Singapore Symphony Children's Choir @ Istana

1 MAY 17 MON, 10.45AM The Istana, Main Tent

PROGRAMME ALAN MENKEN & RICHARD RODGERS arr. CHARLES SMITH

A Whole New World (sung as a ‘The Sound of Music’ medley) TRADITIONAL arr. RUTH MORRIS

Aya Ngena

HAROLD ARLEN & E. Y. HARBURG arr. MARK HAYES

Over The Rainbow JOE HISAISHI arr. YU FUKUZAWA

Kimi Wo Nosete CARY RATCLIFF

Acabaca Soda Cracker LEE CHIN SIN

A Child’s Voice BEN E. KING, JERRY LEIBER & MIKE STOLLER arr. MAC HUFF

Stand By Me KARL JENKINS

Adiemus BRENDAN GRAHAM & ROLF LOVLAND arr. ROGER EMERSON

You Raise Me Up GREG GILPIN

Why We Sing LEE CHIN SIN

These Are The Days BENNY ANDERSSON & BJORN ULVAEUS arr. HAWLEY ADES

Thank You For The Music

SINGAPORE SYMPHONY CHILDREN’S CHOIR Since its debut performance in 2007, the Singapore Symphony Children’s Choir (SSCC) has given many successful concerts, including appearances with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) in its ever-popular Christmas Concerts and in the great choral masterpieces such as Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Mahler’s Third Symphony, Berlioz’s Damnation of Faust, Orff’s Carmina Burana and Britten’s War Requiem.

a comprehensive initiation into the art of classical singing.

Under the direction of Choirmaster Wong Lai Foon and Assistant Choirmaster Darius Lim, the SSCC provides a nurturing environment for young singers aged between 9 and 16 years, allowing them to explore their love of music while enriching them with

The SSCC celebrated 10 wonderful years of singing in 2016. A delightful lineup of concerts to commemorate the occasion include their first outdoor concert, Singapore Symphony Children’s Choir in the Park, held at the Singapore Botanic Gardens in September 2016.

In June 2015, the choir made their first trip overseas, collaborating with the Maîtrise de Radio France in Paris.

They performed Berlioz’s Te Deum at the Philharmonie de Paris as part of the Singapour en France – le Festival. The choir was also featured in MediaCorp’s SG50: The Gift of Song – These Are The Days.

PERFORMERS Ana Banchs Rodríguez Alexandra Conklin Anya Prabowo Arjun Chhabra Ashley Yeo Ashley Tan Bryan Carmichael Charissa Gurvinder Chloe Luai Chloe See Chloe Ong David Cho Elysse Lee Erin Ho Drew Fong Amanda Hoo Ashley Hoo Ikabella Heaps Jaime Chew Jasmine Towndrow Justin Teng Kelly Chin Sonja Lam Lara Tan Lee Xin Ning

Lilian Morrison Javier Loke Mao Yamaura Maria Erika Goh Michael Robinson Kellianne Ng Nia Edwards Nicole Gunawan Oh Chin Aik Rynoa Nahrin Samyukta Sounderraman Shriya Vishwanathan Shunsho Heng Sydney Klungsupavipat Kristen Soh Megan Soh Sophie Du Toit Tiffany Tam Carine Tan Tan Changyu Tan Liang Rong Tan Yuqing Terence Zhang Ysobel Yew Zhou Yixi

WONG LAI FOON CONDUCTOR

As Choirmaster of the Singapore Symphony Children’s Choir (SSCC), Wong Lai Foon enjoys working with young people and nurturing their love for music and singing. Having been with the SSCC as instructor-conductor since its inception in 2006, she has helped build the choir into an ensemble that has been praised for its beautiful tone and vocal discipline, and lauded as an “outstanding group who make music of the highest calibre”.

She has directed the SSCC in numerous choral concerts, including those held under the Singapore Press Holdings’ Gift of Music series, the Tan Chin Tuan Foundation’s Centennial Concert series, and most recently, the VCH Organ Series.

In addition to the annual SSO Christmas Concerts, Wong has also prepared several of the SSCC’s performances with the

Singapore Symphony Orchestra, including Mahler’s Symphony No. 3, Berlioz’s La Damnation de Faust, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, and most notably, Britten’s War Requiem, in which she conducted the SSCC in performance.

Wong works with the Singapore Symphony Chorus on occasion, and has prepared the choir for their appearances in the SSO Christmas Concerts, as well as the Singapore premiere of The Blue Planet Live!. Active on various platforms in the local choral music scene, Wong is the Assistant Conductor of The Philharmonic Chamber Choir, and Resident Conductor of The Methodist Festival Choir. She received her Master’s degree in choral conducting from the Westminster Choir College.

PROGRAMME NOTES

Rodgers & Hammerstein’s last musical premiered in 1959, and has since entered popular consciousness. Its compelling story of Maria, the governess to the Von Trapp family fleeing the Nazis on the eve of World War II, set to some of the most memorable tunes ever composed for the stage, has proven to be a hit across generations. The eponymous title song ‘The Sound of Music’ is performed today.

The highly rhythmic Zulu folk song, ‘Aya Ngena’, joyfully evokes the idea of strength in unity: “Together we are strong / Look at the other, the cowardly, however! / They are afraid of our strength”.

Written for the movie The Wizard of Oz, ‘Over The Rainbow’ was sung by Judy Garland in her starring role as Dorothy.

Harold Arlen’s ballad was and still is a huge hit with audiences. It was ranked the greatest movie song of all time by the American Film Institute, and even adopted as a nationalistic symbol by American soldiers on the western front in the Second World War. The Japanese anime film Laputa: Castle in the Sky features a futuristic scenario where human beings built floating cities which were all destroyed. Only one remained – Laputa, concealed by a hurricane surrounding it. The legendary anime composer Joe Hisaishi’s ‘Kimi Wo Nosete’ (Carrying You) alludes to both the remaining floating city, and the journey of friendship which two orphans undertake in the course of the film.

An American nursery rhyme originally adapted from a poem by William Butler Yeats, ‘Acabaca Soda Cracker’ was commonly used as a skipping rope rhyme. The arrangement heard today is a jazzy setting by Cary Ratcliff.

Written for the Singapore Symphony Children’s Choir’s 10th anniversary concert in 2016, Singaporean Lee Chin Sin’s ‘A Child’s Voice’ talks about each child’s “hopes, prayers [and] joys”, in a gloriously uplifting song, which entreats us to all “listen… and float away!”

Featuring one of the most distinctive bass lines ever written, ‘Stand By Me’ was written by the American songwriters Ben E. King, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. It has become a modern standard, covered by legends from John Lennon and boxer Muhammad Ali to U2, and even Lady Gaga and Miley Cyrus. Its universal appeal lies in its simple message: “When the night has come, and the land is dark… no I won’t be afraid, just as long as you stand, stand by me”.

Written by the New Age Welsh composer, Karl Jenkins, ‘Adiemus’ features no lyrics, with musical focus on the pitch and timbre of the combined voices. The composer focused on the universality of music: “Adiemus transcends labels… [it] can be spiritual, religious, meditative…. open to ‘move’ people in a way that they choose to experience”.

Building on the folk song ‘Londonderry Air’, the duo Secret Garden wrote the aspirational ‘You Raise Me Up’ in 2002, but it only worked its way into popular culture worldwide through hit covers by Josh Groban and Westlife. Also sung as a

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contemporary hymn in some modern church services, the inspirational lyrics allude to divine elevation from earthly burdens.

Greg Gilpin’s choral ballad discusses the power of music “to sooth a soul, mend a heart, bring together lives that have been torn apart”, and how it can bring people together, “[build] a bridge, …[and] tear down a wall”, as well as the collective joy of making music together with others, which is ‘Why We Sing’.

In 2015, as part of the SG50 celebrations, Mediacorp organised a songwriting competition, The Gift of Song. More than 65,000 votes were cast, and Lee Chin Sin’s entry, ‘These Are The Days’ won. The song reflected Lee’s feelings about Singapore’s Golden Jubilee, the opportunities that Singapore had been provided with, and inspired Singaporeans to “live the dream”.

The legendary Swedish pop group, ABBA’s fifth album, ABBA: The Album featured ‘Thank You For The Music’, one of their most popular songs. It tells, from the singer’s point of view, how thankful he is for having “a talent, a wonderful thing … ‘cause everyone listens when I start to sing”, and his gratitude for being granted the gift of making music: “Thank you for the music… for giving it to me”.

Programme Notes by Christopher Cheong

PRODUCTION OF

SSChildrensChoir

www.sso.org.sg/sscc

27 MAY 2017 Sat, 7.30pm | Victoria Concert Hall Join the Singapore Symphony Children’s Choir this May as they celebrate their 11th Anniversary together with Choirmaster Wong Lai Foon, Assistant Choirmaster Darius Lim and the newly formed Singapore Symphony Youth Choir. Sound Musings brings you an amazing lineup, which includes the gorgeous Rachmaninov Vocalise, Darius Lim’s Echoes of the Lost World, Chen Zhangyi’s Water and more!

This concert is suitable for all ages. No admission for infants-in-arms.

TICKETS: $20 Concessions: $15 | Family of 4 packages available at $60 6348 5555 / www.sistic.com.sg | Booking Fees Apply PATRON SPONSOR

A PRODUCTION OF

www.sso.org.sg/sscc