A choir for Taipei’s international community
In a city where many residents are far from their home countries, our choir offers continuity, friendship, and a sense of belonging.
Our mission:
- Raise funds for charity through benefit concerts.
- Bring members of the international community together through the joy of singing.
Our story
Origin
The International Community Choir was born in 2003 out of a new friendship and a shared vision: when Siew Kang met Patricia (“Patty”) Sands, a recent arrival in Taipei with years of experience as a choir director, they recognized the opportunity to create something meaningful for the international community. Together, they founded the ICC as a dedicated space for women to find their voices, build friendships, and sing with purpose.
First steps
From the very first rehearsal, it was clear that many in the community had been waiting for a place like this. With the support of the American Club, which offered a welcoming rehearsal home, the choir quickly found its rhythm.
By spring 2004, the ICC gave its debut performance at the Community Center’s Spring Bazaar, and the momentum continued to grow.
Week after week, the choir became a sanctuary of connection, where singing together created a bridge across cultures and life stories, and where newcomers could quickly find belonging in a bustling city.
Dedication
From the earliest days, Siew and Patty chose to dedicate concert proceeds to St. Anne’s Home, linking the choir’s performances to a tangible local cause. Many early concerts were held at the Mother of God Church, deepening this bond and grounding the choir’s mission in the Tianmu community.
Over the years
Membership expanded and the choir gradually grew from a women’s ensemble into a now mixed choir with the full set of SATB voices.
Through changes in size, leadership, venues, and repertoire, one thing has remained constant: we come together in harmony to help create a stronger, more compassionate community.
Today
Reflecting the diversity of our members, our repertoire is wide and multicultural, spanning classical choral works, traditional carols, folk and world music, jazz and swing, gospel, and musical-theatre selections.
While most of our repertoire is sung in English, we always make sure to include other languages into our concerts, such as Taiwanese, Mandarin, Japanese, French, Spanish, Latin, Swedish and Hebrew.
In support of St. Anne’s Home
St. Anne’s Home (聖安娜之家) was founded to provide a safe, stable home for people with disabilities, including individuals with profound support needs who require long-term, round-the-clock care.
The ticket prices from our benefit concerts help fund daily care, services, and quality-of-life improvements at St. Anne’s Home.
All proceeds go directly to the children.
St. Anne’s Home is registered under the Ministry of Health and Welfare and accepts direct donations.
The International Community Choir is currently led by conductor and music director Ruby Lai and accompanied by pianist Angel Hsu.
Ruby Lai | Music Director
Ruby Lai is a pianist and choral conductor with over 30 years of teaching and performance experience in the United States and Taiwan.
Ms. Lai holds a Master of Music in Piano Performance and Piano Pedagogy from Northwestern University (1995) and is the founder of the Seed Piano Ensemble, a chamber group dedicated to piano repertoire for two pianos and multi-hand performance.
Her recording work includes a classical vocal collaboration with American soprano Joanne Dorenfeld, as well as two ocarina albums recorded with the St. Louis Ocarina Trio.
In addition to her work as a solo and chamber pianist, she has accompanied church choirs for decades and previously served as conductor of the Gi-Kong Presbyterian Church Choir. She has collaborated with the International Community Choir for several years and now serves as its Music Director.
Angel Hsu | Pianist
Angel Hsu holds Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in Piano Performance from the University of Southern California, where she studied with Bernadene Blaha, Kevin Fitz-Gerald, Norman Krieger, and Dennis Thurmond. She received a special honorary award at the Southern California Piano Competition (MTAC) in 1995, and in 1998 she premiered Michael Garson’s Piano Sonata No. 3 in a solo recital. She was elected to the National Music Honor Society upon graduation.
Based in Taiwan since 2000, Ms. Hsu has taught in the Gifted Education in Music Program at Keelung Chenggong Elementary School and at the Taipei Youth Program Association (TYPA), and she maintains an active performance life as a collaborative pianist. She has appeared with leading soloists at Taipei’s National Recital Hall and venues across Taiwan, and was invited to perform at Japan’s International Peace Music Festival in 2016. She also serves as an adjudicator for music competitions across Taiwan.
In addition to her work as a pianist, she is a trained voice teacher, holding a voice diploma from National Taiwan Arts University. As a student, she sang with the National Taiwan University of Arts orchestra at the New Taipei City Arts Center, and after returning from the U.S. she was selected as one of four sopranos to join the Taiwan National Choir, where she participated in performances including Turandot and La bohème. Ms. Hsu teaches voice at TYPA and in her private studio.
Previous music directors
2003
Siew Kang | Co-founder
As an expatriate spouse, Siew Kang has made her home in six countries and lived in Taiwan for several years.
In Taipei, she was closely involved with Taipei American School, the American Club, and the Community Center, drawing on those networks to help found the International Community Choir and to launch the much-loved St. Lucy’s Charity Bazaar, an annual holiday fundraiser in support of St. Lucy’s Baby Home in Tainan.
Holding a Harvard master’s degree in Population & Development Studies, she served as Director of the Malaysian-American Commission on Educational Exchange earlier in her career.
Now happily retired in California, Ms. Kang remains committed to community service, as well as sports and music.
2003–2006
Patricia Sands | Co-founder & Director
Patricia Sands is a voice teacher and vocologist, and an international music and theatre director with a career spanning more than three decades.
Overseas, Patricia taught vocal music and choral programs, including International Baccalaureate Theatre in Honduras, South Africa, Malaysia, Taiwan, Serbia, Qatar, and Singapore.
In Taipei she served as Co-founder, Director and voice instructor for the International Community Choir, a chapter of her life she remembers especially fondly. ❤️
Now based in the United States, Patricia serves as Field Supervisor at Western Carolina University’s School of Teaching & Learning, supporting and supervising student teachers in Music Education programs.
2007–2009
Joan Pipkin | Director
Joan studied cello at Boston University and Juilliard, then performed on Broadway, at Radio City Music Hall, with orchestras and chamber groups, and appeared as a soloist in New York and Los Angeles. After relocating in 1990, she continued working as a cellist and private teacher, and eventually joined Taipei American School (TAS), where her role expanded to include conducting.
At Siew Kang’s invitation, Joan served as Music Director of the International Community Choir for three years, with Carrie Chiles and Alice Chiu leading sectionals.
Joan retired from TAS in 2021 and now seasonally splits her time between Taipei and Central Oregon, focusing on further piano study.
2010–2016
Helen Wood | Director
(Biography coming soon.)
2016–2017
Carrie Chiles | Director
A lifelong pianist and singer, Carrie joined the International Community Choir in 2004 and soon began serving on the choir committee.
Working as an assistant conductor to Joan and Helen, she grew into a confident musical leader and became our choir’s Music Director in 2016.
Following an unexpected relocation to Vietnam, Carrie returned to Taiwan and to the ICC in 2022, continuing a musical journey that now spans more than two decades.
Carrie also serves as conductor and creative director of Lamb of God (Rob Gardner), an interdenominational Easter oratorio performed annually in Mandarin across cities in Taiwan.
2018–2019
Sarah Zimmerman | Director
(Biography coming soon.)
2020–2022
Allison Breinholt | Director
Allison grew up singing and playing the piano while falling in love with Broadway musicals. She spent a total of 10 years in China and Taiwan and cherishes the time she spent singing with and conducting the International Community Choir in Taipei.
Allison currently sings in church and community choirs in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Booking and collaborations
We love performing for the community and we are open to invitations. If you are organizing a charity event, cultural gathering, church service, or community celebration in Taipei or its surroundings, and would like live choral music, we’d be happy to hear from you!
We can also explore collaborations with instrumentalists, guest soloists, or partner ensembles when the program is a good fit.
