The Dithyrambic Singers ( 狂热的歌者 ) is a semi-professional choir from Kuala Lumpur, under the direction of Ian Lim. Established in 2005, the Dithyrambic Singers boast an active membership over sixty singers mainly from Malaysian Institute of Arts, University of Malaya and University College Sedaya International.
In 2005, the choir performed in the 3rd Young Singers Choral Festival, Trinity Diploma Presentation Ceremony, and the 22nd Malaysian Chinese Cultural Festival at the Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall. In the same year, they won a Gold Diploma at A Voyage of Songs International Choral Competition 2005 in Shah Alam, Malaysia and were awarded a Gold Choral Assessment Award from Trinity College London. The Dithyrambic Singers were invited to sing on the opening night of Hong Kong International Youth & Children Choir Festival in 2006 and won three Gold Medals and three Silver Medals at the competition. They were guest performers for the 2006 World Youth Wushu Convention in Kuala Lumpur. Additionally, the ensemble was involved in performing Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 at Istana Budaya together with the National Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Mustafa Fuzer Nawi.
In November 2007 they participated in the 1st Asian Choir Games in Jakarta, Indonesia, where they achieved their greatest success, winning the Championship in the Musica Comtemporanea Category and a Silver Medal in the Mixed Choir Category. In April 2008, they performed at 3 concerts in Brunei by invitation of the Brunei Music Society.
In July 2008, Dithyrambic Singers has participated in the 21st Century International Choral Festival, Orientale Concentus in Suzhou, People’s Republic of China with a victorious return. They were awarded gold medal for both categories (Mixed Choir Open Category & Folklore Acappella) and was the Category Champion in Mixed Choir Open Category. The judges awarded The Dithyrambic Singers the Special Jury Award at the Grand Finals. Another highlight of Dithyrambic Singers was their outstanding performance in 2008 Busan Choral Festival & Competition in South Korea in November where they were crowned the Grand Prix Champion. They obtained the highest scores from the panel of judges in both categories (Mixed Classic Category and Ethnic Category). Dithyrambic Singers was also invited as one of the guest performers in the Gala Concert.
In December 2008, Dithyrambic Singers was invited by the Singapore Government as one of the four award-winning guest performers in their World Youth Choral Festival 2008. The Dithyrambic Singers were also invited by the Malaysian Government in January 2009 to perform in a charity concert as guest artist. That charity concert was broadcasted nationwide, which included celebrities such as Siti Nurhaliza and Jaclyn Victor.
In April 2010, Dithyrambic Singers was invited to perform at the prestigious Carnegie Hall by Distinguished Concerts International in New York City (DCINY) to participate in the New York Premiere of the Concert Version of Eric Whitacre's The City and The Sea. Other than classical numbers, The Dithyrambic Singers also present Christmas concerts around the Klang Valley annually.
