SSO National Day Concert

SSO NATIONAL DAY CONCERT 2021 SYAFIQAH 'ADHA SALLEHIN JONATHAN SHIN KOH CHENG JIN KAILIN YONG JESSICA TAM DICK LEE TONY MAKAROME ZUBIR SAID SYAFIQAH ‘ADHA SALLEHIN JONATHAN SHIN KOH CHENG JIN YONG KAILIN JESSICA TAM DICK LEE TONY MAKAROME ZUBIR SAID SSO NATIONAL DAY CONCERT 2021 SYAFIQAH 'ADHA SALLEHIN JONATHAN SHIN KOH CHENG JIN KAILIN YONG JESSICA TAM DICK LEE TONY MAKAROME ZUBIR SAID SYAFIQAH ‘ADHA SALLEHIN JONATHAN SHIN KOH CHENG JIN YONG KAILIN JESSICA TAM DICK LEE TONY MAKAROME ZUBIR SAID SSO NATIONAL DAY CONCERT 2021 SYAFIQAH 'ADHA SALLEHIN JONATHAN SHIN KOH CHENG JIN KAILIN YONG JESSICA TAM DICK LEE TONY MAKAROME ZUBIR SAID SYAFIQAH ‘ADHA SALLEHIN JONATHAN SHIN KOH CHENG JIN YONG KAILIN JESSICA TAM DICK LEE TONY MAKAROME ZUBIR SAID SSO S S O NDAY A T CONCERT I O N A L 2021 D A YSYAFIQAH C O N C'ADHA ERT NATIONAL SALLEHIN CHENG JIN KAILIN N E W M U SJONATHAN I C , N E W SHIN H O P E KOH S YONG JESSICA TAM DICK LEE TONY MAKAROME 29 AU G 2 0 2 1 ZUBIR SAID SYAFIQAH ‘ADHA SALLEHIN JONATHAN SHIN W A T C H T H E S T R E A M O N L I NE ON S I S TI C LI VE KOH CHENG JIN YONG KAILIN JESSICA TAM DICK LEE TONY MAKAROME ZUBIR SAID SSO NATIONAL DAY CONCERT 2021 SYAFIQAH 'ADHA SALLEHIN JONATHAN SHIN KOH CHENG JIN KAILIN YONG JESSICA TAM DICK LEE TONY MAKAROME ZUBIR SAID SYAFIQAH ‘ADHA SALLEHIN JONATHAN SHIN KOH CHENG JIN YONG KAILIN JESSICA TAM DICK LEE TONY MAKAROME ZUBIR SAID SSO NATIONAL DAY CONCERT 2021 SYAFIQAH 'ADHA SALLEHIN JONATHAN SHIN KOH

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SSO NA TIO N AL DAY CO N C E R T 29 Aug 2021, Sun, 3pm (Online premiere on SISTIC Live) Viewable from 29 Aug to 28 Sep 2021 Singapore Symphony Orchestra Joshua Tan conductor Kailin Yong violin Jason Lai master of ceremonies Janis Wong sign language interpreter Dengan Semangat Yang Baru (“In A New Spirit”) WORLD PREMIERE*

by Syafiqah ‘Adha Sallehin

8 mins

Supported by: PSA Corporation Limited

Folk Games

by Jonathan Shin

9 mins

Luciola singapura WORLD PREMIERE*

by Koh Cheng Jin

5 mins

Supported by: DBS

Raising The Life for solo violin and orchestra WORLD PREMIERE*

by Kailin Yong

10 mins

Supported by: OSIM, part of V3 Group

A Little Trip Down Memory Lane WORLD PREMIERE*

by Jessica Tam

6 mins

Supported by: On Cheong Jewellery

Home

by Dick Lee (arr. Kelly Tang/Bertram Wee*)

4 mins

Supported by: Marina Bay Sands

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Sing Singapore Medley WORLD PREMIERE*

by Tony Makarome

6 mins

Made possible by the people of Singapore via a donation campaign

Where I Belong

by Tanya Chua (arr. Avik Chari)

5 mins

Majulah Singapura

by Zubir Said (arr. Ho Chee Kong*)

2 mins

Concert Duration: 1 hr 35 mins

We are also grateful to V3 Group and UOB for their support of the whole concert. * SSO Commission

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SSO NATIONAL DAY C ONC ER T | 29 AUG 2 0 2 1

Dengan Semangat Yang Baru (“In A New Spirit”)

by Syafiqah 'Adha Sallehin Supported by

Luciola singapura

by Koh Cheng Jin

Raising the Life

by Kailin Yong Supported by

A Little Trip Down Memory Lane

by Jessica Tam Supported by

Supported by

Part of V3 Group

Home

by Dick Lee (arr. Kelly Tang/Bertram Wee) Supported by

SUPPORT OF THE ENTIRE CONCERT

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Made possible by the people of Singapore $10,000 & ABOVE Mr & Mrs Goh Yew Lin Alexey Rumyantsev

$2,500 TO $9,999 Vanessa & Darren Iloste Robin & Katie Rawlings The Sohn Yong Family

$1,000 TO $2,499 Raymond Quah Gilbert R Tan Cheng Guan Oliver Trianto Geoffrey & Ai Ai Wong Jinny Wong Anonymous (5)

YQ Dong Mr & Mrs Dorian Goh Robert Khan & Co Pte Ltd Khor Cheng Kian In memory of Timothy Kok Tse En Lim Shue Churn Dr Agnes Ng

$ 200 TO $999

BELOW $200

Cheng Eng Aun Jason Chia Foo Yunxuan Matthew Ryan Fox Belinda Koh Yuh Ling Winnie Lam June Ong Daniel Tan Adeline Yeo Anonymous(6)

Judy Bay Eoin Ee Toru Furugori Hio Wei Hong Stany Kol Winnie Leung Luo Biao Nikki Ming Frank Nguyen Ong Li Min Arumugam Pradeepan

Anupam Sahay Darren Stanley Smith Laborte Edmerson Villapando Wong Huimin Vincent Yadin Eugene Yeo Catheryn Yum Charmaine Zecha Zeng Zhiyong Chelsea Zhao Anonymous (26)

This list reflects donations that were made from 14 June 2021 to 23 August 2021.

We would like to express our sincere thanks to donors whose names were inadvertently left out at print time.

The Singapore Symphony Group is a charity and a not-for-profit organisation.

Singapore tax-payers may qualify for 250% tax deduction for donations made.

You can support us by donating at www.giving.sg/sso/nationalday2021 5

S S O N A T I O N AL DAY C ONC ER T | 29 A U G 2021

Sing Singapore Medley

by Tony Makarome

SINGAPORE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Since its founding in 1979, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) has been Singapore’s flagship orchestra, touching lives through classical music and providing the heartbeat of the cultural scene in the cosmopolitan city-state.

In addition to its subscription series concerts, the orchestra is well-loved for its outdoor and community appearances, and its significant role educating the young people of Singapore. The SSO has also earned an international reputation for its orchestral virtuosity, having garnered sterling reviews for its overseas tours and many successful recordings.

In July 2021, the SSO was nominated for the prestigious Orchestra of the Year Award

by Gramophone.

The SSO makes its performing home at the 1,800-seat state-of-the-art Esplanade Concert Hall. More intimate works, as well as outreach and community performances take place at the 673-seat Victoria Concert Hall, the home of the SSO. The orchestra performs over 60 concerts a year, and its versatile repertoire spans all-time favourites and orchestral masterpieces to exciting cutting-edge premieres. Bridging the musical traditions of East and West, Singaporean and Asian musicians and composers are regularly showcased in the concert season. This has been a core of the SSO’s programming philosophy from the very beginning under Choo Hoey, who was Music Director from 1979 to 1996.

Under the Music Directorship of Lan Shui from 1997 to 2019, the SSO has performed in Europe, Asia and the United States. In May 2016 the SSO was invited to perform at the Dresden Music Festival and the Prague Spring International Music Festival.

This successful five-city tour of Germany and Prague also included the SSO’s second performance at the Berlin Philharmonie.

In 2014 the SSO’s debut at the 120th BBC Proms in London received critical acclaim in the major UK newspapers The Guardian and The Telegraph. The SSO has also performed in China on multiple occasions.

In 2020, the SSO appointed renowned Austrian conductor Hans Graf as its Chief Conductor. In a time greatly disrupted by COVID-19, the SSO continued to keep music alive and lift spirits up through a multitude of digital concerts and videos, which crossed a million views in six months.

The SSO has released more than 50 recordings in its 40-year history, with more than 30 on the BIS label. The most recent critically acclaimed albums include a Rachmaninoff box set (2021), Richard Strauss’ “Rosenkavalier and Other Works” (2020), and three Debussy discs “La Mer”, “Jeux” and “Nocturnes”. The orchestra has also released albums of contemporary works linked to East Asia, including works by Chen Yi, Zhou Long, Bright Sheng, Alexander Tcherepnin, and others.

The SSO has also collaborated with such great artists as Lorin Maazel, Charles Dutoit, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Neeme Järvi, Gustavo Dudamel, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Diana Damrau, Martha Argerich, Lang Lang, Yo-Yo Ma, Janine Jansen, Leonidas Kavakos and Gil Shaham.

H ANS G RAF Chief Conductor The SSO is part of the Singapore Symphony Group, which also manages the Singapore Symphony Choruses, the Singapore National Youth Orchestra, and the VCHpresents chamber music series, the Singapore International Piano Festival and the biennial National Piano & Violin Competition.

The mission of the Group is to create memorable shared experiences with music. Through the SSO and its affiliated performing groups, we spread the love for music, nurture talent and enrich our diverse communities.

SSO NATIONAL DAY C ONC ER T | 29 AUG 2 0 2 1

Joshua has conducted orchestras all around the world. He has studied with various eminent conductors —James DePreist, Charles Dutoit, David Zinman and Kurt Masur — and worked with many others, such as Michael Tilson Thomas, Ingo Metzmacher and George Manahan.

J O S H U A T AN conductor

A versatile conductor, Joshua is at home with symphonic, operatic and ballet works. His repertoire for opera includes La Traviata, Rigoletto, Der Fliegende Holländer, Lohengrin, Carmen, Don Giovanni, Madama Butterfly, Così fan tutte, and Turandot. He is equally adept with music for ballet, film and multimedia, having worked for Disney’s Fantasia and Pixar, BBC’s Blue Planet series, West Side Story, Jurassic Park and more.

A graduate of The Juilliard School and the Eastman School of Music, Joshua Tan was Second Prize winner of the Dimitri Mitropoulos International Competition and an awardee of numerous scholarships and awards, including the Young Artist Award – Singapore, Bruno Walter Memorial Foundation Award, NAC-Shell Scholarship, and the SSO/MOE Scholarship. He was the first conductor to be presented the Charles Schiff prize from The Juilliard School. His performances of Bernstein’s Mass and the opera Don Pasquale were selected as the best classical concerts of the year 2018 and 2019 by The Straits Times.

Presently Principal Conductor of the Singapore National Youth Orchestra and Director of the Asia Virtuosi, he has served successful stints as Resident Conductor of the National Center for the Performing Arts (China) Orchestra, Principal Conductor of the Guiyang Symphony Orchestra and Associate Conductor of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. Season 21/22 sees return engagements with the Hong Kong Philharmonic and Singapore Dance Theatre as well as debuts with the Gunma Symphony and a new opera premiere in Hong Kong.

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S S O N A T I O N AL DAY C ONC ER T | 29 A U G 2021

K A I LI N Y O N G violin Kailin Yong is a global citizen and a tireless advocate for using the arts to promote peace. Known to many as the “fiddler for peace”, he was the recipient of the Daniel Pearl Memorial Violin in 2004 for his efforts in building cultural bridges through music.

Kailin also works closely with Very Special Arts Singapore to “create and provide access and opportunities” to artists with special needs and disabilities by producing and directing Welcome To My World 2019 and 2021.

Kailin trained at the Vienna Academy of Music and spent 20 years “living, growing and traveling” in the US and Europe before returning to Singapore in 2013.

Kailin is the founding member of the following musical ensembles: Kailin Yong Peace Project, NuMundo, Y String Quartet, PLUS Trio, Qilin Group, WEBE, DoReFaSoLah, Straits Ensemble and Monsoon. Kailin currently teaches at Lasalle College of the Arts.

He often shares his gifts as a composer, music director and interdisciplinary performer through his work with David Glass Ensemble, Flamenco Sin Fronteras, Maya Dance Theatre, Bayang Troupe, DADC (Diverse Abilities Dance Collective) and with many other independent choreographers, dancers, musicians and theatre makers around the world.

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SSO NATIONAL DAY C ONC ER T | 29 AUG 2 0 2 1

J A S O N L AI master of ceremonies

JANIC E WONG sign language interpreter

Jason Lai is the Principal Conductor at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory and has performed with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra as Associate Conductor. Outside of his work in the music arena, Jason is also a TV presenter working mainly for BBC World, a keynote speaker, and a coach in the area of self-development including leadership and presentation skills. He has given TEDx talks as well as delivering in-depth learning through his corporate Conducting Leadership programme.

Since working with the Deaf in 2009, Janis holds a Master’s degree in Deaf Education.

She worked with the Singapore School for the Deaf and was later one of two specialised teachers in Mayflower Primary School leading the newly established integrated programme for Children with Hearing Loss.

Janis also freelances as an interpreter and has made appearances with the SSO for their National Day Concerts and with SRT’s production of Gretel and Hansel. She is an advocate for Baby Sign Language and believes that sign language can and should be for everyone – whether as a means of communication or to appreciate as a visual art form.

She is currently a stay-at-home mother (but really, a chef-accountant-cleaner-chauffeurplaymate) to be with her three children.

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SEC O N D V IOL IN

T HE ORC HE S T R A

Michael Loh Associate Principal Nikolai Koval* Hai-Won Kwok Chikako Sasaki* Margit Saur Shao Tao Tao Wu Man Yun* Xu Jueyi* Yeo Teow Meng Yin Shu Zhan* Zhao Tian*

HANS GRAF Chief Conductor ANDREW LITTON Principal Guest Conductor CHOO HOEY Conductor Emeritus

VIO L A

LAN SHUI Conductor Laureate

Manchin Zhang Principal Guan Qi Associate Principal Gu Bing Jie* Fixed Chair Marietta Ku Luo Biao Julia Park Shui Bing Janice Tsai Dandan Wang Yang Shi Li

EUDENICE PALARUAN Choral Director WONG LAI FOON Choirmaster

FIRS T VI OL I N

C EL L O

(Position vacant) Concertmaster, GK Goh Chair Kong Zhao Hui1 Associate Concertmaster Chan Yoong-Han2 Fixed Chair Cao Can* Chen Da Wei Duan Yu Ling Foo Say Ming Jin Li Kong Xianlong Cindy Lee Karen Tan William Tan Wei Zhe Ye Lin* Zhang Si Jing*

Ng Pei-Sian Principal, The HEAD Foundation Chair Yu Jing Associate Principal Guo Hao Fixed Chair Chan Wei Shing Jamshid Saydikarimov* Song Woon Teng Wang Yan Wu Dai Dai Zhao Yu Er D O U B LE BAS S Yang Zheng Yi Associate Principal Karen Yeo Fixed Chair Olga Alexandrova Jacek Mirucki Guennadi Mouzyka Wang Xu

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FLUTE

TR U M P ET

Jin Ta Principal Evgueni Brokmiller Associate Principal Roberto Alvarez Miao Shanshan

Jon Paul Dante Principal David Smith Associate Principal Lau Wen Rong TR O M B O N E

PICCOLO

Allen Meek Principal Damian Patti Associate Principal Samuel Armstrong

Roberto Alvarez Assistant Principal OBOE

B A SS T R O MBONE

Rachel Walker Principal Pan Yun Associate Principal Carolyn Hollier Elaine Yeo

Wang Wei Assistant Principal TU B A Tomoki Natsume Principal

COR ANGL AI S Elaine Yeo Associate Principal

TIM P A N I Christian Schiøler Principal

CLARINET Ma Yue Principal Li Xin Associate Principal Liu Yoko Tang Xiao Ping

P ER CU SSIO N Jonathan Fox Principal Mark Suter Associate Principal Mario Choo Lim Meng Keh

BAS S CL AR I NE T Tang Xiao Ping Assistant Principal

H A RP Gulnara Mashurova Principal

BAS S OON Liu Chang Associate Principal Christoph Wichert Zhao Ying Xue CONTRAB AS S OON Zhao Ying Xue Assistant Principal HORN Gao Jian Associate Principal Jamie Hersch Associate Principal Marc-Antoine Robillard Associate Principal Hoang Van Hoc

* With deep appreciation to the Rin Collection for their generous loan of string instruments.

1 Kong Zhao Hui performs on a J.B. Guadagnini of Milan, c. 1750, donated by the National Arts Council, Singapore, with the support of Far East Organization and Lee Foundation.

2 Chan Yoong-Han performs on a David Tecchler, Fecit Roma An. D. 1700 donated by Mr Goh Yew Lin. Musicians listed alphabetically by family name rotate their seats on a per programme basis.

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Musicians SSO NA TIO N A L D A Y CONCE RT | 2 9 A UG 2 0 2 1

FIRST VIOLIN Kong Zhao Hui Acting Concertmaster/ Associate Concertmaster Cao Can Duan Yu Ling Zhang Si Jing SECOND VIOLIN Zhao Tian Margit Saur Hai-Won Kwok Yeo Teow Meng VIOLA Manchin Zhang Shui Bing Julia Park CELLO Yu Jing Guo Hao Wang Yan DOUBLE BASS Karen Yeo FLUTE Evgueni Brokmiller

OBOE Pan Yun CLARINET Ma Yue BASSOON Christoph Wichert HORN Gao Jian Hoang Van Hoc TRUMPET Jon Paul Dante TIMPANI Christian Schiøler PERCUSSION Mark Suter HARP Gulnara Mashurova PIANO Shane Thio* YANGQIN Patrick Ngo*

* Guest musician 14

S UP P O RT T H E SSO

Music is Essential Music is Life “Thank you (SSO) for your service. I believe in the power of music.”

Please help Singapore Symphony Orchestra and our affiliated performing groups play on; bringing hope and joy to Singapore through many more memorable shared musical experiences!

“The current pandemic is truly unforeseeable. Please keep safe and healthy and play on to spread the love for music.”

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The SSO is an arts charity and depends on your donations. If you are in a position to do so, please consider making a donation to support your orchestra – Build the future by giving in the present.

As a valued patron of the SSO, you will receive many benefits.

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Donations of $100 and above will entitle you to priority bookings, and discounts on SSG Concerts.

For tax residents of Singapore, all donations may be entitled to a tax deduction of 2.5 times the value of your donation. *Complimentary ticket benefits do not apply to supporters who give through a fundraising event.

Through the SSO and its affiliated performing groups, we spread the love for music, nurture talent and enrich our diverse communities.

The Singapore Symphony Orchestra is a charity and not-for-profit organisation.

To find out more, please visit www.sso.org.sg/support-us, or write to Nikki Chuang at nikki@sso.org.sg.

C O R PO RAT E PAT R ONAGE

Form a special relationship with Singapore’s national orchestra and increase your name recognition among an influential and growing audience. Our concerts provide impressive entertainment and significant branding opportunities.

SSO Corporate Patrons enjoy attractive tax benefits, Patron of the Arts nominations, acknowledgements in key publicity channels, complimentary tickets, and invitations to exclusive SSO events.

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HEA RT F E L T T H ANKS TO OUR C O R PO RAT E PAT R ONS Temasek Foundation The HEAD Foundation Yong Hon Kong Foundation John Swire & Sons (S.E. Asia) Pte Ltd Lee Foundation Tantallon Capital Advisors Pte Ltd The New Eden Charitable Trust

C O R PO RAT E SPONSOR S SMRT Corporation Symphony 924 Singapore Airlines

Your support makes it possible for us to host world-renowned artists, including the Singapore debut of piano legend Martha Argerich in 2018.

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SSO NATIONAL DAY C ONC ER T | 29 AUG 2 0 2 1

SYAFIQAH ‘ADHA SALLEHIN (b. 1990)

Syafiqah 'Adha Sallehin achieved her Bachelor’s degree in Music (with Honours) and her Masters of Music, both in music composition, from the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music in 2013 and 2016 respectively. She is currently appointed as an Artist Fellow at her alma mater.

A recipient of the Goh Chok Tong Youth Promise Award by MENDAKI in 2010, she is recognised for her achievements and aptitude in the field of music.

a 40-minute music and theatrical dance collaborative work with arts company Bhumi Collective. She was a Singaporean composer representative at a festival of new music organised by the Society of Malaysian Contemporary Composers (SMCC) called “SoundBridge” in 2015, presenting her work Of Mood and Motion for a mixed ensemble comprising Southeast Asian and Western orchestral instruments. In 2013, she was awarded the second prize for her percussion composition Dance of the Merlions at the 31st Asian Composers’ League Festival (Singapore).

As a composer, Syafiqah’s works have been performed both locally and internationally.

Her music embodies a unique voice that stems from her footing as a classical-trained musician and a traditional arts practitioner.

Her works often incorporate elements of her national identity, cultural heritage and themes of myths and fantasy.

Syafiqah is also a passionate advocate of traditional Malay music and is a self-taught accordionist in this genre. She is the Music Director of Gendang Akustika, a Malay traditional-contemporary music ensemble in Singapore. She teaches the Malay Fusion Ensemble at School of the Arts, Singapore, and has given lectures about traditional Malay music in various schools. In 2018, she was appointed residency artiste and composer in Rentas, a residency programme dedicated to innovations in traditional Malay music as part of a larger festival called “Gemadah – Traditional Malay Music

Syafiqah’s short orchestral piece entitled Bidasari, based on the pan-Malay folktale of the same name, was performed by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra in their National Day Concert in 2018. In 2016, she was featured as the composer-in-residence for the 2nd Singapore International Festival of Music and premiered Ikan Girl, 18

backgrounds and cultures in Singapore with the objective of achieving a Singaporean sound. Syafiqah’s arrangements and compositions were pivotal to the creation of the ensemble’s musical identity. Although she is no longer part of the ensemble, Syafiqah continues to work collaboratively with other ethnic musicians on a quest of exploring common grounds for process and birthing new creations.

In 2018, Syafiqah co-founded a syncretic ensemble called “Open Score Project” (OSP), a product of her enthusiasm for new music and the traditional arts. The ensemble comprises musicians from various musical

www.syafiqah-adha.com

Dengan Semangat Yang Baru (“In A New Spirit”) WORLD PREMIERE/SSO COMMISSION

by Syafiqah 'Adha Sallehin Supported by

This piece is a homage to Singapore’s national anthem and its composer Encik Zubir Said. The title Dengan Semangat Yang Baru (“In A New Spirit”) is reflected through the music’s rousing energy and march-like character, with moments of tension and reverie alluding to Singapore’s struggles and aspirations. A play on word rhythms is also evident throughout the work. I hope this work spurs listeners to reflect upon the powerful meaning of the anthem’s words and to rise together with a renewed spirit in the fight against the devastating coronavirus.

Instrumentation flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, 2 horns, trumpet, bass drum, tam-tam, suspended cymbal, glockenspiel, harp, piano, strings

Programme note by Syafiqah 'Adha Sallehin

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S S O N A T I O N AL DAY C ONC ER T | 29 A U G 2021

Festival” jointly organised by Esplanade, NAC and the Singapore Traditional Malay Music Consortium. In the same festival, she also conducted an accordion masterclass that showcased the stylistic performance of urban Malay folk music on the otherwise Western instrument.

SSO NATIONAL DAY C ONC ER T | 29 AUG 2 0 2 1

JONATHAN SHIN (b. 1992)

Jonathan Shin is a Singaporean composerpianist who performs extensively as a soloist and chamber musician, and improvises across multiple genres. He has won prizes for his piano performances in North American and European competitions, as well as awards in all age categories of Singapore’s National Piano and Violin Competition. Shin’s music has been described as “supremely confident and comfortable in its own skin.” (The Straits Times). His first commission, The Other Merlion and Friends, was critically reviewed as “probably the most compelling and worthwhile new work from any Singaporean composer in recent years.” In 2020, his concert overture City Arising was premiered by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra for its annual National Day concert.

Shin’s works have been premiered and performed in Europe, Asia, and North America. He is a founding member of the Lorong Boys, a multi-genre group. www.jonathanshinmusic.com

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S S O N A T I O N AL DAY C ONC ER T | 29 A U G 2021

Folk Games

by Jonathan Shin Folk Games for String Orchestra features three regional “folk songs”, dressed up in unconventional musical guises, with lyrics somewhat subtly subverted.

Rasa Sayang is given a Shostakovich-ian treatment, bleak and many miles away from its literal translation of “loving feeling”.

Angular harmonies and sharp accents whip the song into a brief flurry before receding away.

Lower strings open Singapura, oh Sunny Island, expressively but with a tinge of melancholy. The bridge of the song is soon transformed masterfully into a dramatic trio section, with the different instruments playing off and against each other as rays of sunlight shine through.

The slower tempo of the opening returns, and builds into a passionate outburst, before the solo violin wafts the orchestra to rest on a final, wafting chord. Chan Mali Chan coyly dispels all remaining questions, as its main tune is riled into a fun-filled romp, transformed into a waltz, and then whirls into a frenzied thrilling end.

Folk Games was commissioned and first recorded by the Orchestra of the Music Makers in August 2020.

Programme note by Christopher Cheong

Instrumentation strings 21

© JIYANG CHEN

SSO NATIONAL DAY C ONC ER T | 29 AUG 2 0 2 1

KOH CHENG JIN (b. 1996)

Koh Cheng Jin is a Singaporean composer, Yang Qin and violin performer currently based in New York. Her music is eclectic and diverse in personality. Being a Chineseand Western-trained musician, her works incorporate influences from these worlds and reflect her passionate enthusiasm in unifying colourful music idioms.

ACS Barker Road Chinese Plucked Strings Ensemble and others.

Her multiple accolades include the Society of New Music 2020 New York Federation of Music Clubs’ Brian Israel Prize, the Palmer Dixon and Gena Raps Chamber Music Prizes from The Juilliard School, as well as the Margaret Blackburn, John Eaton Memorial and Boston New Music Initiative Prizes. Notable summer festivals she has participated in included the YaleNorfolk New Music Workshop where her work was commissioned, and both the Bowdoin International Music Festival and the European American Musical Alliance (EAMA). She is a member of the Composers’ Society of Singapore.

Most recently, Cheng Jin’s Before Daybreak was selected as the Commissioned Work for the 2022 Singapore International Violin Competition, and her fusion, multidisciplinary YAMA (God of Hell) for Mixed Ensemble and Dance was digitally produced for the 2020 Singapore International Festival of Arts by Singapore’s Ensemble Æquilibrium. She is the youngest composer to ever be commissioned by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and has also worked with members of the Paris-based, world-renowned Ensemble InterContemporain, New York’s Metropolis Ensemble, Imani Winds, Society of New Music, and the Juilliard Orchestra; in Singapore, the Singapore Chinese Orchestra, Ding Yi Music Company, K口U Musik, Morse Percussion, T’ang Quartet, School of the Arts (SOTA) Chinese Music Ensemble,

A proficient Yang Qin musician, at age 18 Cheng Jin won the Singapore National Chinese Music Competition (Open Category) at a solo debut with the Singapore Chinese Orchestra. She is indebted to her teachers Qu Jian Qing and Seah Poh Chun, as well as Kelly Tang, her first mentor in composition at SOTA. She is also grateful to her pedagogues at The Juilliard School, Robert Beaser and Melinda Wagner, both 22

fall, she is excited to further develop her musical, research and educational interests as a MacCracken PhD Fellow at New York University (College of Arts and Science) with full scholarship and a comprehensive stipend. www.kohchengjin.com

Luciola singapura WORLD PREMIERE/SSO COMMISSION

by Koh Cheng Jin Supported by

In lieu of honouring Singapore’s 56th birthday, Luciola singapura commemorates the major discovery of a new species of firefly this year in our country, the first since 1909. The discovery was made by researchers from the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum.

evoke the mysterious allure and animated vitality of this wondrous, luminous creature.

Chinese music gestures can also be heard dispersedly, combined with long melodic lines and fresh harmonies. Beyond the fusion of musical cultures and science, the work expresses my deep passion, augmented more so in such trying times, to celebrate all things uniquely Singaporean.

May Luciola singapura serve, in addition, as a timely reminder for the preservation of endangered species and core habitats in the face of ceaseless modernisation and climate change.

Amid the global pandemic, this phenomenon is a beacon of hope enriching our national and natural heritage. Even more symbolically, the Luciola singapura or Singapore Firefly, located in the Nee Soon Swamp Forest – our last remaining freshwater swamp forest – is genetically and morphologically distinct from other species, hence deserving of its name.

Programme note by Koh Cheng Jin

Instrumentation flute (doubling piccolo), oboe, E-flat clarinet, bassoon, 2 horns, trumpet, suspended cymbal, glockenspiel, xylophone, tam-tam, mark tree, temple blocks, triangle, snare drum, bongos on timpani, harp, piano, yangqin, strings

The Singapore Firefly has a beautiful, shimmery golden appearance, a sight truly unforgettable once beheld. With the colourful addition of the Yang Qin (Chinese dulcimer), an instrument special to my musical upbringing, the music strives to 23

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instrumental in her pursuit of Bachelor’s (Hons) and Master’s Degrees in Music Composition, fully supported by Singapore’s Loke Cheng Kim Foundation. She is also honoured to be the Teaching Fellow for Juilliard’s Music Advancement Program (Composition) for two years and its Evening Division (Music Theory). In the coming

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YONG KAILIN (b. 1972)

Kailin Yong is a global citizen and a tireless advocate for using the arts to promote peace. Known to many as the “fiddler for peace”, he was the recipient of the Daniel Pearl Memorial Violin in 2004 for his efforts in building cultural bridges through music.

other independent choreographers, dancers, musicians and theatre makers around the world.

Kailin also works closely with Very Special Arts Singapore to create and provide access and opportunities to artists with special needs and disabilities by producing and directing Welcome To My World 2019 and 2021.

Kailin trained at the Vienna Academy of Music and spent 20 years living, growing and traveling in the US and Europe before returning to Singapore in 2013. He often shares his gifts as a composer, music director and interdisciplinary performer through his work with David Glass Ensemble, Flamenco Sin Fronteras, Maya Dance Theatre, Bayang Troupe, DADC (Diverse Abilities Dance Collective) and with many

Kailin is the founding member of the following musical ensembles: Kailin Yong Peace Project, NuMundo, Y String Quartet, PLUS Trio, Qilin Group, WEBE, DoReFaSoLah, Straits Ensemble and Monsoon. He currently teaches at Lasalle College of the Arts, Singapore.

Raising the Life for solo violin and orchestra WORLD PREMIERE/SSO COMMISSION

by Kailin Yong Supported by

Part of V3 Group 24

The first section expounds on the fundamental building blocks – namely the breath and the heartbeat. The audience is invited to participate in creating a primordial soundscape by “breathing along” and thumping on their chest. An ascending major scale is used almost verbatim as the first musical theme to represent basic elements in Life that we often take for granted. As the plot thickens and the pace quickens, this same theme is morphed into a darker, Dorian minor version of itself that opens the next section – Chaos.

This section climaxes in an aleatoric dance where everybody gets to decide their own personal musical fates while actively seeking to find connection with others. This joyful and purposeful chaos culminates in a big party of celebratory sounds launching the soloist into the stratosphere, only to fall back into the familiar, unpredictable messiness of Life on Earth – the second section.

In true cyclical fashion, the music comes full circle with the re-introduction of the first theme, returning us to the primordial calm framed with only the breath and the heartbeat.

While it retains the ascending motion of its predecessor, the second theme spirals quickly into a chaotic frenzy represented by interjecting unison sections of odd and mixed metre. This echoes the moments in Life when everything seems to be happening at the same time –the good and bad, the joy and the sorrow, the resonance and the misunderstanding, the sun and the rain.

I am brought back at this moment to a reminder-haiku that I penned more than a decade ago: take care of your roots the leaves, flowers and fruits will follow naturally

In fact the longer we exist, the more likely we become clued up on this “Truth” about life, where we realise, sooner or later, that Life Is a phenomenon that is never onedimensional nor mono-chromatic. As a result, we become more pliant, more open to possibilities and less insistent on the right and wrong, the black and white; we become more understanding and respectful of differences in opinions and practice, therefore cultivating a more compassionate attitude toward all beings.

I dedicate this work to all my brothers and sisters who have accompanied me so far on this journey of truth and joy discovery. I love you all ♥!

Programme note by Kailin Yong

Instrumentation flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, 2 horns, trumpet, bass drum, triangle, mark tree, tambourine, suspended cymbal, strings 25

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The third section of the work seeks to express in musical terms the concept of “there are as many perspectives as there are people”. The soloist improvises and responds to different cultural motifs set by different groups of instruments – first the strings, followed by the woodwinds, then the brass.

Raising The Life is inspired by my ongoing journey to explore and discover “the true meaning and purpose of Life” and my personal quest to live a more conscious existence. The work has four big sections, each representing one aspect of Life.

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JESSICA TAM (b. 1979) Jessica Tam, 谭瑞燕, is a Singaporebased film and TV composer. She began her musical journey on the cello, before embarking on a composition degree from Berklee Online. In 2017, she won First Place in a Video Game Scoring Competition organised within Berklee College of Music, and which was judged by a panel that included British Academy Award-winning game composer Jason Graves.

Since 2019, with a focus on composing for orchestra, she has scored film & TV under renowned Golden Horse Awardwinning composer Ricky Ho, 何国杰, which included the 48-episode drama series “The Little Nyonya”, a #1 Primetime TV show in various major broadcast and streaming channels in China in 2020. She also works independently on scoring projects, and scored animated film short “Kua Bo”, which won Best Animation in the National Youth Film Awards, Singapore in 2020 (Open Category). www.jessicatammusic.com

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Singapore Town (1967), Singapore Pie (1990) and Moments of Magic (1999) were classic songs many of us grew up with. Written across various decades with the earliest one written over 50 years ago, life in Singapore was keenly observed and celebrated in these songs. And now, to celebrate National Day this 2021, they have been brought together and orchestrated into a Sing-Along medley, called A Little Trip Down Memory Lane.

The medley starts with the Mandarin Xinyao (新谣) classic, Singapore Pie (新加坡 派), which reminisces on the evolution of Singapore through the decades. This is followed by the most modern one of the three, pop song Moments of Magic. As it ends, a whimsical interlude segues into the very recognisable and up-tempo introduction of Singapore Town; an indication for everyone to prepare their lungs to sing this classic with vigour!

A Little Trip Down Memory Lane was orchestrated to be sung with exuberance and at the top of our voices, with as much singing-time as possible squeezed into the approximate six minutes! This orchestration aims to stay true to these classic melodies, so that it remains easily sing-able for all audiences from young to old, but also to feel a bit more contemporary and be a part of our own time as well. So at its heart, it was a balance of conserving these nostalgic melodies, and imbuing it with some whimsy, boisterousness and a certain amount of musical chaos, with fun accompaniments that may at times, randomly pipe in.

Programme note by Jessica Tam

Instrumentation flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, 2 horns, trumpet, timpani, glockenspiel, xylophone, mark tree, snare drum, cymbals, suspended cymbal, temple blocks, harp, piano, strings 27

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A Little Trip Down Memory Lane WORLD PREMIERE/SSO COMMISSION

by Jessica Tam

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新加坡派 爸爸说我出世在六十年代 一岁多国家才算诞生出来 那时候没人相信新加坡牌 还有人移民海外 旧家的戏院建在六十年代 我钻在人群里看明星剪彩 那时候奥语片是一片黑白 有些来新加坡拍 I just called to say I love you I just called to say how much I care We are the world, We are the children 让我们献出我们虔诚的祈祷 当我们不觉到了八十年代 地铁将这个传奇讲得更快 大家都忽然要向自己交代 将新谣唱起来 我们已搬家住得舒服自在 旧戏院变成教堂做礼拜 有时我独自回到旧地感怀 惦记那昔日小孩 I like it Singapore pie 我最爱新加坡派 Moments of Magic Tomorrow brings enchanting moments A brand new day of inspiration Like a river flows, To where our dreams unfold This feeling is never like before, A new beginning for all.

Let us celebrate this moment, A brand new day awaits Let us reach out for our dreams out there Moments of magic we will share

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Time brings new hopes for us to move on There’s more to treasure as we go on The world is our stage, Let us find a way Moving in to a diff’rent time, Where horizon shines Let us celebrate this moment, A brand new day awaits Let us reach out for our dreams out there Moments of magic we will share Let us celebrate this moment, A brand new day awaits We will always be a city of friends, Time will bring for us to share Moments of magic Singapore Town You could take a little trip around Singapore town in a Singapore city bus To see Collyer Quay and Raffles Place, The Esplanade and all of us Because in Singapore, Singapore, Their hearts are big and wide you’ll find Because in Singapore, Singapore, You’ll find happiness, for ev’ryone Let’s go down to the riverside, It’s an unforgettable sight To see the sunrise on a faraway isle, Turning darkness into light Because in Singapore, Singapore, Their hearts are big and wide you’ll find Because in Singapore, Singapore, You’ll find happiness, for ev’ryone The buildings are climbing all the way to the sky And there’s a hundred other people who are striving for people like you and I Because in Singapore, Singapore, Their hearts are big and wide you’ll find Because in Singapore, Singapore, You’ll find happiness, for ev’ryone

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Moments of magic

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DICK LEE (b. 1956) The Dick Lee phenomenon started in 1971 when he participated in various talent contests with the groups Harmony, and Dick and the Gang. His first album, Life Story, featuring his own compositions, was released in 1974. Throughout the 70s and 80s, Dick championed the inclusion of Asian elements in pop music, as in his acclaimed albums Life In The Lion City (1984) and The Mad Chinaman (1989), the latter which achieved platinum status in Singapore for three months.

Dick has collaborated with top Asian artistes like Sandy Lam and Japanese group Zoo, and written countless songs for singers in Asia including Jacky Cheung, Andy Lau, Sammi Cheng, Anita Mui, Miyazawa of the Boom and Stephanie Sun. The song he is proudest of writing is Home.

Composed in 1997 and popularised by the singer Kit Chan, it is widely regarded as one of the most beloved of Singapore’s national songs.

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This is the world premiere of this new version of Home, arranged by Bertram Wee for the Singapore Symphony Orchestra.

Fortunately, despite the initial doubts, two individuals in the committee supported Home – both pioneers in the world of Singapore music: composer Bernard Tan and music director/ethnomusicologist Joseph Peters. In addition, among the committee was the chairman of the National Day Parade (NDP) for the following year.

Ultimately, NDP 1998 featured two official songs, Home, and the largely forgotten City for the World.

When Home was first presented to the Sing Singapore Festival committee in 1997, the initial reaction was one of scepticism.

Compared to the musical vigour and patriotic gusto of Count On Me, Singapore or Stand Up for Singapore – how could this slow, wistful song match them?

As it often turns out in the history of music, that which was originally written for a now forgotten reason has over time taken on a much higher purpose.

And so, on 9 August 1998, a young Singaporean mandopop star by the name of Kit Chan stepped out before the façade of the former City Hall of Singapore, facing 60,000 Singaporeans with a choir. She had only rehearsed that same morning, to an empty Padang. With a crescent and five stars pinned to the side of her hair, a gleam in her eye and soul in her voice, she sang Home.

Its composer Dick Lee was living in Hong Kong when he was asked to contribute to Sing Singapore. Being literally away from home allowed his homesickness to lend genuine poignancy to the song. The theme of the festival that year was the river, which is why it features in the words of Home. “I remember that it all tumbled out. It all came as almost one breath. ... It felt right, “ says Dick Lee, “I wrote the words and I wrote the tune all within, like, less than an hour.

The melody, I remember, came at once in a flow.”

It has been said that while school children today routinely sing a line-up of National Day songs at their school celebrations every August, including the latest titles, none of them are sung as loudly as Home – words and music that are older than them.

* SSO commission 31

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Home

by Dick Lee (arr. Kelly Tang, 2018 / reduced score by Bertram Wee, 2021*)

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“Singaporeans made it their song.

I didn’t. I certainly didn’t set out to do that. And so it’s something that I learned, which is that this sense of who we are needs to come without you trying.”

After its premiere, Home gradually seeped into the being of Singaporeans. When it was chosen again as the NDP song for 2004, Dick Lee finally realised its significance.

He has spent his entire career as an artist searching for Singaporean identity. He did not expect Home to do what it did: “Singaporeans made it their song. I didn’t. I certainly didn’t set out to do that. And so it’s something that I learned, which is that this sense of who we are needs to come without you trying.”

Quotations from the article "Dick Lee , Kit Chan and Dr. Sydney Tan tell the story of Singapore's most beloved song, 'Home'" by Karen Gwee, published on Hear65 (2 Aug 2018), a national movement to promote Singaporean music and musicians.

Programme note by Chia Han-Leon

– Dick Lee

KELLY TANG (b. 1961) Kelly Tang’s compositions have been performed by the Russian National Orchestra, Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra, Ensemble contemporain de Montréal, Band of Her Majesty’s Royal Marines (UK) and “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band. His music has been presented worldwide at Berlin Konzerthaus, Musikverein Golden Hall (Vienna), Suntory Hall (Tokyo), Palais de l’Élysée (Paris), St. Paul’s Cathedral (London) and Carnegie Hall (New York). For Singapore’s 50th anniversary celebrations, Tang’s Concerto in Three Movements was premiered by superstar pianist Lang Lang with the Metropolitan Festival Orchestra in 2015. For his contributions in the arts, Tang was conferred the Cultural Medallion in 2011 by the President of Singapore.

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BERTRAM WEE (b. 1992) Bertram Wee is a composer-performer whose music is largely concerned with the physicality of performance and its related conceits. His work in the last few years encourages spontaneity, excess, violence and risk-taking in performance, the goal being the carnal, sensual experience of sound itself.

His music has been performed and/or awarded internationally at festivals such as the BBC Proms, Ultraschall Berlin, Darmstädter Ferienkurse, inTRANSIT Festival, Bloomsbury Festival, Asian Composers League (ACL) Festival and Conference, WMC Kerkrade Festival and Thailand International Composers Festival (TICF), among others.

As a pianist for various new-music projects, he performs most notably with the newlyminted Ensemble Æquilibrium, as well as the B-L Piano Duo with pianist Lynette Yeo. With the latter, they were winners of the prestigious Royal Over-Seas League Competition, London (Ensemble Category) in 2017.

Instrumentation flute, oboe (doubling cor anglais), clarinet, bassoon, 2 horns, trumpet, timpani, suspended cymbal, glockenspiel, mark tree, xylophone, harp, strings 33

© MELVIN WON

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TONY MAKAROME (b. 1960)

Composer, conductor, bassist Dr. Tony Makarome is Associate Professor at Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music (NUS).

He studied at Berklee College of Music (composition) and received his doctorate from University of South Carolina (orchestral conducting). He was assistant conductor of the Columbia Lyric Opera (South Carolina), and music director of the NUS Wind Symphony. His teachers include George Monseur, Attilio Poto, Robert Spano, Miroslav Vitous, Herb Pomeroy, K.R. Shyama, T.R. Sundaresan, R. Karthikeyan.

He is currently a mridangam student of Guru Chettiharaveetil Haridas Sreekanth (Singapore Indian Fine Art Society).

Chinese Orchestra and China Broadcasting Folk Orchestra (Beijing).

As bassist, Tony has performed with Louis Bellson, Quartet West (Ernie Watts, Alan Broadbent) amongst others. He is bassist/ composer in the jazz-rock band, Varsha.

He has also performed as a mridangist in Chennai and Carnegie Hall. Tony is a leading pedagogue of solfége and jazz. He has also published a popular article about konnakkol in music teaching in the Malaysian Music Journal. In 2019, he completed his diploma at the Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society in carnatic music studies (mridangam) and received the Vadya Visharad Award as top graduate of mridangam.

His Indian music-themed Jewel of Srivijaya (2019) was premiered by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. Other notable compositions include Rain Konnakkol (2018) premiered in Baltimore, What Pattern? (2016) in New York City, Scifi Lounge (2006) in Bangkok, Name with No Street in Shanghai and his opera, Faybulous at Pawley’s Island Music Festival. His arrangements of Seven Steps to Heaven and Asiana were performed by Singapore 34

Made possible by the people of Singapore via a donation campaign www.giving.sg/sso/nationalday2021 This medley is a nostalgic journey for me because I fondly remember the National Day Songs from the Sing Singapore Campaign of my youth. In 1984, our government had commissioned Stand Up For Singapore as a song that could be sung in our community during National Day. And the following years saw Count On Me, Singapore and We Are Singapore. To this day, many Singaporeans still feel national pride when these songs are played.

variety of sounds and styles. I must also add that I could not completely shed the sounds of the original versions of these three songs from my mind and so I set them in their original keys and also included a couple of the same modulations to pay tribute to the original arranger of these pieces, Jeremy Monteiro.

This arrangement is designed as either music for an audience sing-a-long or as a standalone instrumental piece. For this reason, I hope that the music turns out to be fun for everyone; whether you sing along, hum along with it or even dance to it.

For this arrangement, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra set me the challenge of scoring for a smaller-sized ensemble (including limited percussion instruments).

Therefore, I tried to imagine what it would be like in the early days of our nation if we sent an orchestra made up of volunteers from the community out to bring music to the people in more intimate settings such as community centres or schools with the old-style canopytype auditoriums.

Programme note by Tony Makarome

In my imagination, the instrumental combination would consist of whatever “volunteers” we could find. So there may only be single winds and brass along with strings; and other assorted instruments like piano (and even harp, as we take all comers) along with timpani and a single percussionist from a military band.

Instrumentation flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, timpani, glockenspiel, snare drum, harp, piano, strings

As a young nation, Singapore was a melting pot for many cultures and genres of music from local folkloric tradition to western pop and jazz music. This idea led me to employ a 35

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Sing Singapore Medley WORLD PREMIERE/SSO COMMISSION

by Tony Makarome

SSO NATIONAL DAY C ONC ER T | 29 AUG 2 0 2 1

Stand Up For Singapore Stand up for Singapore, do the best you can Reach out for your fellow man You've got to make a stand Recognise you can play your part Let it come right from your heart Be prepared to give a little more Stand up, stand up for Singapore Stand up for Singapore, do it with a smile If you stand up for Singapore You'll find it all worthwhile Believe in yourself, you've got something to share So show us all you really care Be prepared to give a little more Stand up, stand up for Singapore (x3) Count On Me, Singapore We have a vision for tomorrow, just believe, just believe We have a goal for Singapore, we can achieve, we can achieve You and me, we'll do our part, stand together, heart to heart We're going to show the world what Singapore can be We can achieve, we can achieve There is something down the road that we can strive for We are told no dream's too bold that we can't try for There's a spirit in the air, it's a feeling we all share We're going to build a better life, for you and me We can achieve, we can achieve Chorus: Count on me Singapore, Count on me Singapore Count on me to give my best and more, count on me Singapore Count on me Singapore, Count on me Singapore Count on me to give my best and more.

Together Singapore, Singapore. (x3)

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There was a time when people said That Singapore won't make it, but we did There was a time when troubles seemed too much For us to take, but we did We built a nation, strong and free, reaching out together For peace and harmony Chorus 1: This is my country, this is my flag This is my future, this is my life This is my family, these are my friends We are Singapore, Singaporeans (Sung/spoken) We the citizens of Singapore Pledge ourselves as one united people Regardless of race, language or religion To build a democratic society Based on justice and equality So as to achieve happiness Prosperity and progress for our nation Chorus 2: We are Singapore, we are Singapore We will stand together, hear the lion roar We are Singapore, we are Singapore We're a nation strong and free forevermore (Repeat Chorus 2) This is my country, this is my flag This is my future, this is my life This is my family, these are my friends We are Singapore, Singaporeans We are Singapore, Sing-a-po-re-ans.

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We Are Singapore

Best known as the composer of Singapore’s national anthem, Zubir Said was one of Singapore’s earliest Malay-language songwriters, believed to have written over 1,500 songs. A self-taught musician, Zubir moved from the Minangkabau highlands of Indonesia to Singapore in 1928, to work as a musician. He joined City Opera’s bangsawan (Malay opera) troupe as a violinist, eventually picking up the piano and becoming the band leader. In 1936, Zubir became a recording supervisor with His Master's Voice (HMV), and gained recognition in the music industry. From 1949, Zubir was Orchestra Conductor with Shaw Brothers’ flourishing Malay films division, and later Music Director for Cathay Keris from the early 1950s until his retirement in 1964.

© Ministry of Information and the Arts Collection courtesy of National Archives of Singapore

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ZUBIR SAID (1907–1987)

Majulah Singapura

by Zubir Said (arr. Ho Chee Kong*) This is the world premiere of Ho Chee Kong’s arrangement of Majulah Singapura.

In 1958, at the request of the City Council of Singapore, Zubir wrote Majulah Singapura, after a motto displayed at the renovated Victoria Theatre. It was performed at the grand finale of a concert on 6 September 1958. Its popularity led to its nomination for a greater purpose – Majulah Singapura replaced God Save the Queen during “Loyalty Week” celebrations in 1959. On 9 August 1965, when Singapore gained full independence from Malaysia, Majulah Singapura was adopted as our national Anthem. * SSO commission 38

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HO CHEE KONG (b. 1963) Ho Chee Kong is Associate Professor and one of the founding faculty members and founding head of Composition at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, National University of Singapore. He has written works for both Western and Chinese ensembles which have been performed at festivals and concerts in Asia, Europe, the Americas and Oceana. His music has been described as “evocative and lyrical”, “distinguished by a strong power of the narrative and exotic instrumental colours” and “exuding a distinct impression of Asian sounds”.

His other interests include cultivating university residential learning, pedagogical strategies in music composition, and cultural issues related to Asian music in modern society. He is the founding president of the Composers Society of Singapore and serves on committees and boards locally and internationally. He is currently the Vice-Dean for Academic Programmes and Quality Enhancements, the Co-Coordinator for the MS (Music and Society)/MCP (Music, Collaboration and Production) majors programme, and Master of Tembusu Residential College.

Instrumentation flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, 2 horns, trumpet, timpani, suspended cymbal, strings 39

BOA R D OF D IREC T ORS & C OMMI T T E E S CHAIR Mr Goh Yew Lin SSO COUNCIL

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Ms Yong Ying-I (Deputy Chair) Mr Ang Chek Meng Mr Chang Chee Pey Mr Chng Hak-Peng Mr Chng Kai Fong Mr Warren Fernandez Prof Arnoud De Meyer Mr Heinrich Grafe Ms Liew Wei Li Mr Sanjiv Misra Mr Paul Tan Dr Kelly Tang Mr Geoffrey Wong Mr Yee Chen Fah NOMINATING AND EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Mr Goh Yew Lin (Chair) Prof Arnoud De Meyer (Treasurer) Mr Paul Tan Ms Yong Ying-I Mr Geoffrey Wong

HUMAN RESOURCES COMMITTEE Ms Yong Ying-I (Chair) Prof Arnoud De Meyer Mr Yee Chen Fah Dr Kelly Tang INVESTMENT COMMITTEE Mr Geoffrey Wong (Chair) Mr David Goh Mr Sanjiv Misra Mr Alex Lee AUDIT COMMITTEE Mr Yee Chen Fah (Chair) Mr Heinrich Grafe Ms Lim Mei SNYO COMMITTEE Ms Liew Wei Li (Chair) Mr Ang Chek Meng Mr Benjamin Goh Ms Vivien Goh Dr Kee Kirk Chin Mrs Clara Lim-Tan

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The mission of the Singapore Symphony Group is to create memorable shared experiences with music.

Through the SSO and its affiliated performing groups, we spread the love for music, nurture talent and enrich our diverse communities.

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