Different cultures, languages join in harmony at international concert
By Chiyomi Sumida, Okinawa
bureau
Chiyomi Sumida / Stars and Stripes
The Okinawa Chorus, a group of 30 American, Japanese and Mexican singers, have practiced
every Monday for the past five months for the annual concerts Friday and Saturday in
Gushikawa and on Camp Foster. |
CAMP FOSTER — An international singing group will perform a series of concerts
this week on Camp Foster and in Gushikawa.
The 30-member Okinawa Chorus will offer up a wide range of selections: classical,
gospel, as well as American, Japanese and Okinawan folk songs.
About half of the group’s singers are Americans — active-duty servicemembers,
their family members and DODDS teachers. The other singers are Japanese, both from Okinawa
and the mainland.
The international chorus is the brainchild of George Novinger, of the American
Consulate General’s office on Okinawa, who formed the group last year when Okinawa
hosted the Group of Eight Summit.
Novinger said he formed the group so people of different cultures could share their
interest in music.
"I like to sing," said one of the tenors, Sgt. Chris Newland of Futenma
Marine Corps Air Station. "But, singing Japanese songs is difficult and
challenging."
Novinger, who speaks Japanese and English, said the different languages were the fun
part of being in a group with mixed nationalities.
"Japanese people enjoy watching Americans struggling with Japanese language and
Okinawan dialect, and for Americans, vice versa," he said.
Ruth Eileen, a missionary, is the only person from Mexico in the chorus. Practicing
with the mixed cultural group is a good opportunity to watch people’s behavior, she
said.
"It is interesting to see people from different cultures react differently,"
she said. "For example, when they make mistakes, Americans and Japanese react
differently."
Because of these differences, harmony in music means even more, said Itsuko Taira, a
Japanese language and culture teacher at Bechtel Elementary School on Camp McTureous.
"When our voices are perfectly harmonized, I feel the joy of accord," she
said.
The group will give two concerts:
Friday: The concert starts at 7:30 p.m. at Gushikawa Citizens Art
Theater in Gushikawa. Admission is 500 yen for adults, and free for children 12 years old
and under.
Saturday: The concert at Camp Foster Chapel starts at 7 p.m. Admission
is free.
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