Interview by William Chan
Maria Vanessa Leão, the conductor and music director of the local choir Dolce Voce, and Daniel Leong Si Kei, the choir president, said in an exclusive interview with The Macau Post Daily last week that the choir’s upcoming performances “A Voyage of Voices” will showcase music from various countries and regions, aiming to create a pleasant experience for the audience and provide them with a glimpse into the diverse cultures of places outside Macau.
Dolce Voce (“sweet voice” in Italian), founded in 2008, aims to promote the art of choral singing, enrich the choral music culture of Macau and offer high quality choral music to local people. It has performed over 60 times since its establishment and is frequently invited to perform on major musical occasions, including the 24th and 30th Macau International Music Festival (MIMF), the “Interschool Singing Contest” and the “Asia Pacific Symposium for Music Education Research”.
Besides giving regular local performances, the choir has also performed in different places such as at “Beijing Modern Music Festival”, “Oriental Concentus International Choral Festival” in Taiwan, “Vienna World Peace Choral Festival” and in Scotland and England during its debut UK concert tour in 2015.
Leong noted that this time the performance will feature Hong Kong sand painter Machai. Leão said Machai is a Christian artist who has appeared on several television shows, and he will tell stories through his sand paintings inspired by the choir’s singing.
Leão, an associate professor at the Macau Polytechnic University (MPU), said that while the choir has performed many genres such as pop, baroque and even jazz, attracting audiences with choir music alone is challenging. Thus, the choir aims to provide multidimensional experiences, spending a lot of time designing each programme.
Leong noted during the interview at a restaurant in Nape that the choir participated in a 2015 musical about people from different walks of life forming a choir. Some Dolce Voce members even acted in the show. In 2016, the choir hired artists to create visuals for their pop-themed concert with Leong dancing during some songs. All these endeavours, they underlined, are to provide a mixed sensation for the audience.
Forming an a cappella
Leão gave two reasons for choosing a cappella. First, finding an accompanist who fits the choir and follows her direction is difficult, considering skills, willingness, and scheduling. Second, she had aspired to create an a cappella choir since founding Dolce Voce with a few MPU music graduates who are passionate about singing in a choir. A cappella requires high skills from the singers as there are no musical instruments to support the choir, nor does a cappella use microphones, Leão pointed out, adding that these restrictions require the choir to work closely with the acoustics of the venue, but with great difficulties comes a great sense of achievement as well.
Leong added that half of the members have music degrees and most have choir experience and all of them put a great deal of effort in the rehearsal sessions to produce wonderful music. As an amateur, Leong said he was grateful that he can share a stage with other amazing players to perform at a professional level. “Some of my students who initially came to support me have grown fond of our music and have become supporters of it themselves,” he said.
According to Leão, the success of a choir depends heavily on how its members understand and are accustomed to the choir’s needs in order to produce great music. A choir comprising individual great singers, despite their outstanding characteristics, may not necessarily outperform a well-trained and cohesive choir. This is because a choir’s strength lies in its unity and cooperation, with each member functioning in harmony with the others.
Leong said that even though adult members, including teachers like himself, find that the demanding rehearsals do require lots of energy and intensive focus, they are still very passionate about singing. Leão shared an amusing anecdote from a previous rehearsal session where some members came from work exhausted and were complaining about their work, but they felt reinvigorated after rehearsing. “Music is almost like a mysterious therapy for artistes, constantly providing us with great energy even though the process can be tiring.”
“A Voyage of Voices” will be performed on May 13 and 14 from 8 p.m. at Dom Pedro V Theatre. Tickets are priced at 180 patacas. To purchase tickets, visit: www.macauticket.com
Maria Vanessa Leão conducts local choir Dolce Voce in 2021.
Dolce Voce performs at St. Dominic’s (São Domingos) Church in 2021. – Photos provided by Dolce Voce
Maria Vanessa Leão and Daniel Leong Si Kei pose last week. – Photo: William Chan
