Voices
O-Kai Singers (TW)
Posted on January 25, 2011 at 8:33 am
O-Kai Singers is an Aboriginal Taiwanese vocal group, winning the national champions at the Taiwan International Contemporary A Cappella Festival two months upon its founding, they broke even more records of the Taiwan a cappella scene by winning 17 different awards in five years, including 4 national champions, runners up at an international competition in Europe, and scoring 3rd place twice in international competitions in Europe. While sharing the stage with top international groups including: The Swingle Singers, The Real Group, and The Idea of North, they also pushed the total number of performances to more than 500 within seven years.
The outstanding vocal abilities of the Aboriginal Taiwanese group members have astounded many musical professionals, "Even in professional groups from Vienna do we hear such perfect harmonies." Günther Theuring, master conductor of Vienna shares with the fans. Vocal Jazz master Phil Mattson also invited the O-Kai Singers to perform at the Carnegie Hall of New York after hearing their outstanding performance.
Aside from singing, O-Kai Singers also arrange and produce music in different genres. The Children's songs albums from the Council of Cultural Affairs of Taiwan feature over 200 songs written, arranged, sung, and produced by O-Kai Singers, and have been nominated for the Golden Melody Awards.
O-Kai Singers are also active in the musical education scene, holding workshops and touring both nationally and internationally, inspiring and leading new vocal groups to winning international awards. After a performance at the National Tainan University of the Arts, one of the group members were invited to teach at the school, holding the first professional a cappella course in Taiwan history. Group members are also often invited as judges to international competitions such as: Taiwan International A Cappella Competition, Taiwan Contemporary A Cappella Competition, The Sing-off China, Hong Kong A Cappella Competition, Shanghai A Cappella Competition, and the first A Cappella Competition in China.
During the year 2012, the O-Kai Singers collaborated with Grammy award winners such as Take 6 to produce their first a cappella album, which will be released under TC Music.
Awards and Achievements:
2012
*Performed at The Beijing Strawberry Festival, Shanghai Grand Theater, and National Concert Hall in Taiwan
*Performing with The Swingle Singers at the National Concert Hall in Taiwan
2011
*Performed alongside with The Real Group at the Miaoli Stadium
2010
*Performed at the Shanghai Grand Theater, Dongguan Yulan Theatre, WuXi, and ChangZhou on a 6 concert tour and held various workshops
2009
*Performed 16 concert tour in the United States held by the Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission of Taiwan
*Invited to do a 10 concert tour in China
2008
*Won 1st Prize out of 131 domestic groups at the ORTV choral competition
*Shared the stage with The Idea of North at the National Concert Hall in Taiwan
*Collaborated with professors of the National Tainan University of the Arts and performed "Music Wave of the South - Invisible Times" at the Taipei Contemporary Arts Center
2007
*Won 3rd Prize and Silver Diploma out of 9 international groups in the jazz category of the "Ward Swingle Awards" International A Cappella Competition in Austria
*Invited to perform as demonstration group at the workshop of master conductor Guenther Theuring of Vienna
*Touring concerts at many university music departments, musical director Jia-Ching Lai starts working as a assistant professor at the National Tainan University of the Arts after the concerts and workshops
*Performed at the Eastern Arts Center in Shanghai China, ChiaoTung University EMBA, Mideast Europe University EMBA, and FuDan University. Also held many touring concerts
2006
*Won 1st Prize, Best lead singer, Best Chinese Performance, Best Jazz Performance, and Best Stage *Presence at the national competition of the Taiwan International A Cappella Festival, also scoring 2nd Place out of 10 international groups at the international competition
*Performed twice at the National Concert Hall in Taiwan
2005
*Won 3rd Prize and Silver Diploma in the gospel category of the "Ward Swingle Awards" International A Cappella Competition in Austria
2004
*Won 1st Prize, Best Lead Singer, Best Stage Presence, and Voice of Han award at the national competition of the Taiwan International A Cappella Festival
*Won 1st Prize and best lead singer at the National Contemporary A Cappella competition in Taiwan
*Performed at a choral festival in Netherlands
