The Closing Ceremony of the 18th International Culture Festival Successfully Held

The Closing Ceremony of the 18th International Culture Festival and Final of Foreign Songs Singing Contest Successfully Held

Dec. 27, 2007, SIS

Despite the heavy rain, the brilliant evening of December 21, 2007 observed a grand Closing Ceremony of the 18th International Culture Festival and Final of Foreign Songs Singing Contest at 6:30. This great festival permeated with achievements concluded with marvelous performances in this chilly evening.

The chorus of “Forever Friends” by all the contestants kicked off the fantastic evening, the impassioned music resounding
throughout the hall and kissing the cheeks and hearts of all the audience with the touching melody.

The contestants from the first group brought to the audience a feast for the ears with “Dying in the Sun” which was the
heavenly harmony of music and another beautiful and exotic song—“mon amour, mon ami” which was distinctively French.
Different styles and various interpretations bloomed a special kind of beauty of the familiar melody. The “Exclusive Angels”
from an Indonesian student enlightened the concert with an exotic-style. Yet not fluent, his idiomatic use of Chinese added a
special charm to his performance. After a round of singing, the instrumental ensemble of piano and violin presented by the
School of International Studies came to stage. The “Meditation” drew some peace, serenity and tranquility to the lively spirit of the audience with a deep and graceful melody.

Like the first group, the contestants from the College of Humanities and the College of International Education and a foreign
student from Vietnam also presented us with a combination of classic Chinese and English songs, evoking the passions of the audience and making the stage sparkle. The audience was immersed heart and soul in the grand musical feast. The game,
“Take a Guess of These Songs”, as a side show arranged between the songs, gave the music-lovers chances to give a shot to show themselves by guessing the names of the songs given the preludes. This game relived the beauty of these classic
English songs and led the evening towards a climax, acting on the emotions of the audience.

The following fascinating performance from the last two groups caught the heart of the audience. The champion made her
fabulous debut with the Top Hit, “Country Road, Take Me Home”, a beautiful solo of bel canto, which deeply allured the
audience. At this very moment, all the languages gave way to the everlasting sound of music which brought the great enjoyment and satisfaction to the audience. It was the flaming hearts of youth and passion that burned away all the chillness of the winter.

The splendid evening draws to end with the awarding ceremony. The First Prize comes to the singing band, Six Strings and
Three Degrees, from College of Architectural Engineering. Ye Zi, a contestant from the College of Information Engineering, won a prize for his great manner on stage. The singing group of two girls from School of International Studies and College of
Humanities was entitled “The Most Popular Singers”. Besides, the contest comes up with 2 Second Prizes, 4 Third Prizes
and an Honorable Prize. The great festival concluded with plenty of glitz, glamour and exciting moments, blooming her most
beauty in this very night. On the wings of the beautiful songs, let us embrace the world and cheer on the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.