Bartlett chorus to visit Sister City in Taiwan next week
The nine Bartlett residents who'll travel next month to Taiwan to perform as part of an international friendship chorus don't mind they might not understand all the lyrics they'll sing.
The chorus will perform both English and songs in Hakkanese, the language native to Miaoli City, Taiwan. Village President Michael E. Kelly on Tuesday declared Miaoli City as Bartlett's Sister City, part of a newly-implemented village cultural exchange.
The chorus will perform at a Hakka music festival March 2-11. They'll meet civic leaders including the mayor of Miaoli City, which has a population of more than 90,000 in northwest Taiwan.
English songs the chorus will sing include "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" and "Every time I Feel the Spirit." The trip is sponsored by The Arts in Bartlett.
"The only town that I've ever been (overseas) is the town my family is from in Tipperary, Ireland," Kelly said. "This whole country, this whole town is made up, as we know, as a melting pot ... nobody is better than the Taiwan people, they're just such a tremendous credit to our village."
Bartlett resident Mei Syun Lin is a native of Miaoli City and remains active in three Chinese outreach groups, including one that helps senior citizens. She helped get the village involved and wants to share her native culture with residents.
"We called it a friendship chorus because we are going to bring our friendship between two groups, our friendship to Taiwan," Lin said.
Bartlett officials gave their Taiwanese counterparts several gifts to bring with them overseas: A key to the village, a village flag, a village history book and an image of the old Bartlett train station painted by resident Marilyn Winters.
Kelly wants Bartlett to have similar relationships with other international cities, especially one in India, pointing out that Bartlett's Indian population is growing.
Resident Cecilia Green will be tweeting her experiences in Taiwan. Follow her on Twitter at cecgreen for updates.
"I'm most eager to meet the people and see some of the crafts of the Hakka people," Green said.
Emily Lam, a Hong Kong native and Bartlett resident, has been helping Victory Centre of Bartlett's Community Life Manager Rita Lopienski and the rest of the chorus with pronunciations of vocals in Mandarin and Hakkanese.
"We find that immediately we love the songs," Lopienski said.
Perry Shen, director general of the Taipei economic and cultural office, accepted the gifts from Kelly with a smile.
"I believe this year will be the beginning of a beautiful friendship with the village of Bartlett and Miaoli City," Shen said.