Gu Xin, president of the China Oriental Performing Arts Group is set to orchestrate a virtual choir. Photo: Courtesy of COPAG

An online choir project named "Our Voices" was launched by China Oriental Performing Arts Group (COPAG) on June 24, openly collecting lyrics and songs of online users with the intention to combine them into one single choir.

The open collection of lyrics will last until July 31, allowing all participants one month to submit their lyrics. Only self-penned lyrics that reflect an understanding of the overall theme of the music, the "Chinese dream," will be accepted. The purpose of the virtual choir project according to the president of COPAG Gu Xin, is to develop self-made music and young Chinese talent.

"The theme of the activity, the 'Chinese dream,' is to promote positive and innovative spirits among Chinese people," said Gu, adding that he hopes that with the launch of "Our Voices" the Chinese music culture can also be promoted to the world.

The initial idea of this activity was adapted from the famous American lyrist Eric Whitacre, who managed to persuade over two thousand people from 58 countries to do the same thing - record themselves singing a song and then post it online. Once he had gathered all the  recordings and synchronized them based on the different vocal ranges, he cut the music video and created a virtual choir.

COPAG expands on this idea by adding more levels of interaction with people. Initially, all lyrics will be openly collected online from various different songs before being combined into one complete song.

After that professional musicians will develop melodies that can work well with the chosen lyrics in creating a new song. The newly created song will then be posted online, not just for Chinese people to sing but for people across world. The final part of the activity is to have all participants to send in their videos of them singing the new song to COPAG, who will then compile all collected voices into one complete choir.

Different from other music competitions in China, "Our Voices" has no special requirements for applicants - anyone can participate by uploading the lyrics and their video online. "This activity will just be focusing on one online choir, but applicants are encouraged to add any innovative elements to the video," said Gu, adding that the more people participate, the more diversified the final video will be.

Gu himself will be the conductor of the choir, whose job is to post a conductor track online, as well as a piano score underneath the lyrics for singers to follow.

As the sponsor of the activity, COPAG expects to unveil the meaning of the "Chinese dream" once completed, a term which conveys such inspirational ideals, among ordinary Chinese online users.

What "Our Voices" also embodies is the organization's mission of helping the Chinese music culture go abroad. "We cannot always rely on the government to introduce our culture to the world, since it will not see good results in many countries where cultural industry has become market-oriented," said Gu.

As the domestic leading art group, COPAG has been dedicated to advocating art innovation and spreading the impact of Chinese culture overseas. Gu hopes that through "Our Voices" the positive energy of Chinese culture can be spread around the world.