The National Children's Choir "Allegretto" held an extraordinary tour in China from July 21 to August 2. The "Allegretto" delegation, comprising 52 people (28 children, 8 teachers, and 15 parents), participated in the Tianjin International Children's Art Festival and performed in three of the most impressive concert halls in Beijing, organized by the Romanian Cultural Institute (ICR) Beijing.
The 2024 Tianjin International Culture and Arts Festival, launched in 1998, brought together 45 delegations with over 1,100 children from 25 countries across five continents this year, offering impressive performances. The Allegretto Choir, made up of children aged 6 to 18, gave 7 concerts in Tianjin, sometimes performing two or three concerts a day to packed halls. It was a true feat of endurance for the children, who were rewarded with thunderous applause and admiration from the audience, who hummed along and cheered throughout the concert, impressed by the rich repertoire, especially the songs in Chinese.
In Beijing, the three concerts took place in three exceptional venues, all with full houses: the Winland International Financial Center in Beijing (July 28), the "Silk Road" International Arts Center in Langfang (July 30), and the Forbidden City Concert Hall (August 1). The concerts lasted 1 hour and 30 minutes each, without breaks, and the repertoire included 29 pieces in 11 languages: Romanian, Chinese, English, Greek, Italian, Hebrew, Polish, Spanish, French, Croatian, and Turkish, eliciting admiration from the audience.
This year, the Allegretto National Children's Choir celebrates its 50th anniversary, having been founded in 1974 through the initiative and dedication of Professor Adriana Codreanu. Over the decades, the choir has enjoyed remarkable success on stages in Romania and around the world, performing songs in 26 languages. The choir has given over 1,600 performances, including over 600 abroad, with 69 tours and 6 international creative camps, and has participated in numerous competitions and festivals, winning more than 60 awards, gold medals, and prizes for best performance, among other distinctions.
On July 29, ICR Beijing, in collaboration with the Beijing University of Architecture and Design (BJTU), organized a calligraphy class for the members of the Allegretto choir. BJTU also provided the Allegretto group with a free bus for the five-day tour and a complimentary meal. As a token of gratitude, the children dedicated two songs in Chinese to the teachers. At the end, the professors from the Department of Art and Design at BJTU gave the children a demonstration and presented them with a painting symbolizing the enduring friendship and special relations between the two cultures.
The events were a great success among the Chinese public and were promoted on the most important media platforms in China.
