ADVENTURES
An Amazing Evening At The Selangor Choral Festival 2026
By Philemon Foo
Images by: Selangor Choral Festival, and The Philharmonic Society of Selangor
The Philharmonic Society of Selangor, performing a beautiful piece called For The Beauty Of The Earth.
The sun descended the horizon over the town of Klang, a place known for a delicious sort of cuisine where meat, bones, and spices, and boiled in tea; called Bak Kut Teh. Suddenly, cars were taking up whatever available parking lots at the Hokkien Association Klang. Before long, crowds started filling up the seat in this grand hall that has been standing here since 1977. “What’s so special about this evening?”, should you ask…
There are evenings when music does not simply fill a hall. It slips through the doors like a little bit of magic, climbs onto every shoulder, taps every listener on the head, and whispers, “Watch carefully. Things are about to get interesting.” That was the evening at the Selangor Choral Festival 2026.
Five choirs, each with their own styles of singing. Five completely different musical adventures. Some sang with the gentleness of moonlight. Others arrived like dragons that had discovered harmony. Together, they turned an ordinary concert into something that felt wonderfully enchanted.
The choirs performed a range of songs from Malaysian folk songs, written back at a time when light didn’t necessarily appear with the flick of a switch, to songs that are a little more modern. A little more modern if you know who Simon and Garfunkel are, that is. There were songs in English, Malay, Chinese, and Korean… songs that touched the hearts and soul of all who were there. It was indeed a night of absolute magic, as what one of my friends said.
The Lollapalooza Singers singing Hana, a beautiful Japanese song from years past.
Being one of the singers, I not only got to enjoy the singing and music from fellow choirs, who made this show so amazing. I got to feel first-hand the emotions in the hall, both as a person enjoying the music, and as a singer on stage. It was electrifying, and if we ever need more electricity, just have more shows.
Preparing For The Show
Being one of the singers, a friend who attended the show asked me a question that sounded perfectly reasonable.
“So… how long did all of you prepare for this?”
“About six months for the songs.”
If you are wondering… Six months? But they’re just songs! Ah… You are not alone. That is exactly what many people think.
You see, there is singing. Then there is choir singing. The first is like hopping onto a broomstick for the very first time and hoping gravity is feeling generous. The second is learning every spell in the spellbook while flying through a thunderstorm without colliding with twenty other broomsticks, and in our case, 85 for this show.
The youngest choir at the Selangor Choral Festival 2026. The pieces they do are a little more modern, yet soulful.
Most people have been to some karaoke. You pick a song, the words appear on the screen, and off you go. It is wonderfully fun. You follow the melody, avoid embarrassing yourself too much, and everyone claps anyway because it’s fun.
A choir lives in an entirely different universe. Every rehearsal is a lesson in controlled magic. There are voice placements, where the sound must bloom in exactly the right space within you, the singer. There is breath control, because air is every singer’s invisible fuel. There is pitch accuracy, because one wandering note can stick out like a troll wearing ballet slippers, and carrying a machine gun.
Then comes articulation… This may surprise many but, singing well and singing clearly does not always mean pronouncing every word as though you are reading the evening news. Sometimes the music asks for softer consonants, flowing vowels, or colours that help the entire choir become one single voice. Imagine singing as if you’re a violin.
And that is before we even talk about tone, tempo, phrasing, dynamics, balance, listening, blending, and synchronising with everyone standing beside you. One person singing beautifully is impressive. Eighty people breathing, entering, shaping vowels, ending notes, and changing volume together at precisely the same moment feels suspiciously close to wizardry.
The Hokkien Association Klang’s very own choir, a delightful performance.
Take the beloved Malaysian folk song, Ikan Kekek. Most folks of a more, errr… majestic age knows this song. It seems delightfully simple. Until a composer gets hold of it. Suddenly the score looks as though it has been sprinkled with mysterious runes.
Just to give you an idea of what I mean… This is what’s in our score… Vivace, mp, mf, f, p, numbers, symbols, notes dancing everywhere like enchanted fireflies, etc. Then the choir is divided into Sopranos, Altos, Tenors, and Basses. Thankfully, this arrangement keeps those sections intact without splitting them further, but every group still has its own musical adventure to conquer.
Now imagine four different melodies weaving together, each singer counting silently, watching the conductor, controlling breathing, matching vowels, maintaining pitch, colouring the sound, and somehow making everything bloom into one glorious harmony. That little folk song has quietly transformed into an intricate magical puzzle.
Here is another example of a children folk song having been given a glorious makeover by a music composer; Bangau Oh Bangau. I once described it as driving a Ferrari down Fraser’s Hill without low gears, and brakes that is very Italian in nature; temperamental, breaking when it feels like doing so. Technically possible. Comfortable? Not remotely. Every corner demands precision, and reminds you that confidence alone will not carry you. Skills built from years of practise, has to take over.
That is why we rehearse twice a week together. That is why many of us continue practising almost every day at home. The audience hears a few minutes of music. The choir hears months of tiny corrections, countless repetitions, plenty of laughter, occasional frustration, and hundreds of moments where something suddenly clicks into place.
The greatest secret of choir singing is this… Harmony is not created because everyone sings loudly. Harmony is created because everyone learns exactly when to shine and when to become part of something much greater than themselves. Perhaps that lesson belongs far beyond music.
Our next adventure awaits in September. The music books are already open. The rehearsals are ongoing. And somewhere, hidden between the notes, another little bit of magic is waiting to be discovered… This time the coming together of The Philharmonic Society of Selangor, Orkestra Kuala Lumpur (Kuala Lumpur Orchestra), and The Tokyo Philharmonic Chorus.
Stay tuned for more information.
<Previous — August Issue — Next>
