UTD student singers will join Dallas Li-Sheng Ladies Choir for China performance tour

by PegNews wire

Thanks to the fact that several members of the Dallas Li-Sheng Ladies Choir had to cancel their planned attendance at the Beijing vocal competition to which they'd committed, seven University of Texas at Dallas Chamber Singers will now have a chance to fill their shoes. With their voices. (Sort of.)

Students Karen Banzon, Kelly Crowley, Ashley Hooker, Morgan Jones, Brittany Madsen, Preeti Parulekar and Zöe Webre were chosen to travel through northern China in June along with the Li-Sheng ladies, based on their auditions before conductor (and Dallas businesswoman) Emily Kuo Vong. They have since been practicing weekly with the choir.

"But will there be ping pong?"

Once the entire group arrives in China, they'll be joined by another group of women from Shanghai. Their itinerary calls for visits to the cities of Beijing, Datong, Taiyuan and Pingyao. During the Beijing competition, the group will perform two songs in Chinese and one in French.

The UTD School of Arts & Humanities and the Confucius Institute will pay for the students' airfare, and Ms. Vong will foot the bill for their lodging during the competition. The students themselves will pick up the remaining costs.

Extra-singing activities will include visits to the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, Tiananmen Square and other, lesser-known localities.

posted by JM