Successful trip for the Seychelles National Choir in China |27 December 2019
(L to r) Mr Gomme, Ms Blandine, Mr Alexis and Ms Lownam pose with their award during the press conference (Photo: Thomas Meriton)
The Seychelles National Choir recently participated in the International chorus festival – ‘The 21st Century Maritime Silk Chorus Festival’ – in Hainan, China and came back with an award.
The Seychelles National Choir, led by conductor Xiaoju Lownam, had 30 Seychellois in their troupe. They had to perform among fourteen other international choirs and other Chinese choirs.
“Seychelles had a very strong choir from senior citizens to youngsters. We performed several songs that were appreciated by the various choirs. We also managed to present some of our local talents such as a traditional dance,” noted Mrs Lownam in a press conference following their return.
Mrs Lownam also noted that whenever they travel to other countries they become ambassadors for Seychelles and they seize the opportunity to promote Seychelles as a tourist destination. They get the promotional kits and share it with the new friends around the world.
Terrence Gomme, another member of the National Choir, added that participating in such an activity brought in a whole new experience. “It is not always easy for us as a choir and it has been quite challenging for us. We need the support of the department of culture as for the last 20 years the National Choir has been doing fund raising activities in order to support our events.”
Marie Blandine, member of the choir committee, noted that it is interesting to see how much the Seychelles National Choir is appreciated outside Seychelles. “It is a joy to see how other people respond to our choir and it is unfortunate that in Seychelles our National Choir is not invited for events,” she noted.
Julien Alexis, a choir member, also spoke about how the choir is not being used in national events. “The government seems to be ignorant about our existence and we rarely get the chance to perform. Every time we represent Seychelles in a festival we come back with an award. We hope that with this award, people will get to know more about the choir.”
The accompanying photos show some highlights of the choir’s participation at the festival.
Vidya Gappy
