Mr Takehiro Oura joined NTU Symphonic Band (NTUSB) in 2005 as the resident conductor. As a well-known and respected conductor in the Singapore band scene, he currently conducts the Wind Ensemble Nippon Singapore as well. Inaddition,hecurrentlyservesasthevice presidentoftheWindBandAssociationof Singapore.
After graduating with a bachelor’s in music at Sakuyo College of Music, majoring in percussion, he travelled to Paris to enrol in the Ecole Normale de Musique a Paris (French Conservatory of Music, Paris) in a quest for further musical knowledge and exposure, graduating with certificates in percussionandorchestrastudies.
On his return to Japan, Mr Oura became the instructor of the Tenri High School Symphonic Band and Marching Band, both highly respected top school bands in Japan. His foray into the Singapore music scene has benefitted the students who have come under his tutelage With his vast experience and enthusiasm for teaching, Mr Oura continues to cultivate andenrichthemusicianshipandpassionofhisstudentsandbands.
Under the baton of Mr Oura, NTUSB was awarded the Gold Award in the 2014 Singapore International Band Festival (SIBF) under the 1st Division and theSilverAwardinthe2016SIBFundertheOpenDivision.
Keith is currently a 2nd Year student at the National Institute of Education (NIE) pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Music and Education with a minor in Primary Level Subjects.
Hestartedhismusicjourneyattheageof
13inRiversideSecondarySchool,playing
the saxophone. During his years in secondary school, he not only developed further interest in the instrument but also took on the role of theDrumMajoroftheschoolband.
As he furthered his studies at Singapore Polytechnic, he joined the Singapore Polytechnic Symphonic Band (SPSB) where his love for music grewandsparkedhisinterestinconducting DuringhistimeinSPSB,Keith took up the mantle of concertmaster where he conducted the band for severalperformancesunderthetutelageofMrAdrianChiang.
Overtheyears,KeithhasparticipatedinnumerousarteventsinSingapore, someofwhichincludetheSingaporeYouthFestival,SingaporeInternational Band Festival and Wind Band Association of Singapore Youth Band Festival. Keith has also performed with various art groups in Singapore, including the Philharmonic Winds, Protégé Saxophone ensemble, Ventus, NIE Winds andmore.
Asanaspiringmusiceducator,Keithhopestoinspireandsharehispassion formusicwitheveryone.
between our conductor and the band From planning the concerts to ensuring the welfare of the band members, its members are carefully selectedtoguidethebandinitscourseforthisacademicyear.Itstrivesto liven up the music scene in Singapore, showcasing the talents of the band to you, the audience, while at the same time rebuilding the culture within theband'smembers.
history dating back to 1990 when it was officially established. Under the batonofResidentConductorMrTakehiroOura,thebandhasmadeseveral internationalappearancesandparticipatedinnumerousbandcompetitions, bothlocalandoverseas.
The most prestigious achievement to date is at the World Music Contest (WMC) held in The Netherlands in 1997, 2001, 2005 and 2009. NTUSB managed to clinch the First Prize twice in the Harmony Band Category, initially in the 2nd Division, and later in the prestigious 1st Division. NTUSB also participated in the 1st Division of the Singapore International Band Festival(SIBF)2014,wherethebandachievedaGoldaward InSIBF2016,the bandparticipatedintheOpenDivisionandachievedaSilveraward.
Sojourn is the second of NTUSB’s two annual concerts, typically held in early April. It was installed in 1993 to provide our members an opportunity toshowcasetheirtalentsandtheirpassioninmusic-making.Therepertoire for Sojourn features a wide range of genres from classical to jazz. In this year’sSojourn,NTUSBishonouredtohavetheopportunitytopremieretwo pieces locally, A Brussels Requiem by Bert Appermont and Spectra by KazukiShimoda.
Flutes
DayoungShin
HuAnqi
KimMinso
NatalieNgai ‡
PohGenJun ‡
Oboe
DylanTeoWenJun*
EmlynEe ‡
Bassoon
WongKhaiHeng†
LimBoonHu‡
Clarinet
AliciaThe*
IvanSoh
KevinLai
RoderickPek†
NgShiYuan ‡
TockAngZheng
YnezHooi
Saxophone
AadhiMurugaverl
ChowLinSheng
KeithKokShanHwee*
MerwynMasagca†
ShawnChickSiWai
Sriniketh
Trumpet
HoJiaXuan
LeonardChang
LeongJunSeng
TengZiYi
TeoJingWen*
WanJia
WongYuShuang†
FrenchHorn
CharlotteChia†
CharmaineYaow
KellyLow
LeeJunYang
LimHuiYing
MatthewJose*
Trombone
ChanXinYong
HanMingWei†
MalcolmTan
NicholasTeoh*
SeanLee
ShawnLow
XiChen
Euphonium
GohLingYi†
JimmyAng
PeriAdhityan*
Tuba ChongYiAn†
ClarenceHong
ErnestLim
JorgenLaw*
Tharman
Percussion
ChenWeiyi*
HarrisonTanHuiJun
HengHongHwee*
KooLiShan†
LeeSueJean
MartinaRazali
NurFadilah
WeiJie
XavierYu
NTUSymphonicWindsAlumniAssociation(NTUSW)wasfirstformedin1998, when a group of alumni from NTUSB sought to continue performing after graduation, fuelled by their passion to continue playing their instruments. From that initiative, concerts and collaborative performances with other bands have been held In addition, alumni band members also regularly performguestitemsinNTUSW'sannualconcertseries,Sojourn.
Today, Nanyang Symphonic Winds aims to be the platform for enthusiastic alumni band members to continue to gather and make music together, underthebatonofconductorMrTakehiroOura.Theinclusionofallalumni fromallthewaybackto1998alsoallowsforcollaborationsandmeetingsof mindsacrossbatchesandevengenerations.Althoughthebandismadeof diverse members from all walks of life, we are bonded by our common interest and goal of presenting quality music to our audiences, as well as continuingtohoneandcraft,andconstantlychallengingourlimits
Flutes
ArielLee†
ChuaYaZhen‡
MikkoNeo
MikiWong
PengJianXing‡
Bassoon
MaBohao
TanJiayi†
Clarinet
ErwinYu
KianKern
MatthewJoseTung
NgLingMei†
ShaurEn
TanSiYuan
TiffanyLee*
ZhangFuquan
Saxophone
ElliotOng
LimShaoMing†
NgLingShan
Trumpet
BehMeiZhen
LinSujin†
ShaunHo
TayGuanHeng
FrenchHorn
ClementNg†
JudeJohn
Trombone
NurDiyanaAqilah
VanessaYip
YongJenKaen† Euphonium HohJingWen†
DoubleBass LuoYizhou†
Tuba
AaronTng*
HemalataK
LyeMunLeng
Percussion
JoanneHeng*†
MohdSalleh
OngZile
TanXiLing
ZhouYanJun
AlfredReed Spectra
KazukiShimoda
ABrusselsRequiem
BertAppermont
AGirlattheOasiswithThreeWolves
SatoshiYagisawa
HymntotheInfiniteSky
SatoshiYagisawa
YOASOBIMedley
AyaseArr.MikioGohma
MononokeHimeMedley
JoeHisaishiArr.TakashiHoshide
PeterlooOverture
MalcolmArnold
Second Century is an original concert march written to celebrate the C. L. Barnhouse Company's 100th anniversary Established in 1886 by Charles Lloyd Barnhouse in the United States, CL Barnhouse Company is one of the oldest and continuously operating bandfocusedmusicpublishingcompaniesintheworld.
Starting with a grand fanfare, the piece introduces a fun, light-hearted theme before movingtoamoreexcitingmelodywithheavierpercussion.Then,thepiecedevelopsintoa softertrioconsistingofclarinets,hornsandtubas,garnishedbysologlockenspiel Therest ofthebandjoinsinafterwards,andthepiececlimaxtoagrandfinalethatbringsbackthe themeintroducedatthebeginning,whileinterweavingitwiththemelodyplayedinthetrio.
Composedinthewinterof2019,thispiecewasinspiredbythelightandwatershowofthe samenameatMarinaBay,Singapore.WhenShimodavisitedSingaporeinthefallof2016,he was awed by the beauty of the light and water show and wrote this piece based on the impressionshehadduringtheshow Itwasamazinghowthebreathtakinglaserbeamsthat projected images onto the water are able to describe the gorgeous view of Marina Bay Sands,
The piece is roughly divided into 3 parts, and its entirety is a work of about 7 minutes. It aims to capture the beautiful atmosphere felt from the Spectra light show, especially with thesofter,magicalmiddlesectionthatmimicsthetwinklingstarsinthenightsky Manyof the instruments are optional in this piece, and in fact, it is possible to perform this piece with a minimum of 8 people As Shimoda would like a very small band to perform this piece,wedecidedtofollowhiswishesandpresentthispiecetoyouinasmallband
byBertAppermont
Premiered in the Netherlands in 2017, this piece reflects on the tragic circumstances that arosefromtheseriesofterroristattacksinBrussels,Belgiumon12March2016 Itdescribes the emotions that these acts of terror caused; particularly fear, grief, anger and helplessness, but also hope and faith in a new world. In addition, the work was meant to payhomagetoallvictimsresultinginadignifiedremembrance
Within four through-composed parts, the French children’s song ‘Au Claire De La Lune' is usedastheconnectingthreadthroughoutthepiece Thetitletranslatedto"BytheLightof theMoon",whichgivesusthethemeofthisconcert.Thefourmovementsaretitled:
Innocence InColdBlood
InMemoriam-WeShallRiseAgain
ANewDay
Theworkopenswithasimpletune,that,inallofitspurenessandinnocence,isplayedbya toy piano in response to an elegant and lyrical solo melody in Part 1 It then turns into a tunefulhymn,playedbytheband
Suddenly, the lullaby is shattered by a hammering and almost military-like motif in Part 2 Throughout the movement, the tension slowly builds towards a dramatic climax that leads to a performance of the children’s song in a minor key - this is written in the form of a choraletheme
Then, from afar, echoes of the song are played by muted trumpets, accompanied by the snaredrumandtimpaniinanatmosphereofremembranceinPart3 Then,atunefultheme emerges, attempting to transcend the sorrow and sing the praises of hope, giving us the strengthtoriseagainandovercomeourfears.
Part4containselementsofallthepreviousparts,anditbeginswithstirringturbulence.The music finds its way through agitated passages and then develops into a grand tutti, in which a humble melody from part 3 is now highlighted exuberantly After a moment of stillness, ‘Au Claire De La Lune’ is featured again as an evaluation of what has taken place. Variousmotifsandthematicelementsreturnonelasttimeinaneffervescentfinale
bySatoshiYagisawa
Written with a fairy-tale-like story in mind, this piece contains three movements telling the storyofagirl'sencounterwiththreewolves Despitethat,thestoryportrayedinthispiece is not yet complete Thus, how the story is interpreted is left up to your imagination The movementsaretitled:
TwoMischievousWolves
TheGirlattheOasis
TheTrickyWolf
Yagisawa wrote this piece with the "Oasis's daughter" as the premiere performer Keiko Shojiinmind,andthethreewolvestobethreeothermaleplayers.Coincidentally,ourtubaeuphonium quartet is composed of three male players and one female player as well Our tuba-euphonium quartet have worked hard to clinch second place in NTUSB's recent ensemblecompetitionwiththispiece.
1 2 3.This piece was composed in May 2003 as the second piece in the series commissioned by Nihama Primary School, Ichikawa City, Japan, following the tone poem for wind orchestra AndThentheOceanGlows Unliketheoceanbeingdescribedliterallyinthatpiece,thesky hererepresentsaninformalspiritratherthandescribingtheskydirectly.
Inthiswork,theskyisasymbolofpeacethatisbrokenbytheflyingofcombatplanes A prayer is made to the infinite sky for world peace, and that children all over the world will hold on to their dreams of the sky Yagisawa hopes that this piece will be performed by bands around the world and that the peaceful and compassionate message will be conveyedtotheaudience.
Asitstitlesuggests,thispieceisacollectionofwell-knownsongsbythepopularJapanese pop music duo Yoasobi. Formed by Ayase and Ikura, Yoasobi went viral in 2020 with their debut single “Yoru ni Kakeru”, which translates to “Racing into the Night”. Subsequently, they released 20 more singles and collaborated with multiple organisations such as Universal Studios Japan. A common theme their songs have is that each song is written basedonnovelspostedonsocialmedia
ApartfromYoruniKakeru,thismedleyalsoincludessongsthathavemadeitintothetop10 of Billboard Japan Hot 100 This includes Encore, Halzion, Gunjo (Ultramarine) and Kaibutsu (Monster)
Taken from the Studio Ghibli movie “Princess Mononoke”, this is a medley of soundtracks thatencompassesthethemeswithinthemovie,aswellasthestoryofthemaincharacter, Ashitaka The title Princess Mononoke refers to a girl named San, who was raised in the forest by mononoke, which refers to spiritual beings in Japanese. The movie portrays the meetingofAshitakaandSanandtheirrolesinthebattlesbetweena14th-centuryJapanese townandthenaturearoundit
This medley includes the iconic soundtrack, "The Legend of Ashitaka", as well as its theme song"PrincessMononoke".NTUSBisproudtoshowcaseourstudentconductor,KeithKok, ashewillbeconductingthebandforthismedleytoday.
Peterloo is the derisive name given to an incident on 16 August 1819, in St Peter’s Fields, Manchester, where an orderly crowd of some 8000 people met to hear a speech on political reform. On the orders of the magistrates, they were interrupted by the Yeomanry, attempting to seize the banners they carried and to arrest their speaker, Henry Hunt Cavalrywassentin,and11peoplewerekilledand400injuredintheensuingpanic.
This overture attempts to portray these happenings musically, but after a lament for the killedandtheinjured,itendsintriumph,inthefirmbeliefthatallthosewhohavesuffered anddiedinthecauseofunityamongstmankindwillnothavedonesoinvain
NTUSBwouldliketoexpressourheartfeltgratitudetowardsthefollowing: Ourdistinguishedguestsforgracingtheconcert
MrTakehiroOura,forhisunwaveringpatienceandguidance Oursectiontutors,fortheirassistanceandtutelagetoourmembers Ourexecutivecommittee,forbringingthisconcerttogether Ourmembers,forworkinghardtoshowcasethisexcitingperformance
NanyangSymphonicWindsforsharingthestagewithus NgZhiKaiandColmanCheungfortoday'sphotography Allguestplayersfortheirtimeanddedication Andfinally,you,ourwonderfulaudienceforjoiningusonthisevening's musicaljourney.
