You can’t take more than a couple steps in Rochester without running into a community choir. Singing is part of the fabric of our city. And this weekend, the Chinese Choral Society of Rochester is celebrating its fortieth anniversary with a concert full of music close to its heart.
The choir, made up of mostly Chinese- and Taiwanese American musicians, has been singing consistently since its founding in the early 1980s, with a brief pause after the onset of COVID-19.
Some of its members have even written music for the ensemble, including the song “In Rochester, We Sing [羅聲之歌]” that gives their concert its title.
The choir's conductor Ming-Lun Lee says that the song gives them a special, local way to celebrate Asian/Pacific American Heritage month, “because the text is related to Rochester, related to Genesee River, related to the weather here … this is very different from other people celebrating this month, because we are using our song.”
You can see their anniversary performance Sunday, May 24th, at 3:30PM at the Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word on East Avenue.
