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1991年，一群來自臺灣，熱愛音樂的中文學校家長組成了華人合唱團，取名為「龍吟」。儘管「龍吟」在1993年曾暫停活動，但部份女聲團員及熱愛歌唱的婦女們接續組成「昔缘」合唱團；歷經翁佳芬、任美玲、葉美伶及劉紹珊等指揮。1998年時，謝全華指揮將奧斯汀熱愛合唱的華人朋友們凝聚在一起，成立混聲的昔缘合唱團，並於2001年在德州正式立案，以“Austin
Chinese Choir”為英文團名，而中文團名則在2005年時由「昔緣」改為「德州奥斯汀龍吟」合唱團。
除了在奧斯汀公演外，「龍吟」亦與其他合唱團進行交流演出，更不時參與當地社團活動以服務社區。2011年，「龍吟」曾應邀至臺灣舉行「龍吟耀百年系列音樂會」，並極獲好評；2013年受邀與多個知名合唱團一起參與2015在紐約卡內
基音樂廳舉行的「黃河大合唱演唱會」。
2014年，由前昔緣指揮葉美伶
(Mrs.
Emily Yeh Chow)
老師接任指揮後，「龍吟」演唱水準繼續提升並持續獲邀，多次至休士頓「和樂之聲」觀摩音樂會中演唱。2017年，「龍吟」接獲臺灣臺南成功大學校友文教基金會、臺中梅迪奇青少年兒童合唱團的邀請，再度返臺演唱。葉美伶老師率領合唱團展開「音韻•鄉情•Formosa」中南部巡迴演唱會，與成大校友合唱團、教職員混聲合唱團及梅迪奇青少年兒童合唱團聯手，進行文化交流演唱。
此外，「龍吟」也和臺南應用科技大學聯合主辦，與其音樂系合唱團合作巡迴演唱，獲得臺灣各方媒體及觀眾極大的讚譽及熱烈迴響。
不僅如此，「龍吟」在2019年接獲「洛杉磯愛之聲音樂基金會」的邀請，參加「第三屆洛杉磯華人合唱團觀摩演唱會」，受到南加州觀眾的熱愛與一致好評；同時，在這一年的定期公演，「龍吟」也首次與奧斯汀說華語及臺語的教會詩班合作，共同演出聖誕聯合音樂會，演唱一系列聖誕頌歌及韓德爾作品「彌賽亞」之選曲，由葉美伶老師指揮，這是奧斯汀有史以來第一次的大型華人聯合演唱會，得到各界極大的稱譽、鼓勵與肯定。
因疫情之影響，「龍吟」在2020年開始，只能透過線上練習。為答謝鄉親朋友們的熱愛與支持，合唱團克服萬難，在2020年暑假陸續推出「虛擬合唱」影片製作
(Virtual
Choir)
productions；2022年母親節，團員們加倍努力，再度突破空間限制，共同完成YouTube錄影演唱，願大家在全球性的疫情當中，都能平安健康。除此之外，「龍吟」也在2023年初應邀出席由奧斯汀社區大學舉辦的農曆新年音樂會，團員們在舞台上精彩的演出，也讓全場掌聲不斷。 合唱團目前有四十餘名團員，每週五在固定場所練唱，彼此間感情融洽、互相關愛，平日練唱氣氛溫馨詼諧，共同享受唱歌的快樂，是個熱愛歌唱的大家庭。不僅有許多家庭成員連袂加入「龍吟」，近年也有不少華人第二代子女及非華裔人士的參與，現成員包括老中青三代，是一個相當具有凝聚力的音樂團體，經過多年的殷勤耕耘，「龍吟」在中華文化的傳承與推動上有了莫大的迴響。在指揮葉美伶老師的指導下，奧斯汀龍吟團員將秉持對合唱音樂的熱愛與努力，發揚美好的和聲藝術，同時傳承珍貴的文化結晶，在合唱音樂上攜手走向更高峰！
The Austin Chinese Choir is a non-profit, non-political, non-religious,
amateur mixed-voice choir. It aims to use music to facilitate cultural
exchanges between the East and the West.
The Austin Chinese Choir was formed in 1991 by a group of music lovers,
who were parents from Taiwan at the Austin Chinese School. It was named
the Long-Yin Choir. Although Long-Yin was suspended in 1993, a number of
female vocalists continued to form the Xi-Yuan Choir. Since then,
Xi-Yuan has been under the directions of conductors Chiafen Weng, Lynn
Su, Emily Yeh Chow, and Susan Liu. In 1998, conductor Chung-Hwa Chen
formed a Chinese mixed-voice choir in Austin, which was formally
registered in the state of Texas under its English name “Austin Chinese
Choir” in 2001. In 2005, the choir changed its Chinese name from
Xi-Yuan back to Austin Long-Yin Choir. Apart from holding our own concerts in Austin, Long-Yin has also participated in joint-concerts with other choral groups as well as invited performances. We also actively take part in many community events. In 2011, Long-Yin was invited to perform in Taipei, Taiwan, where our performances were well-received. Long-Yin was invited in 2013 to participate with members from other prestigious choirs in the “Yellow River Cantata Concert” performance at the Carnegie Hall in New York, 2015.
After the former Xi-Yuan conductor Emily Yeh Chow took over as the
conductor of Long-Yin in 2014, Long-Yin’s singing proficiency continued
to improve. We were honored that we continued to be invited to perform
at the Houston Voice of Harmony Concert multiple times.
In 2017, Long-Yin was invited by the National Cheng Kung University
(NCKU) Alumni Cultural and Educational Foundation and Taichung
Medici Youth Choir to hold performances in Taiwan. Led by Emily Yeh
Chow, Long-Yin joined forces with the NCKU Alumni Choir, NCKU Evergreen
Choir, and Taichung Medici Youth Choir to arrange the “Sound of Music,
Love of Homeland, Formosa” concert tour in Southern Taiwan. In addition,
Long-Yin co-hosted with the Tainan University of Technology to hold
joint performances with its Music Department Choir. The concert tour
aimed to promote friendship between Austin and various Taiwanese cities
through cultural exchanges. Our performances received accolades from
both Taiwanese media and audiences.
Moreover, Long-Yin was invited by the Voice of Love Music Foundation Los
Angeles to attend “The 3rd Joint Concert of Voice of Love at Los Angeles
Bonita Center for the Arts” in 2019. Our performance was widely
acclaimed by the audiences in Southern California. For the 2019 annual
concert, Long-Yin cooperated with the Chinese- and
Taiwanese-speaking church choirs for the first time. Conducted by Emily
Yeh Chow, we held a Joint Christmas Concert, where we performed a series
of Christmas carols and selections from Handel’s “Messiah”. Our
performances received great praise, encouragement, and affirmation from
all walks of life.
Due to the pandemic, Long-Yin could only practice online for an extended
period of time since 2020. To express our gratitude to all supporters of
the choir, we have launched several “Virtual Choir” since summer 2020,
against all odds. On Mother’s Day in 2022, we doubled our efforts to
accomplish a recorded performance on our Youtube channel to wish
everyone safe and healthy during the global pandemic. Later in early
2023, Long-Yin was invited to perform in the Lunar New Year Concert held
by the Austin Community College. The wonderful performances by our choir
members received passionate applause from the audiences. Currently we have over 40 members and practice every Friday evening in the regular venue, forming a loving and caring extended family. Our atmosphere is warm and humorous as we share the joy of vocal harmony and the friendship with fellow music lovers. In recent years, we also recruited quite a few second-generation members. Being a multigenerational choir, we consider it as an encouraging sign of progress in our efforts to preserve and promote our inherited culture. Under the guidance of conductor Emily Yeh Chow, Austin Chinese Choir will uphold our love of choral music and continue to promote the art of vocal harmony and cultural heritage. Please join us on our fantastic musical journey!
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