Malaysian choirs

Although there are no professional choirs in Malaysia, there are a handful of state-backed semi-professional choirs and many active amateur choral groups throughout the country. Many choirs in Malaysia are linked to schools, tertiary educational institutions, churches and other religious institutions, performing arts groups or registered musical societies. As a rule of thumb, any Malaysian choir which is able to attract trained international singers is usually superior in programming and vocal performance and more professional in outlook but such choirs are given very little coverage by the Malaysian media which only promotes all-Malaysian choirs.

Many of the adult choirs listed below actually share common singers, a phenomenon born out of the small pool of choral singers available to choirs in Malaysia. It is not uncommon for a particular choir engaged in a choral project to deplete as many as half a dozen other choirs of their singers. Many of the choirs with younger singers also have a tendency to focus only on choral competitions resulting in their repertoires becoming limited and very stale, with too much emphasis on costumes and choreography and neglecting choral programming, vocal quality and enunciation. It has often been observed that many choirs involved in competitions end up having almost identical repertoires and choral performances by all-Malaysian choirs can sometimes be somewhat predictable and boring, beside giving the audience a sense of déjà vu.2007

The choral tradition in Malaysia is largely promoted by Chinese-language singing societies which also leads to many choirs having excellent repertoires in Chinese but having problems with singing in English and other languages. The only choir in Malaysia which is able to sing at a professional standard in more than a dozen languages is Cantus Musicus and that is because up to half its singers have sung in choirs outside Malaysia and many of them have trained under European opera singers and vocal instructors.

Malaysian choirs suffer from a perpetual problem of obtaining good choral venues as most of the secular performance halls are not properly designed for acoustics and are expensive to rent. Further, some of the best venues are to be found in churches but unlike in Europe or the Americas, churches in Malaysia on the whole forbid choral performances which are not an integral part of the worship service and usually only choirs drawn from those churches are permitted to sing. Only a handful of secular choirs have the luxury of having their own dedicated performance venues.

Performing Christian choral music outside a church setting is a big challenge due to the distinct lack of suitable venues. Most venues which are owned by the state do not permit Christian music at all as a matter of policy and some secular venues are wary of being associated with Christians and do not permit Christian music performances.

List of notable Malaysian choirs

Large mixed choirs

• National Choir of Malaysia - Above 80-strong state sponsored choir.

Mixed chamber choirs

• Cantus Musicus - A Kuala Lumpur-based international choir with 40+ singers and its own integral musician-singer ensemble. Co-founder/Music Director: Lisa Ho. Assistant Choral Director: Timothy Ooi. Co-founder/Assistant Director: Glennis Butterworth. Repertoire ranges from Renaissance music to contemporary choral works in 15 languages.^[1] Foremost choir in Malaysia singing in foreign languages. Recognised as the top Malaysian choir by the European Union.
• Chee Tze Soo Pau Tze Choir^[2] - The choir was founded in 1945 but only assumed its present name in 1949. The choir has 30 singers and boasts of its own concert hall. Choral director: Mr Ho Tzan Lin.
• Crescendo Voices^[3] - Founded on 2 February 2002 by Raymond Lee Pei Khoon. Placed 2nd at the 14th Johor Bahru Music Festival for National Youth Choral Competition in December 2002. Won the Gold Diploma at the 7th Malaysian Choral Eisteddfod Youth Category (G2) in May 2009.
• Fingerprints Chamber Choir^[1] - Ranked 864 in the Musica Mundi World Ranking List for the top 1,000 choirs.
• Johor Bahru Chamber Choir - Ranked 518 in the Musica Mundi World Ranking List for the top 1,000 choirs. JBCC is a well-known Chinese language competition chamber choir in Malaysia established in 1999. Won 2 Silver diplomas in the 2nd Choir Olympics held in Busan, Korea and 2 Gold medals and 1 Silver medal in the 1st International Choral Festival held in Genting, Malaysia.
• Johor Bahru Rainbow Choir^[4]
• Klang Chamber Choir
• La Voce Choir - A 34-strong choir all in their 20s. This choir was formed in April 2006 and conducted by Mr Lim Hock Siong and Ms Tang Hui Kung.
• Muar Chong Hwa Old Student Association Choir
• Nantah Choir (JB)
• Penang Philharmonic Choir
• Penang State Symphony Orchestra and Chorus - Funded by the Penang state government with its own dedicated performing venue at the Dewan Sri Pinang Concert Hall.
• Seremban Chung Hwa Alumni Choir^[1]
• Dithyrambic Singers^[5] - Choral Director: Ian Lim Kean Seng. Ranked 179 in the Musica Mundi World Ranking List for the top 1,000 choirs^[6][7].
• The Summer'Singers^[8]
• Young Kuala Lumpur Singers

Mixed vocal ensembles

• Canticle Singers - A 19-person choir specialising in musicals.^[9]
• Cantus Musicus Quartet - Actually consisting of 5 classically trained singers with one of them accompanying on the piano at any one time. Specialists in Lieder (German art songs). The singers are all soloists or accompanists of the international chamber choir, Cantus Musicus (see above under Mixed Chamber Choirs).
• Dolci Voci - Penang-based a capella group drawn from an international background known for charity and private performances. They mainly sing 20th century close harmony arrangements.
• Flexi tones^[10] - Ranked 618 in the Musica Mundi World Ranking List for the top 1,000 choirs.^[11]
• Six2Eight - This award winning group has been in existence since 1994 (previously known as Bubur Chacha) performing vocal arrangements of pop and contemporary songs at corporate dinners and private functions with occasional performances at public venues.^[12]
• The SNL Singers - Sometimes also known as "The SwingLow Singers". A 10-person a cappella group specialising in close harmony contemporary pop songs and jazz, with a bit of madrigals and modern songs.^[13]
• VerSeS - Semi-professional a capella singers and musicians numbering between 5 to 8 singers at any time^[14]
• Wicked Pitches - This group has been in decline since 2006 and now only perform in shopping malls.^[15]

College and university choirs

• Malaysian Institute of Arts Choir^[16]
• UTM Choir - Choir of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. Ranked 967 in the Musica Mundi World Ranking List for the top 1,000 choirs.
• TARC Choir - Won Malaysian Youth Music Festival Choir Competition in 2009^[17]
• SEGi College Music Department Choir

School and junior youth choirs

• The Alice Smith School Senior Choir
• Chung Ling Butterworth High School Choir
• CHS Choir
• The Little Noise Choir
• SMK Batu Lintang Choir
• SMK Chung Hua Miri Choir
• SMK Bintulu Choir
• SMK Seafield Choir
• SMK Methodist Sibu Choir
• SMK Damansara Jaya Choir-Under Mdm Cecilia, Champion of the National Patriotic Song competition 2011.
• SMJK Chan Wa Choir
• SyncTone Choir - A teenage up and coming choir.
• Foon Yew Choir - A choir from Johor Bahru which is formed in 1974 by Mr. Tan Hooi Song.
• Sam Tet Voices - A choir from SMJK Sam Tet Ipoh, was the winner of Jury's Prize in National Secondary Schools Choir Competition 2006.
• SMK Methodist Tanjong Malim- 4th place winner of National Patriotic Song Competition 2010.
• SMJK Sin Min Choir

Church and Christian choirs

• Jalan Imbi Chapel Choir - 12-strong choir formed on 7 April 2004.
• Petaling Jaya Gospel Hall Choir
• Sanctuary Choir, Trinity Methodist Church (Petaling Jaya)^[18]
• Sacred Heart Choir, Chapel of the Sacred Heart of Jesus - Men-only Gregorian schola and polyphonic ensemble.^[19]
• St Andrew's Jusz Kidz Children's Choir - Based at St Andrew's Presbyterian Church^[20], Kuala Lumpur. Choral Director: Lisa Ho of Cantus Musicus. Renown for producing Malaysia's first treble for the Vienna Boys' Choir, Joel Lai Yuzu, who starts with the Vienna Boys' Choir in March 2012. He was trained by Lisa Ho in bel canto singing techniques.
• St. Thomas' Cathedral 815am Choir, Kuching, Sarawak.^[21] - Affiliate with The Royal School of Church Music (RSCM).
• St. Mary's Cathedral 830am Choir, Kuala Lumpur.^[22]
• Yin Qi Choir - Interdenominational choir specialising in larger classical sacred works but performing on a commercial basis.^[23]

Non-Christian religious choirs

• Kuala Lumpur Sai Baba Chinese Choir^[24]

Men-only choirs

• Greenhill Choir - Ranked 973 in the Musica Mundi World Ranking List for the top 1,000.^[25]
• Japanese Glee Club - Consisting of elderly Japanese singers based at the Japan Club in Kuala Lumpur.
• Yan Keng Male Chamber Choir - Ranked 835 in the Musica Mundi World Ranking List for the top 1,000 choirs.^[25]

Women-only choirs

• IWA Choir - Choir of the International Women's Association in Penang. Known for fund raising concerts and performances at charity homes.
• The Hollies & Ivy - Choir of the Association of British Women Malaysia (ABWM) in Kuala Lumpur. Choral Director: Ivy Winter.

Children's choirs

• Operafest Children's Choir^[26]
• Klang Hokkien Association Youth, Teenagers and Children's Choir - Ranked 612 in the Musica Mundi World Ranking List for the top 1,000.
• Kuala Lumpur Children's Choir^[27]
• National Children's Choir of Malaysia
• Permata Seni Koir^[28]

Choral societies

• The Philharmonic Society of Selangor - Commonly known as "The Phil", this choral society was founded in 1958. The Phil was initially of very high quality capable of staging operas, operettas and musicals on a regular basis as well as organising choral and singing competitions and masterclasses.^[29]
• Muar Viva Chorus Society Choir

Other choirs

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Exhibition choir, 5th Young Singers Choral Festival, 30 May 2007 to 3 June 2007 at The Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre
2. ^ Chee Tze Soo Pau Tze Choir Official Website
3. ^ http://www.crescendovoices.com/v3/index.html
4. ^ Listed choir under World Choir Games.
5. ^ http://dithyrambic-singers.blogspot.com/
6. ^ http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2008/12/20/central/2723915&sec=central
7. ^ http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2009/3/26/central/3541546&sec=central
8. ^ The Summer' Singers
9. ^ The Canticle Singers
10. ^ Exhibition vocal ensemble, 5th Young Singers Choral Festival, 30 May 2007 to 3 June 2007 at The Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre
11. ^ Musica Mundi World Ranking List for the top 1,000 choirs
12. ^ The official website of SIX2EIGHT
13. ^ Official website of the SNL Singers
14. ^ VerSeS Live Musicke Consorts
15. ^ About us
16. ^ Participating choir, 5th Young Singers Choral Festival, 30 May 2007 to 3 June 2007 at The Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre
17. ^ http://web3.tarc.edu.my/v1/mainweb/bk/sept09/content12.htm
18. ^ Article in The Star newspaper, 12 December 2007
19. ^ Sacred Heart Choir
20. ^ http://standrewschurch.org.my/
21. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GgxUUuQbH4
22. ^ http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kuala-Lumpur-Malaysia/St-Marys-Cathedral-Choir-Kuala-Lumpur-Malaysia/284275882567
23. ^ www.yinqi.info
24. ^ Listed choir under Asian Choir Games. http://www.worldchoirgames.info/index.php?id=1292
25. ^ ^{a b} http://www.choirolympics.de/fileadmin/pdf_data/interkultur/MUSICA_MUNDI_World_Ranking_List.pdf.
26. ^ www.operafest.net/about.html
27. ^ Article in The Star newspaper, 23 March 2007
28. ^ http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?sec=nation&file=/2011/7/7/nation/9048304
29. ^ www.thephil.org.my/joinus.htm