Hong Kong: Asia-Pacific Choir Symposium Speakers Highlight Choral Music as Path to Unity and Prayer

Choral music can foster unity among people while drawing them closer to God, speakers told participants of the First Asia-Pacific Catholic University Choirs (APCU) Choral Symposium at Saint Francis University in Hong Kong.

More than 150 student singers, conductors, and music educators from Hong Kong, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Timor-Leste are taking part in the symposium, held from June 17 -21, which carries the theme “Harmony in Diversity.”

In a keynote address titled “Harmony in Diversity,” Msgr. Jose Luis Diaz-Mariblanca Sanchez, head of the Holy See Study Mission in Hong Kong, described choral singing as a powerful symbol of communion, where different voices come together to create something greater than themselves.

"We have been created by the abundance of God's love, and the fact that we are many and very different is good in itself," he said. "Only through that diversity are we able to represent more adequately the goodness and perfection of God."

Msgr. Sanchez said choir members experience firsthand the importance of listening to one another and working toward a common purpose.

"When we sing together, the harmony of our voices brings our breathing into sync, and even our heartbeats are synchronized. I do not find a better image to represent our calling to be one heart and one soul," he said.

Quoting Pope Leo XIV, he encouraged participants to see diversity as a strength.

"Transforming diversity into a resource and making listening and dialogue the common ground upon which to cultivate justice and fraternity is not only possible, but the way we want to build our future," Msgr. Sanchez said.

In a separate keynote lecture titled "The Spirituality of Choral Sacred Music,” Felix Yeung - Director of Music at St. John's Cathedral of the Anglican Diocese of Hong Kong Island -  reflected on sacred music as an expression of prayer and worship.

"I think choral music really is the best way to enhance our closer union to God," Yeung said.

He described singing as a communal act of prayer, echoing the saying often attributed to St. Augustine that those who sing "pray twice."

"I do believe that when we sing, we pray twice, because the text in singing is the first prayer, and the music that was set, inspired by the text, is the second prayer," he said.

Yeung added that choir singing teaches participants to move beyond themselves and become part of a larger whole.

"It is a privilege, I think, as singing in a choir, that we are almost forced to lose some of our own self and integrate into a bigger whole," he said.

Both speakers highlighted the role of choral music in fostering dialogue, unity, spiritual growth, and hope.

The symposium runs until June 21 and will culminate in a Closing Concert on June 20 featuring a massed choir performance under the direction of renowned Japanese composer and conductor Prof. Ko Matsushita.