The Putong concert, the first concert organized by the Putong singing club, was held in the University of Macau (UM) Student Activity Centre on September 15. It was also the first charity performance in UM this year, which was supported by about 200 students and raised  funds of MOP4000.

 

Putong means "common" in Chinese. The leader of the organizer, Sherley Leung, who is also the director of this concert said that all the earnings from  this concert would be donated to Fuhong Macau, a non-profit local organization devoted to helping the disabled. Leung shared her story about voluntary activities with Fuhong Macau, "I'd like to convert a singing party to a meaningful charity contribution. After discussing with my groupmates, we finally decided to donate the funds to Fuhong Macau since we share the same vision."

 

Audience gave positive comments about the concert. One of the audience members, Hanwen Wang said, "I'm surprised that they handed out the albums as gifts to all the audience and I'm glad to be able to enjoy a different version of these beautiful songs at home." To answer the question whether the charity purpose influenced his decision to come, Wang said, "Absolutely. I even promoted this message to my friends and asked them to come to support this significant concert."

 

Another audience member Niko who preferred anonymity also agreed with Wang. "Well, even though it didn't change my mind since I am here to support my idol, I do believe there are a lot of students who were attracted by it," she said.

 

Niko's idol is Dingyuan Xu, who is a member of  the Putong singing club and a student in UM. Xu looked shy when he said, "The reason I took part in the Putong Club is that there is a very relaxing atmosphere to enjoy the happiness of singing. I have never thought about being an idol and having fans, that is complicated." Leung, however, believed that was good news not only for singers but also for the whole singing club. "The expectation from our audience can inspire us to become better," she said.

 

The China Mainland Student Association (CMSA) of UM also gave a strong support in stage management and media control. The Putong singing club was founded as a sub-club under CMSA. With the growth, the club members are confident to promote the art of singing to more audiences. Earlier this year, they have just released their first album also named in Putong. As Leung said, the reason they call themselves "Putong" is that they believe each one in the club is just a normal student in UM, but their enthusiasm in singing makes the club blossom on stage and help  charitable organizations in society.

 

"Singing is a form of beauty, and so is charity," Leung added.