Some people have never performed on the big stage, so we are very lucky to perform with our community,” she says.
Oriental Voices is part of a culture and performance arts group founded by Haibo Li. It started as a group teaching youth how to dance, and now embraces a range of cultural activities, including a choir.
The performance groups have more than 200 members, with 40 in the choir. “We sing all different kinds of songs from various cultures,” she says. “We have lots of different nationalities. It doesn’t matter which culture or background [you’re from]; people love the friendship.”
The moon was an obvious choice of theme to combine the different cultures in the performance. “It’s a global theme to the environment and history… from ancient china we celebrate the moon custom,” she says. “Here in New Zealand Maori, they also celebrate Matariki and have their own story.”
Members of the Oriental Voices Choir Photo: Supplied
Maori poems, ancient Chinese and contemporary English poems will be used to thread the music together.
“Music makes good things happen,” says Aroha String Quartet member Haihong Liu.
