50 Years Building His Kingdom - Far Eastern Bible College

Life
Bible-Presbyterian
Church
Page 110
ble beginnings, and Ms Rebecca Kwok,
who led the choir in the 1990s, later mooted
the idea of singing on a monthly basis. This
called for a dramatic change in practice
time and frequency. This changed several
times before we arrived at the best arrangement
– Sunday mornings from 8.15 a.m.
to 9.30 a.m., which has continued to date.
Special mention must be made of
Mdm Huang Pei Jin, an accomplished soloist
and singing teacher, who led the choir
in the mid-1990’s. Although many in the
Choir did not have any music training,
Mdm Huang willingly took
on the task of leading this
Choir, whose members
were mostly around the age
of 50 or below 30. Through
the tireless efforts of Mdm
Huang, the Choir improved
by leaps and bounds and even sang at a
choir festival at the Calvary-Jurong B-P
Church and the Chin Lien Bible Seminary.
After Mdm Huang left Singapore for
Hong Kong, Ms Rebecca Kwok took over.
Under the latter’s direction, the choir sang
in Cantonese for the first time and like a
coming of age, graduated from wearing
similar coloured outfits during presentations
to donning flowing choir gowns. That
first Cantonese item sparked an interest in
singing in a language other than Mandarin.
This benefited the members of the
Chinese Service, many of whom converse
in a Chinese dialect. The Choir has since
sung choruses and songs in Cantonese and
even in Hokkien. Even Rev. & Mrs Moses
Hahn from Korea, who already had their
hands full learning to sing in Mandarin,
gamely sung in Cantonese and Hokkien.
In the 1990’s, together with the Chinese
Service, the Choir held its first Christmas
Gospel rally. This has become an annual
event and is the Choir’s main Gospel
activity. A potluck dinner, prepared by
members of the Chinese Service and the
Choir, has become a feature of this event.
This buffet dinner, with more variety than
the finest restaurants in or out of town and
modestly excessive by traditional Chinese
standards, has given members a chance to
“ the choir has used
traditional Chinese
instruments for its
presentations.”
fellowship with their unsaved loved ones
and friends attending the Gospel rally.
Apart from singing accompanied by
western musical instruments (like the piano
and the accordion), the choir has used
traditional Chinese instruments for its presentations.
It has presented items accompanied
by the Er-hu (two stringed bowed instrument),
the Bo (Chinese cymbals), the
Gu (Chinese drum), the Luo (Chinese
gong) and the Mu Ban (wood blocks).
These cultural instruments bring out the
oriental flavour of the music in a way that
western musical instruments
cannot do. This is
unlike the modern instruments
used in contemporary
Christian music, which
give a worldly character to
the music.
On the first week of every month, the
Choir celebrates the birthday of members
for that month. A simple breakfast is prepared
for consumption immediately after
the practice session. This informal celebration
affords the choir members a chance to
catch up with one another for a time of fellowship.
This is particularly useful for the
‘permanent’ members to get to know the
‘transient’ members such as FEBC students
or foreigners working in Singapore. Several
members have even brought their children
or grandchildren along during practice,
and the young ones look forward to
this makan time.
A challenge for the choir is to keep
focused on the reason for its constitution,
that is, to praise God. This is sometimes
forgotten in the hustle and bustle of practice
and in the preparation for annual events
like the Christmas Gospel rally and Christmas
carolling. The Choir is also exploring
other avenues of service in the Chinese
Service. As our members age faster than
ever before, the visitation ministry for the
elderly sick will become an increasingly
important ministry. Insofar as voice training
is concerned, the choir is in the initial
stages of preparing for its first ever music
camp. God-willing, this will take place by
2001.
Han Ming Kuang