NTD’s 9th International Chinese Vocal Competition Presents Pure Vocal Arts

(Minghui.org) NTD’s 9th International Chinese Vocal Competition was held in New York from September 18 to 21, 2024. The competition featured singers from eight countries. Ten singers advanced to the final round and earned awards.

The competition is one of a series of international cultural and arts events hosted by NTD Television Network. The vocal competition aims to promote traditional vocal arts of pure authenticity, pure goodness, and pure beauty, which provides a world arena for all Chinese vocalists to showcase their talents.

The competition is unique in that singers are to only sing in the bel canto style, and are required to perform at least one song in the Chinese language. The competition invited singers from the world-renowned Shen Yun Performing Arts to serve on its panel of judges.

Bel canto, Italian for “beautiful singing,” is characterized by purity, evenness, beauty of tone, and fluid lines. It was the dominant singing style during the height of Italian opera and is associated with composers Mozart and Rossini. A little-known fact is that this style of singing was once used in ancient Chinese theater as well. 

Award recipients of the NTD 9th International Chinese Vocal Competition at the Merkin Hall of Kaufman Music Center in New York City on September 21.

NTD’s CEO Janice Trey (left) presents awards to the two gold award winners, mezzo soprano Chunqing Zhang and soprano Yue Li.

Lucy Zhou, head of the competition organizing committee, congratulated all the singers who traveled far and wide to join NTD in New York.

“All of these singers are truly impressive, to have stood on this stage and joined in our mission to revive traditional culture, contributing to this historic mission,” Zhou said.

Mezzo-soprano Fengzhen Liu from the U.S. earned the silver award.

Min Jiang, head judge of the competition and a soprano with Shen Yun Performing Arts, presents the silver award to mezzo-soprano Fengzhen Liu.

Three singers were awarded the bronze award: Baritone Shaofeng Zheng from the U.S.; tenor Jun Wen Wong from Malaysia; and tenor Vincent Ji from the U.S.

Lucy Zhou, head of the competition organizing committee, presents the bronze award to tenor Vincent Ji, baritone Shaofeng Zheng, and tenor Jun Wen Wong.

Awards of Excellence were given to soprano Chau Nguyen from Vietnam, soprano Jieun Lee from Korea, soprano Chia-Yi Huang from the U.S., and soprano Yuchuan Zhang from Canada.

Lucy Zhou presents the Award of Excellence to sopranos Chia-Yi Huang, Yuchuan Zhang, Chau Nguyen, and Jieun Lee.

Gold Winner Chunqing Zhang: Special Opportunity

Mezzo soprano Chunqing Zhang performs at the NTD 9th International Chinese Vocal Competition.

Born in China, gold winner Chunqing Zhang pursued her vocal performance studies and opera career in Europe, but today tours and teaches around the world. She obtained her bachelor’s degree from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and then obtained graduate degrees in vocal performance and vocal education from the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin in Berlin. She said the NTD competition gave her a platform to do something no other venue provided.

Zhang sang “A Wonderful Night in Spring,” an ancient Chinese song originally written for the pipa, known as the Chinese lute. Zhang was heartened by the audience’s response to her interpretation of the familiar melody.

“I perform in major theaters across Europe, but I’ve never gotten to sing this song,” she said. 

Zhang said she was grateful for the opportunity to share the beautiful melody and the beauty of traditional Chinese culture. “And I was so happy with the audience’s reaction. People got what I was trying to convey,” she said. “All Chinese people know this story and melody, and I wished to bring this to people all over the world.”

Gold Winner Yue Li: “Very Precious Platform”

Soprano Yue Li performs at the NTD 9th International Chinese Vocal Competition.

Gold winner Yue Li learned to play the piano when she was young and currently studies vocal arts at a well-known music school. She said she was grateful for the platform NTD provided for traditional Chinese culture. She sang “Lyrics to the Melody of a Pacified Storm,” a Song Dynasty verse by the famous poet Su Shi.

“This is a very precious platform, and probably the only one in the world promoting Chinese bel canto singing, and it’s in the United States,” she said. “It’s always been a dream of mine to sing Chinese songs on a global stage.”

Award Winners: “A Precious Experience”

“This is a good start for me. The award gave me a lot of confidence and encouragement,” said silver winner Fengzhen Liu.

Bronze winner Jun Wen Wong said, “I very much appreciate NTD for providing such a platform for us singers. It also allowed me to make a lot of friends. This is a precious experience.”

Shaofeng Zheng, also a bronze winner, said, “This award is an encouragement to me. I also obtained stage experience and saw my shortcomings. Thank you very much NTD.”

Bronze winner Vincent Ji said, “This competition held by NTD is contributing to the vocal career of Chinese people. It was also a great encouragement for me. This is a very good start of my art career.”

Audience: “Meaningful and Refreshing”

Several hundred audience members attended the finals.

Political commentator and author Pokong Chen was in the audience. “The skills were beyond my expectations. Also, the Chinese contestants from all over the globe all carry the style of different countries. So it was not only high-level but also well-mannered,” he said. 

“As an audience member, I think this competition is very meaningful and refreshing. It encourages people’s passion for vocal arts,” Mr. Chen said. 

Jing Zhang, the New York-based founder of Women’s Rights in China, said, “Overall, the level of the competition was very high. Very enjoyable to the audience,” she said. She did not know that bel canto could present Chinese songs so beautifully. “Truly beautiful. Everyone enjoys this kind of high-level art. This makes the competition special. I hope NTD continues these competitions,” Ms. Zhang said.