Our three-week tour to Asia was the Choir’s most ambitious tour to date! Alongside the eleven concerts, workshops, open rehearsals and alumni events, the schedule gave ample time for choir members to explore the countries we visited. 

 

Each new city presented its own delights:

 

In Hong Kong, a boat trip around the Island, generously organised by Christine Nigam, enabled the choir to view the spectacular night-time skyline. In Macau, choir members were treated to authentic dim sum cuisine and the highlights of casino architecture. During the Singapore period, an inordinate amount of time was spent in our hotel’s rooftop infinity pool, often with a ‘Singapore Sling’ in hand. In Penang, everyone took full advantage of the street food stalls, selling fantastic Char Koay Teow and Penang Laksa for a bargain £1 per dish. Finally, Kuala Lumpur presented its own culinary delights in the food courts of the Petronas Towers and provided even more stunning skylines. 

 

The tour was packed full of incredible experiences, delicious food and wonderful singing opportunities for the choir. The Choir performed in Hong Kong's City Hall and HKU University, at the Yong Siew Toh Music Conservatory in Singapore, and in Kuala Lumpur's stunning Dewan Filharmonik Petronas concert hall in concert with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra. For eight members, this tour marked their last performance with Clare Choir. But for the rest, there’s only a week to relax before we start again in Cambridge with the 2016/17 cohort!