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Profile on Allegro Chu  【Photo: HanGuang Vocal Band】
Teacher Allegro, Chu graduated from the Faculty of Computer Science at Feng Chia University. However, he has been passionate about music ever since he was young, and then he started learning choral conducting in 1975.
He founded Taipei New Choral Foundation and assumed the chairman and executive director positions. The foundation opened up a new horizon for the Taiwan choral community.
He started Taiwan Choral Singing Competition in 2001 and Taiwan International A Cappella Festival, which is now a major international a cappella competition in Asia. Teacher Allegro, Chu has earned the title of ‘Godfather of Taiwan A Cappella.’ Besides being the artistic director of modern jazz at Taiwan Choral Music Center, he is also the education coordinator of HanGuang Vocal Band.
Interview Q&A
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As you are being called ‘Godfather of A Cappella,’ what does a cappella mean to you? |
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A cappella now means pretty much my whole life to me. I teach, lecture, chat about, or work on a cappella on a daily basis. For example, our performance here is about a cappella. |
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How do you see HanGuang Vocal Band? |
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I am currently instructing more than ten a cappella groups, and HanGuang Vocal Band is one of them. This band was founded by HanGuang Education Foundation, with a vision to promote classical poetry. As a result, HanGuang Vocal Band performs songs that are modified from classical poetries, which is something that other groups stay away from. We want to promote classical poetries through melodious tunes, and therefore, we try our absolute best to rearrange the poems into our lyrics. We only work with competition-worthy and award-winning songs. HanGuang Education Foundation did an absolute fantastic job getting these young chaps to sing these classical poetries. They have to first understand the meaning of these poems, and then they have to contemplate how to express the essence of these poems through music. Lyrics of modern pop music are easier to understand, so I believe the band has to spend more time memorizing and practicing these songs. And of course, they are able to sing pop music like ‘My Own Way’ or ‘Chrysanthemum terrace’. |
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Bittersweet with the band |
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Like all bands, we start off with warm up. Through warming up, members are able to know the limits of their voice, and they can also practice the resilience of their vocal cords, it’s all part of the training. When they sing, I pay attention to their pitch, harmony, and techniques. Sometimes when they encounter a problem, whether it’s the length of the lyrics, pronunciation of a certain word, or inability to use a specific technique freely, I always get lots of satisfaction after they are able to overcome each problem by themselves. I believe most problems can be overcome, it just takes time. Even though there is lots of work, I feel happy because singing is supposed to bring us happiness. Therefore, I am happy to be working with them. |
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The present and future of HanGuang |
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They are all performing well, and I can see their effort. I hope besides Taiwan, we are able to promote classical poetry internationally. I want people overseas to know we have such amazing voice and ability to sing classical poetry so melodiously. After the band has gained some reputation internationally, I would like to see it shine on the international stage. |
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Words of encouragement for children |
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I believe singing is the handiest instrument for people. Through lyrics, we are able to express our emotion. In terms of instruments, I think human voice is the most convenient one to possess; therefore, singing should be easy and relaxing. I would encourage young kids to learn a cappella. The more they sing, the more they will learn. |
Source: the Beautiful Voices 
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