Amateur singing on Tho Chu island

After a day of hard work, lovers of amateur singing gather to relieve their hardships and express their feeling. For people on Tho Chu island, Kien Giang province, amateur singing brings pleasure to their lives and enriches their souls.

The amateur singing club on Tho Chu island meets quite regularly. Participating in the performance today are Mr. Le Truong Giang from Tho Chu, Mr. Nguyen Van Tam from Rach Gia city and some of their neighbors.
Their love for singing brings them together. They gather and sing and then set up a club to perform elsewhere. Ms Nguyen Thi Dung, a club member, says singing has become spiritual food for both her and her husband.

“I gather some young people who move to live on the island but feel homesick to sing for fun. We perform amateur singing in exchange with visitors from the mainland. Both soldiers who are stationed on the island and the islanders love singing considering it a spiritual food,” Dung said.

Mr. Le Truong Giang, head of the club, has contributed greatly to the foundation and development of the amateur singing club. He came to the island in 1993. Giang said at that time, local people’s spiritual lives were very poor.

Being a member of Phu Quoc Arts and Literature Association, Giang wanted to make the life on the island more entertaining. In 2001, the club was set up to participate in exchanges with visitors from the mainland and to perform at weddings and parties on the island.

Mr. Giang noted,“I’m an official and I think it’s my responsibility to contribute to society. I prepared the necessary things and gathered other singing lovers to set up the club. Our club now has dozens of members. I’m it’s head and always try to maintain the club’s activities”.

However, it’s not easy for Mr. Giang and other members to maintain their activities because they all have different jobs and timetables. Sometimes, the club has more than 20 members but sometimes, only 8.

He added, “I stay with the club and try to encourage those with good voices to practice. Some club members can raise their incomes through performances”. 

They joined the club because its members share a passion for singing. Despite numerous difficulties in maintaining the club, they are all very enthusiastic.

Ms Tran Kim Hang is a member. She said, “I love singing and joining exchanges where I can make friends. Now I have a lot of friends. I hope that our club will develop as Binh Minh club in An Giang province which has participated in several performances”.

The Tho Chu Amateur Singing Club has connected people on Tho Chu island bringing them closer to one another. The singing and sound of music inspire the Tho Chu islanders’ love for the homeland.