Regular practice changes children
Tsai and Takivalit hoped that the choir, which was open to pupils of all ages, would develop in the direction of fixed and regular practice, so they began rigorous practice sessions twice a week at fixed times.
However, initially many children showed little interest, because the practice sessions cut into their leisure time. Tsai, who says he played the role of a “strict supervisor,” was forced to drive into the community and go right to the doors of the missing choir members to look for them.
Tsai and Takivalit divided the tasks involved in running the choir between them. Tsai, who describes himself as tone deaf, took care of administrative matters large and small, while the heavy responsibility of leading practice sessions fell to Takivalit. But at each practice, Tsai would be right outside the door, listening discreetly. After two months, the children’s voices raised in song sounded better to him than they had in the past.
He also observed changes in the kids themselves. On their faces he could see expressions of concentration and confidence, and through group singing they also learned the importance of teamwork.
Muni Takivalit states that most people assume that in a choir, “singing” must be the most important thing. But the real key to success in performing choral pieces, she says, is knowing how to listen. “Only if you slow down and open your ears, and listen to your collaborators’ voices, can the sounds be in harmony. Otherwise no matter how well each section of the choir sings, they will just be singing for themselves,” explains Takivalit.
In 2012, Tsai Yi-fang was scheduled for retirement and many of the choir members were going to graduate. Thinking about the long-term development of the choir, it was decided to separate it from the operations of the school, and to use the Paiwan word puzangalan to name the now-independent choir.
As luck would have it, before long the children’s pure, heavenly voices, drilled through long hours of practice, found appreciation among talent spotters, and they had the chance to go on the international stage.
That year, at the invitation of the World Vision organization, the choir went to perform in northern Taiwan. Taking advantage of free time in their schedule, the group went to the plaza outside the National Taiwan Museum in Taipei and held an impromptu practice session there. The brisk music and penetrating voices attracted the attention of NTM director Hsiao Tsung-huang, who happened to pass by. He immediately invited the choir to be guest performers at an exhibition opening. The beautiful singing voices at that performance captivated other guests from faraway Germany, and the group received an invitation to the International Children’s Choir Festival in Dresden. After that, Puzangalan appeared on stage in countries including Japan, Hungary, and Korea.
Their selection to sing at the inauguration of President Tsai Ing-wen in 2016 raised their name recognition greatly. Their performance of the ROC national anthem, arranged by Muni Takivalit to integrate an old Paiwan melody and changing the solemn traditional singing style, won widespread acclaim.
Takivalit grew up in the Timur indigenous community in Pingtung’s Sandimen Township, and is herself Paiwan. It is only since 2009 that she has tried integrating old Aboriginal melodies into choral pieces. The group has since developed a performance style of “singing old melodies in new ways.”
Moved by educational aspirations, executive director Tsai Yi-fang founded the predecessor to the Puzangalan Children’s Choir back in 2008. (photo by Jimmy Lin)