The 64-voice Brigham Young University Hawaii Concert Choir will perform in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, on Friday, 25 May in a joint concert with the Mongolian College of Music & Dance in the Opera Theatre at Sukhbaatar Square and Saturday, 26 May, in the Cultural Palace, following a three-week tour in China. (choir performance schedule )
The BYU-Hawaii Concert Choir has previously performed in some of the most prestigious concert halls in the world, including Carnegie Hall in New York City, the Metropolitan Opera City Concert Hall in Tokyo, and the Seoul Arts Center in South Korea.
In 2004 the BYU-Hawaii Concert Choir became the first Christian group ever invited to perform at the hallowed Meiji Shrine in Tokyo, one of Japan’s most sacred Shinto sites. Past international tours have taken the choir to New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga, Taiwan and Singapore.
Under the direction of BYU-Hawaii music director Professor Michael Belnap — who has studied in Italy with world-renowned tenor Luciano Pavarotti, the BYU-Hawaii Concert Choir performs a cappella and accompanied choral literature ranging from classical oratorio to international folk music, as well as American musical theater selections, and art music of Europe, the Americas and the South Pacific.
Members of the choir come from 13 different countries, including Mongolia, China, New Zealand, South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Tonga, Samoa and others. Over half of the students in the choir are bilingual.
“This is the first time a major BYU-Hawaii touring group will be going to Mongolia. Fifteen years ago we admitted our first Mongolian students, and we have had a close association with the Mongolian people since then,” said BYU-Hawaii President Dr. Eric B. Shumway.
“Fifteen years ago we had three or four students from Mongolia; now we have over 50. They make up a significant portion of our student body. They have a number of qualities that resonate at BYU-Hawaii: One, they all love their home country and want to go back. Two, they’re very bright students; and three, they have a sense of mission and also a sense of Mongolia’s place in the world.”
“We’ve also had a number of important visitors from Mongolia come to BYU-Hawaii, including the president of the country and the ambassador to the United States,” President Shumway continued. “We’ve been very impressed with them, and I think they’ve been impressed with us.”
“Besides these visits, we’ve had a number of our people go to Mongolia to work on various projects,” he said, “and we’ve had a close association with the Consortium of University Presidents. We’re also creating connections with businesses and organizations that will enable our Mongolian students to return home and contribute to the country. Our great goal as a university is to prepare them with the ability, desire and connections to be successful.”
“With this tour, we want to express our deep aloha — our love — and friendship for the people of Mongolia,” he added. “We have a profound respect for the people and nation. We see your strength in the students who come to BYU-Hawaii. We have a sense in our hearts that Mongolia and BYU-Hawaii will have a long-term relationship. It’s that harmony and mutual appreciation that is so important.”
For further information on the BYUH Concert Choir, please go to: http://w2.byuh.edu/perform. For more information on BYU-Hawaii, please go to: http://www.byuh.edu