The European Coming for You Choir Arrives in Manhattan

In recent days, members of the European “Coming for You” choir have been arriving in Manhattan to take part in NTDTV’s 2006 Chinese New Year’s Gala in New York. They came to give three performances at Radio City Music Hall on the 20th and the 21st of January.

The choir was formed on the 30th of December 2003. Western Falun Gong practitioners form the majority of the eighty-member group. The choir has been invited to perform in various large-scale international concerts in New York, Paris, London, Geneva, Athens, Hong Kong, Stockholm, etc.

From November 2001 to March 2002 more than one hundred western Falun Gong practitioners protested in Tiananmen Square, hoping their presence could tell Chinese people the truth about Falun Gong's spread around the world. They brought a heart-felt message from overseas Falun Gong practitioners: "Falun Dafa is good." They hold no grudges over being arrested, beaten and deported by the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) public security officers. Along with Falun Gong practitioners all over the world, they continue using various peaceful methods to tell Chinese people the truth about the CCP’s persecution.

Moved by this event, a Falun Gong practitioner, Xin Sheng, wrote a poem entitled “Coming for You”, for which another practitioner, Kebei, composed the music. With eighty Falun Gong practitioners from over twenty countries in Europe, the European choir sang its namesake at the 2004 New Year’s Gala. From then on, “Coming for You” became a staple in the choir’s repertoire.

The First Performance

The song is written in four parts sung in harmony. The melody is beautiful despite the tune itself being quite simple. The lyrics were in five different languages: Chinese, English, Swedish, Italian, and German. The compassionate message of the song transcended cultures and languages. From the singers’ expressions, voices, thorough preparation, and the energy emitted from their performance, it was apparent that every single word was earnestly felt. “Precious Chinese people, please listen to my heart-felt voice.” These lyrics were not just being sung but sent from the bottom of their hearts.

As soon as the Chinese and westerners alike started the performance with perfect Chinese, Chinese patrons in the audience applauded enthusiastically. The song had hardly faded when it was greeted with an ovation from the twenty-five-hundred strong audience. Cheers lasted almost an entire minute in the theatre.

Unplugged

Coming from far away,
Again and again, I came for you,
I came for loving you.
Precious Chinese people, please listen to my heart-felt voice,
Falun Dafa is good, Falun Dafa Hao!
See the truth behind those lies.

Facing violence and danger,
Again and again, I came for you,
I came for loving you.
Precious Chinese people, did you know that the whole world is saying,
“Falun Dafa is good, Falun Dafa Hao!”
Do not miss this precious chance.

This year the European choir returns to the New Year’s Gala in New York. They will for sure have more songs to perform in Chinese. This website will provide more reports on the European choir.