We are the world, we are the children …

"One touching memory was seeing a young boy in the audience singing along with us," he recalls.

From Dec 27 to Jan 13, the choir toured China, visiting five cities, including Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, Guangdong province. In addition to performances, they interacted with local young people.

During their stay in Beijing, they participated in the filming of the annual Spring Festival Gala by Beijing Radio & Television Station and gave three shows in the capital on Jan 10 and 11. Their performance at the Temple of Heaven took place on Jan 12, the last day of their tour in China. By Jan 14, their performance at the iconic site had been viewed over 5.2 million times and received more than 100,000 likes from social media users.

"The choir chose to perform a Chinese song as a gesture of respect and appreciation for the rich culture and history of China. The song holds a special place in the hearts of many, and it was our way of expressing gratitude for the hospitality we've received during our visit," says the conductor. "It also symbolizes the power of music to bridge cultural divides. No matter where we go, we hope to connect locally with the music of the region. Although we may not be able to speak the local language, we can learn and connect through the lyrics of a song."

The choir prepared for several months for their recent tour of China. Learning to sing in Chinese was certainly challenging for them, as the pronunciation of the language is quite different from English, he notes.

Fukuda was born in Osaka, Japan, and music has been a part of his life since an early age. At age 8, he was accepted into Japan's Yamaha Music School. Later, he moved to the US and by age 16, he attended Brigham Young University on a scholarship to study composition, graduating in 2002.

The choir traces its roots back to the 2002 Winter Olympics held in Salt Lake City, Utah, when one of Fukuda's songs was selected to be performed by a group of children. The experience was special and many of the children wanted to continue singing after the performance. There were about 25 children at the start, and they even rehearsed at his home for a time. The choir has now grown to 180 members, ranging in age from 5 to 18 years old.

The choir gained national recognition in the US in 2014 through singer Alex Boye's video Let It Go, featuring Boye and singer Lexi Walker, a choir member. The video gained 1 million views within a day.

Their connection with China began a few years ago when they started posting videos on the Chinese video-sharing platform Bilibili after learning that many fans had seen their music videos on Chinese social media platforms. They made their first trip to China in December 2023, performing in cities like Shanghai and Hangzhou, Zhejiang province.

"Chinese audiences are incredibly passionate and expressive. It is great fun to hear them clapping to the beat of the songs they enjoy. They show a deep appreciation for both the music and the effort we put into learning and performing our Chinese repertoire. The connection we feel with them is unique and heartfelt, and their warmth leaves a lasting impression on us," says Fukuda, adding that the choir plans to return to China again in 2025.

"We invited One Voice Children's Choir to join this year's Spring Festival Gala, representing a growing trend of cross-cultural collaboration, where artists from different parts of the world use music as a bridge to connect with and understand one another," says Qin Zheng, director of the Beijing Radio& Television Station's Spring Festival Gala, which will air on Wednesday. "They performed with a Chinese children's choir, which goes beyond music by embracing another culture and sharing it through music."

The children's choir Qin refers to is the Beijing Angel Choir. The two choirs also experienced Beijing's unique charm by visiting some popular sites, such as the Forbidden City, Jingshan Park and the Qianmen area along the Beijing Central Axis, which was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2024. They also enjoyed local snacks together.