A Voyage Of Songs 2007, International Choral Festival - Pattaya, Thailand.

13/07/2007 - Friday
Arrived at Bangkok at 1.30am on Friday morning after a 2hr20min flight with Air Asia. Not too bad, at least we got comfortable seats at the front. Really quite blur when we first got there, but luckily we mangaged to find a transfer service to our hotel in Pattaya shortly after walking out of the baggage claim area. 2400 baht. We were a little worried we got cheated, but it turns out that it's quite a normal amount. At least we got driven to Ambassador City Jomtien in a Volvo. Heck if it were old. It moves. And thank goodness we arrived in the wee hours of the morning. Cannot imagine being caught in the infamous Bangkok traffic.

Got to Tower Wing at about 3.30am, but the check-in service started only at 6am, so we had to loiter around the lobby and sleep there for a few hours. Checked in at 6, got the room keys at 6.30am, and unpacked by about 7am. Then, off to meet the boys at the Garden Wing.

Took a break after lunch, and had practice in the afternoon. Some games after that with the boys. They seemed to enjoy themselves at least. After games, off to dinner, then back to practice from 8pm-9pm. Long day.

14/07/2007 - Saturday
Woke up rather early for breakfast. Breakfast at Tower Wing was quite good. Definitely better than what the others had. Maybe that was why we had to pay more anyway. Then again, the room was not that fantastic afterall. Let's not talk about the toilets.

EBChoir was in the Open Mixed Cat, and we were up at about 10am. After everything was over, the boys were more relaxed. Everyone went to change and do their own stuff. Went to watch some of the choirs in their own Categories. Not too bad. The Philippines had really good choirs around. Singapore was represented by the same few, and there was an Aussie choir from Melbourne. Not too bad actually.

'A quick Spring day...' Stupid song still stuck in my head.

Announcement of results was done in the evening. Well done to all choirs who took part in this year's A Voyage Of Songs. This is the third time VoS was held, and I must say that the standards of participating choirs have risen tremendously, and competition has gotten alot tougher. Not totally please with our own results, but hey. It's still something to be proud of. At least for the boys.

15/07/2007 - Sunday
EBChoir left for home at about 11am. Went to join Gabriel, Daniel, Genrong and Debbie for a short while. Met up with Jonathan Velasco and heard a little of what he had to say about both VJChoir and EBChoir. Saw Dr. Goh around too.
Christo Burger looks so different. Meng Da Peng was quite the same. Never saw the Thai or Italian adjudicators before, so no comments.

Went on a 'tour' with VJChoir in the afternoon, which was essentially a bus-ride to a shopping centre in Pattaya, and back. No shopping done. Do not expect me to go to Thailand to buy Adidas, Guess, or other stuff I can get back home. Ended up eating at Oishi Ramen with Dan Cheow Martin Genrong Debbie. Coffee at Starbucks too.

Got back to Ambassador City at about 6 plus, got changed, and went down for the prize presentation ceremony. Once again, well done to everyone. I'm sure everyone benefited from this trip in some way.

EBChoir did relatively well, scoring 81.43 pts in the Open Mixed Choir Category, attaining an Gold C. Well done boys. Although I know that you guys are pretty much disappointed over the results, I'm sure you all have done your best. Try again next time.

Anyways, here are some of the results.

Cat. A - Open Mixed Choir, 18 Participants :
1. Victoria Junior College Choir, Singapore. 88.84 pts, Gold B.
2. STA Teresita Parish Chorale, Philippines. 87.17 pts, Gold B.
3. Mapua Concert Singers, Philippines. 86.71 pts, Gold B.

Cat. B - Open Equal Voices, 5 Participants :
1. Victoria Junior College Choir, Singapore. 87.45 pts, Gold B.
2. Chiang Kai Shek University Choir, Philippines. 85.37, Gold B.
3. Shantell Vocal Ensemble, Indonesia. 82.75, Gold C.

Cat. C - Children's Choir, 3 Participants :
1. Tanjong Katong Secondary School Choir, Singapore. 82.75 pts, Gold C.
2. Karangturi's Choir, Indonesia. 78.49 pts, Silver A.
3. Santa Laurensia, Indonesia. 78.17 pts, Silver A.

Cat. D - Youth Equal Voices, 6 Participants :
1. Young Voices Of Melbourne, Australia. 89.23 pts, Gold B.
2. Victoria Junior College Choir, Singapore. 88.20 pts, Gold B.
3. Campanella Olomouc Choir, Czech Republic. 85.65 pts, Gold B.

Cat. F - Folklore, 20 Participants :
1. Young Voices Of Melbourne, Australia. 87.08 pts, Gold B.
2. STA Teresita Parish Chorale, Philippines. 86.20 pts, Gold B.
3. Mapua Concert Singers, Philippines. 85.72 pts, Gold B.

Awards Given :
Gold A : 0
Gold B : 11
Gold C : 17
Silver A : 9
Silver B : 5
Silver C : 6
Bronze A : 1
Bronze B : 3
Bronze C : 0
Total Awards : 52

Other Awards :
Most Promising Choir : Chiang Kai Shek University Choir, Philippines.
Best Conductor : Mr. Mark O'Leary, Young Voices Of Melbourne, Australia.
Jury Prize : Victoria Junior College Choir, Singapore.
Grand Prize : STA Teresita Parish Chorale, Philippines.