Oltman Co-leads Youth Festival Chorus in Taiwan

Associate Professor of Voice and Director of Choral Activities Matthew Oltman, D.M.A., traveled to Taiwan to co-lead the Youth Festival Chorus in August. Young singers aged 16 to 20 audition from all over the island to take part in this two-week-long festival. Rehearsals are held in Taipei and culminate in a four-city concert tour. This year, the choir visited the cities of Zhongli, Taichung, Kaosiung in the new Wei Wu Ying concert hall and Taipei in the Taipei National Concert Hall. This was the fourth time he has been invited to help lead the ensemble.

Taiwan has implemented a highly effective COVID-19 response and the country is mostly reopened. Its preventive measures include detailed plans for quarantines, contact tracing, masks and more. Dr. Oltman was required to stay in quarantine for two full weeks when he first arrived in the country. For the festival, masks were required at all rehearsals, but not required for the performances (which is when most of the pictures were taken); audiences were required to wear masks during the concerts.