The Road is a Song, that Flowed Along

Singing, from youth, to adulthood, to entering into the later stages of life, translated…

Although we’re all students, and all, amateurs, but, with our youthfulness and our passions, whether it be for the sake of making the connections from one city to the next, or for a good cause, we’d all performed outstandingly in the concert settings………

I’d loved singing since I was a kid, forty years ago, my friend saw the poster of “Taipei YMCA Choir Recruiting Notice”, he’d invited me to audition with him, later on, singing had, accompanied me, through life.

We’d Performed All Over, and, Managed to Get the Couples

Together from the Choir Group

The choir was made up of mostly students, about thirty members, this small group is great, we’re able to interact with one another, in a smaller group setting, we’re more cohesive than the bigger choirs, and besides, the vast majority of members are all from church, and so, we’d often gotten invited to sing the tunes at churches, for the caroling around Christmas time, to record our own music, and we’d also, had concerts too, and, several times, the proceeds, we’d donated to the Hasen’s Disease unit.  Although, most of us are amateurs and students, but, with our passions and youth, whether it be getting people from town to town connected, or for the not-for-profit causes, we’d gone, all out, and, we’d performed, on the professional level.

As I joined, it was, the start of autumn, our former conductor, Yo-Jen Chu took us on warm-ups first, and, selected the songs, fitting for the Christmas season, the members of the choir are, very good at recognizing the music, with beautiful voices, and we all sang on pitch too, “We Wish You a Merry Christmas”, “Little Drummer Boy”, etc., etc., etc., as soon as we got the sheet music, we can, sing, in harmony with one another immediately, and the beautiful chorus surrounded me.  After the caroling of Christmas Eve, we’d headed over to a private welcome center, had ourselves some midnight snacks first, then, gone on a nighttime tour of Yangming Mountain, and all of this had, become memorable experiences for someone who grew up in the countryside.

The second year, we’d sang a song, to bless the marriage of a choir member in June, at the end of the year, we’d sung on a choir member’s wedding, the men of the choir became like roosters, with their heads, held high, as they sang on, and the ladies, dressed up appropriately, and, in the mixtures of the male and female voices, we’d sung “Oh, promise me that someday you and I, will take our love together to some sky.”  And, it seemed, that some sort of unspoken secrets were, hidden, between the flow of the notes that came out.

As the winter vacation came, we’d gotten on the bus, especially used, to send the students home, moved in, temporary, with the conductor, first, we’d gone to Zuoying’s Old Town Church to sing the carols, then, took the boat to Penghu, to perform, in the Makong Church, made visit to the penitentiary in Penghu, and exchanged with the youth locally.  Everybody said, that this trip had matched up the leader of the choir, Wen-Chong and Chong-Tzi, but someone said, “As early as the campout at the beach last Mid-Autumn Festival, as they sat together, gazing up at the stars, that, was when love had, gotten started.”

It was, the winter of 1977, the Chiayi Church held a winter choir camp, invited our group to speak at the seminars, afterwards, we’d gone to the nearby churches, to sing the carols.  We were able to, accomplish, one mission impossible after the next, with the aid of our choir team members, as well as the members of the church, and even the pastor commended us, “You young-uns, are afraid of nothing at all!”  As the train was about to depart toward the north, someone heard Nan-An say his unwilling goodbye to Shih-Jen, “I hope…I’m willing to…” Ha, that, was when we all realized, that the wedding bells will ring, very soon!

Even as the Choir Disassembled, the Music Still Continued on

With the turning of the hands of time, the members got enlisted, gone abroad, returned to their hometowns, the number declined considerably, and, those who remained in the choir were, the people who were there first, setting up the choir.  In 1984, the officers decided, to end the choir, but, whenever someone from the group hollered out, white river rafting at Hsiu-Luan Stream, star gazing in Kenting, offering aid in the tribal villages of Jien-Shih County………they’re all, great chances that we’d all, gotten back together again…

For forty years now, the matches made within the choirs had increased, my husband, Nan-Chang Chien and I, are among them.  Two years ago, at the music festival hosted in the National Music Halls, a “young rooster” came hopping by toward my husband, “Mr. Chien, I’m the son of Yo-Jen Chu………” ha, looks like the second generation of the singers are all grown up now.

Last year, Nan-An and Shih-Jen who lives in New Zealand invited us, the chorus to Christchurch to visit, we’d gone to the Good Shepherd church by Lake Ticapo on the southern island to sing the gospel, Nan-Chang was the Soprano and the conductor, the church wasn’t big at all, with a TON of tourists, and, they’d given us, applauses, for every verse we’d performed, it’s, as if, we’d, returned to our older days of performing as a choir again.  In the southernmost astrological station of the tip of the globe, the three men still looked, very valiant, not paled by comparison, as those “little roosters” who’d performed on the beaches, way back when, I can’t even tell, that they’re all, past sixty.

Although, the YMCA chorus is no longer together anymore, but, to date, the members of the choirs still stayed in touch, and continued being good friends, and, the gospels still, is a part of my life to date.

And so, see how long those friendships are lasting?  And, it would be, truly, very, difficult, to keep these contacts from your long-ago youth, but, this group of singers still managed to keep in touch, no matter how much distance spanned between them all, and that, is how amazing the friendships are here!