Chinese Community Choirs in Melbourne, Australia: the Intangible Heritage of cultural migration in a western society

Abstract

In Melbourne there are many Chinese community choirs that are composed of mainly older people who have migrated to Australia, often many years before. These choirs frequently practise popular traditional Chinese songs, and are similar in many respects to choirs of older people in China. However, there are important differences related to the cross-cultural environment within which the Australian Chinese choirs exist. These differences include the type of performance context, the type of accompaniment that is typically used, the strong desire to perform "Australian" songs. The choirs have extra-musical functions for their membership, including the enacting of their cultural heritage, remembering their homeland, doing physical exercise and enriching their social life. The performances of the Australian Chinese choirs are also acts of integration into a multi-cultural context as they perform in community events that are inclusive to people of all origins. This paper demonstrates an Australian Chinese and a European Australian experience of performing with Chinese community choirs in Melbourne, which will lead to an extensive research on the topic in the future by offering a detailed comparison between the Chinese choirs in China and Australia respectively.