Voice Out in Harmony

D67 Toastmasters Chorus was successfully chartered by fourteen toastmasters at the voice parts audition Tuesday evening, August 25th. I shouldered the responsibility to arrange the training sessions with Chorus Conductor 洪綺玲. Kate Hsu offered her helping hands as Chorus Secretary; Lydia Lin, Chorus Treasurer; and Gina Fu, Sergeant-at-Arms. International Director George Yen gave his consent to name the first Toastmasters Chorus in Taiwan with honor and pride.

Conductor Hung and I met for brunch this morning to discuss the recital repertoire of D67 Toastmasters Chorus. The moment I saw Ms. Hung, I was excited to tell her my proposal of four songs, "Amazing Grace" in English; "丟丟銅仔" in Taiwanese; "赤蜻蛉" in Japanese; "Ode to Joy" in Mandarin. To my surprise, Ms. Hung gave me a more comprehensive counter proposal of five songs immediately, "火金姑 firebugs" in Taiwanese, "Do you hear me?" in English & sign language, "赤蜻蛉 red dragonflies" in Japanese, "Ode to Joy" in Mandarin, and "O Sole Mio" in Italian.

I am grateful that Ms. Hung works out her tight schedule to lead toastmasters in District 67 to a new frontier in music. She plans the recital program for two parts female and male vocals to sing five harmonic songs, from the first song we sing "Firebugs" with flashlights, to the last song of "O Sole Mio" sung by all participants, if we are given the chance to perform at D67 Fall Convention 2009 in November. Of course, we shall need at least two wide-range microphones and a piano on stage.

Many thanks go to two dozens of toastmasters who sign up without hesitation to support the ambitious initiative of D67 Toastmasters Chorus. Many thanks also go to Toastmasters friends Masaki Oshiumi and Rio Imamura of District 76 for their support of D67 Toastmasters Chorus in Taiwan.

Last October, Masaki came attend Joint Anniversary of Success and Kumamoto Toastmasters Clubs in Tao-yuan. Masaki san arrived one week in advance just to practice "Ode to Joy" with Lydia and I and we won a big round of applause at the dinner party of the joint anniversary. D76 Speech Champion Azuma Kiminari was so impressed that he encouraged Masaki-san to go on stage at district conferences in Japan immediately after our performance.

"Stage time, Stage time, Stage time," the words of Darren LaCroix, 2001 World Champion of Public Speaking echoed in my ears. How exhilarating it would be if D67 Toastmasters Chorus members could be given the stage time at D67 Fall Convention 2009 with toastmasters singers from Japan. If we could be a little more optimistic and ambitious, let's hope we can perform at D76 Spring Conference in Japan in 2010.

Ten sessions (each session of one and a half hours) of chorus training from Wednesday evening, September 23rd, till the end of November, cost NT$2,000 a person. If you are interested in developing your vocal skills in width and depth, please come join D67 Toastmasters Chorus now. You will be surprised how much fun you shall experience with singing toastmasters. For more information about this once-in-a-lifetime event, please contact Sherry Li, D67 Toastmasters Chorus Coordinator.