Manchester Confucius Institute launches choir

10 Oct 2017

The Manchester Confucius Institute is launching its very own choir to give native and non-native speakers of Mandarin a chance to meet new people, find a new hobby and practice their second language through singing

It is proposed to learn songs from UK, other European countries and China.

Karen Wang, Deputy Director of Manchester’s Confucius Institute has had this vision for a while; creating activities and workshops to help learn a different language and meet like-minded people.

"Songs like Mo Li Hua (Jasmin Flower) or Blooming Heather fuel my senses and I automatically imagine endless wide land, covered in scented flowers and the people that live there," Karen, a keen musician herself adds when talking about this latest project.

The Confucius Institute has been fortunate to have found Juan Ortuño, a Manchester-based Spanish conductor to lead the choir. Coming from a family of singers, Juan is very passionate about working with opera and choral societies. He is Musical Director of the City of Manchester Opera, with whom he has most recently conducted thrilling performances of Carmen and The Magic Flute. He is also principal conductor of the Sheffield Symphony Orchestra and the Gorton Philharmonic Orchestra. He obtained his Masters degree from the Royal Northern College of Music, where he studied with Clark Rundell and Mark Shanahan. 

The sessions will take place on Wednesdays at 2pm at the John Casken Lecture Theatre, Martin Harris Centre. 

For more information, email Tabea Heckrodt.