Conductor Dedicated to Music

Many people know that Zhejiang Song and Dance Ensemble has a legendary cho-rus Founded in 1994， the chorus has more than 700 singers at present They average 45 years old and they are very excellent singers The high-profiled chorus stages performances at home and abroad Amaz-ingly only two of all the chorus members are officials from the Ensemble and all the rest are singing enthusiasts whose careers are all in other fields

Hong Lihua， conductor of the chorus， is the soul of the chorus Conducting the largest amateur chorus of Zhejiang is her passion beyond her work as an official of Zhejiang Youth League Academy

The passion for music runs deep in her family Her father is a music director at the Culture Center of Dongtou， a county of islands in southern Zhejiang As a child， the girl had every chance to tag along with her father to watch all the performances and rehearsals She also had access to the musi-cal instruments at the center She was able to take various training courses at the center and attend lectures by visiting scholars and singers After her graduation from jun-ior high school， she enrolled at a special music course at Yue-qing Normal School After graduation， she signed up with the Music Department of Hangzhou Normal College， the pred-ecessor of today’s Hangzhou Normal University By that time， she had already made up her mind to dedicate her life to music

Hong Lihua shone at the college Her teachers and classmates were amazed to find that she was a good singer， versatile instrumentalist， good calligrapher， out-standing emcee among other things she was capable to do No wonder she came out first in a college-wide competition for all-round professional skills However， the most important thing in her college days was that she got to know a lot of people Among these people are Yan Baolin and Yan Shengmin Yan was conductor of the chorus of Zhejiang Song and Dance Ensemble before Hong took over whereas Yan is director of the chorus

Yan Baolin teaches how to conduct a chorus at Hangzhou Normal University This was the best course for Hong during her college days Yan appointed Hong as lead singer of the student chorus and chief singer of her voice part Yan recommended her to conduct some singing groups during her college days One day Yan invited Hong to watch a performance by the chorus of Zhejiang Song and Dance Ensemble at Hangzhou Theater She was amazed by the professional beauty created by a group of amateurs Pretty soon， Hong joined the chorus She became a lead singer， leader of a voice part， member of the art committee， and assistant conductor When Yan retired for medical conditions in 2002， Hong became the conductor and vice director of the chorus

Other people have helped Hong a great deal She is very grateful to her teachers， colleagues， and graduates from her alma mater for their trust and support With their help and encourage-ment， she has enjoyed leading Zhejiang’s largest chorus

Hong is a high-profiled person in the province’s singing and entertainment circles She hosted a fan com-petition program at Zhejiang Television for two years and more than 100 shows were created and screened Since she became a conductor， she has coached more than a hundred choruses across the province In addition to the chorus of Zhejiang Song and Dance Ensemble， the 8531 chorus of Zhejiang Daily Media， and the chorus of Zhejiang New Fourth Army History Re-search Association， she has helped many grass-roots choruses rehearse and perform This work has enabled her to know a wide range of people from top provincial gov-ernment leaders to street sweepers

Once asked what her mission as a chorus conductor was， she replied that she thought she was entrusted with the mission to create perfect music and dedicate it to as many people as possible， just as Herbert von Karajan said She is willing to build a bridge of music so that all the people on this land can learn about， appreciate， create and enjoy music She says she would be happy if her music can fill the hearts of the people This is her mission and her value

Hong has taken part in various inter-national music programs since 1999 as a singer and a conductor In 1999， she par-ticipated in a cultural exchange program for chorus singers of China， Japan and Korea The singers jointly staged the Ninth Symphony by Beethoven

In 2000， she attended an art and culture festival in southern France With singers from all over the world， she rehearsed and sang St Matthew Passion， a musical com-position written by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1727 for solo voices， double choir and double orchestra It was an unforgettable experience for her

In 2008， the chorus of Zhejiang Song and Dance Ensemble took part in an inter-national culture exchange program The chorus sang Jasmine Flower， a traditional Chinese folksong under her baton The singing produced a long standing ovation In July 2010， the chorus participated in the Sixth Shaoxing International Choir Festival and won three gold medals and one silver medal Nowadays， Hong is highly con-cerned with cultural exchanges between China and the rest of the world □