bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

SCMP Reporter

A STRONG musical tradition in the school gave the mixed choir from St Stephen's College all the backing it needed for a winning performance at the Hong Kong Schools Music Festival.

  Having a highly qualified music teacher was no doubt an added advantage.

   With such background and backup, it was no surprise when the Intermediate Mixed Voice Choir of St Stephen's beat five other schools in the Mixed Voice Choir (Aged 16 and under) category. The school scored a whopping 95 marks.

  Veteran adjudicator Dr Richard Lin congratulated the group for its 'wonderful tone', 'dynamic diction' and 'excellent choice of music'.

  'You are very musical, thanks to the conductor,' he added.

  But the choir was formed barely five months ago, and the foreign language song they selected, besides the required piece Donkey Riding, required some training in Tagalog, the main dialect of the Philippines.

  The St Stephen's College music teacher, Tong Shiu-wai, who is also artistic director of the Hong Kong Children's Choir (HKCC), said the students received strong support from the school.

  'Our school greatly encourages sports and music to help students to develop their talents,' Mr Tong said. 'The emphasis, however, is not on competing but on motivating the students, especially the less academically inclined, to prove themselves in other areas.

  'We want to widen the students' musical experience not only by encouraging them to take part in the music festival, but also through music exchange and performing with overseas groups,' Mr Tong added.

  In June, the school's Treble Choir, which was set up just this year along with the Senior Mixed Choir, was invited to take part in the International Music Festival in Australia.

  To encourage an interest and commitment to music, the school will reward choir members who achieve a 90 per cent attendance in choir practice with subsidised tickets for the famous musical, Phantom of the Opera. Students need to pay only $50.

  Referring to the performance, Dr Lin reminded the boys of the St Stephen's College choir that they could have held their notes longer in the Tagalog song, Lutong Pilipino.

  'Donkey Riding is a difficult song to sing. Many need to work on their articulation to get a clear rhythm,' he told the participants.

   Shau Kei Wan Government Secondary School came second with 88 marks, and Wa Ying College third with 85 marks.

      St Stephen's College was awarded the Oxford University Press Trophy and $200 donated by TVB.



Blending a winning mix