By Alex Stoddard
Hello from Beijing!
Today was Day 1 of the Classical Singer International Vocal Competition. The talent of the 70 singers from the Central Conservatory of Music surprised and impressed the American faculty we have with us.
We started the morning with a Chinese-American buffet breakfast. The options at the breakfast bar were unique and endless.reads, fruits, fried vegetables, fried rice, steamed vegetables, raw fish, cold meat, fried eggs, boiled eggs, pastries, seafood, and dishes I didn’t recognize (nor dare try). The competition and masterclass series is held at the Central Conservatory of Music which is right across the street from our hotel. The small campus is beautifully kept, clean, and shines with traditional Chinese architecture and culture.
We split into two groups of judges and began the day. Each room listened to about 35 singers with an hour break for lunch. I’m not a singing expert, so don’t rely on my opinion too much, but the quality of singers was fantastic. I heard numerous comments from the judges how impressed and surprised they were. No, the technique and diction weren’t completely polished, but the voices were generally excellent. Joseph Evans of University of Houston felicitously commented, “Can I just take them all back with me?”
Twenty four singers advanced to the Final Round which will be held tomorrow. All twelve American faculty members will sit in to adjudicate that round and select the winners. We’ll then have an Awards Ceremony and Winners Concert to top off the night.
Part of the adventure of traveling to a foreign country is the food. I already mentioned breakfast, but dinner was as almost eventful from a palate perspective. We ate at a popular restaurant in downtown Beijing at one of the main malls. We sat at round tables and sampled the truly ethnic and authentic Chinese food. I’ve included a picture because sometimes words don’t do justice. All in all it was good, but different.
So Day 1 is in the books. And I’m tired. The jet lag is more than I expected and the air quality has ruffled up my allergies a bit.
But it was a great day of singing!
Here are links to all the Blog posts from China:
Day 2 – www.auditionsplus.com/blog/?p=2986
Day 3 – www.auditionsplus.com/blog/?p=2991
Day 4 – www.auditionsplus.com/blog/?p=2997
Written by Alex Stoddard, General Manager of Classical Singer and Auditions Plus. Email Alex at alex@classicalsinger.com and follow him at twitter.com/alstod.
