[SCMP Archive] Harmony beneath the lights
Hong Kong International School students bring the colour of Christmas to the Tai Po Industrial Estate. Miranda Ip reports.
[First published on Dec 24, 1997] Singers from Hong Kong International School led staff at the South China Morning Post in carols under a colourful Christmas tree.
The middle school choristers sang special versions of classic festive songs, including Do You Hear What I Hear, Away in a Manger and Deck the Halls.
The lights on the tree were switched on by Post editor Jonathan Fenby.
Island School singers, aged between 11 and 14, were members of a group called Allegretto.
Group director Paul Stanley said: "It is a commitment. They have to manage their time properly as they have many other areas of the curriculum to worry about."
Allegretto members practise about two hours a week.
Student Sharlene Tan Yen-ching, also musical director of the group, said: "All of them love singing and they are talented. Many of them play musical instruments."
Yen-ching said it was the first time she had directed a group of singers.
"My friends were surprised when I told them," she said. "It is not very often that a student has directing experience."
Singer Jacqueline Wong Tze-ying, a Form Six student, said: "It is my first time performing in public. It is really interesting and a really good experience."
Those witnessing the tree-lighting ceremony included Jonathan Chung Man-kit, the son of Post staffer Wong Chiu-yan.
"The Christmas tree is very beautiful but it is not as tall as the one in my dreams. That tree is as tall as the sky," the eight-year-old told Young Post.
Man-kit revealed his other Christmas dream to receive a Nintendo game system.