VCH Organ 2017/18 Guide

THE KLAIS ORGAN First installed in 1987, the Victoria Concert Hall’s Klais organ was purchased through fundraising efforts by the then-newly formed SSO Ladies’ League as a replacement for the St. Clair organ that had been built some 50 years earlier in 1931. The St. Clair organ was named after Major W. G. St. Clair, founder of the old Philharmonic Society and the first editor of the Singapore Free Press, and its façade was retained after the installation of the Klais organ.

In 2010, with the redevelopment of the Victoria Concert Hall and Victoria Theatre, the organ – consisting of a total of 2,012 pipes – was methodically removed piece by piece, repaired and stored in climate-controlled warehouses during the refurbishment period.

Being the only mechanical organ in Singapore, the Klais organ has strong emotional links with generations of audiences and many donors and supporters of classical music, notably the Lee Foundation, who have stepped forward to provide financial support for the restoration.

When the Victoria Concert Hall reopened in the second half of 2014, the organ once again took centrestage, providing awe-inspiring and delicate strains of music to old and new audiences.

Our heartfelt thanks to all donors who have graciously contributed towards the organ restoration project.

WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE FOLLOWING ORGANISATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS FOR DONATING TOWARDS THE RESTORATION OF THE KLAIS ORGAN. Lee Foundation, Singapore Goh Yew Lin Far East Organization Ho Ching Mrs Christina Ong Low Check Kian Tan Kong Piat (Pte) Ltd Tow Heng Tan Bernard Tan Tiong Gie Winston Hauw Michael Koh Ann Kheng Richard P Armstrong Joseph Grimberg One North Capital Pte Ltd nTan Corporate Advisory Pte Ltd United Overseas Bank Ltd

Leong Wai Leng Wing Tai Holdings Limited Yeoh Chee Yan ComfortDelGro Corporation Limited Paul A. J. Supramaniam Auric Pacific Group Limited Heidrick & Struggles Bryan Manaf Ghows Santa Lucia Asset Management Andreas Sohmen-Pao Tan Boon Ngee American Women’s Association Chng Hak-Peng Dr Warren Lee’s Paediatrics Growth & Diabetes Centre Pte Ltd

Mechanical Stop and Keyboard Action Windpressure: MANUALS 100mm PEDAL 120mm 3 Manual Combination Pedals Builder: Klais, Bonn 1987 SWELL

GREAT

Hautbois 8’ Basson 16’ Scharff 4 Ranks Sesquialter 2 Ranks Octavin 2’ Blockflöte 4’ Principal 4’ Vox Coeleste 8’ Gamba 8’ Rohrflöte 8’ Tremulant

Cromorne 8’ Trompete 8’ Mixture 4 Ranks Larigot 1 1/3’ Superoctave 2’ Traversflöte 4’ Octave 4’ Offenflöte 8’ Principal 8’ Quintaton 16’ Tremulant

Couplers: I/Ped II/Ped II/I II/II 16’

PEDAL

Trompete 8’ Posaune 16’ Rauschpfeife 3 Ranks Choralbass 4’ Bourdon 8’ Octave 8’ Subbass 16’ Principal 16’

Victoria Concert Hall’s magnificent Klais Organ takes centrestage in the VCH Organ Series that also features a host of special guest performers.

VCH TOURS

FREE EVENTS

See the VCH from a fresh perspective! Join our friendly Docents on a 40-minute tour of the Victoria Concert Hall as you discover the fascinating history and architecture of this magnificent building. Registration is on a firstcome-first-served basis, and held at the Victoria Concert Hall Atrium, before selected VCH Organ Series concerts.

Please come early to secure the best seats as seating in the concert hall is limited. Doors open half an hour before the concert. This concert will last approximately 45 minutes and is suitable for ages 6 and above. No admission for infants-in-arms.

Visit www.sso.org.sg/vchorgan to know more about our Docents.

FREE

NEW NOTES IN THE PIPELINE

PHANTOM OF THE OPERA

6 August 2017 Sun | 4pm

26 October 2017 Thu | 7.30pm | $20

Ang Shao-wen, conductor Margaret Chen, organ Phoon Yu, organ Lau Wen Rong, trumpet

Dorothy Papadakos, organ

The King of Instruments takes centrestage with new repertoire, original compositions of Singaporean composers Chok Kerong and young contemporaries Chen Zhangyi and Phoon Yu. Disquiet, Chok’s work specially commissioned for the Klais Pipe Organ, will feature organist Margaret Chen with a string ensemble conducted by Ang Shao-wen.

Composer-organist Phoon Yu will present an original piece that brings together an unlikely combination of organ and trumpet, before completing the afternoon with traditional fare, Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in C major.

VCH Tour registration: 2.30pm Tour: 3pm

Phantom of the Opera. The title itself no doubt evokes scenes of a crashing chandelier, haunting romance and sweet sorrow in your mind. But did you know, the musical actually succeeds a 1925 silent horror film of the same title which grandly lived up to its genre when audiences were said to have screamed or fainted upon revelation of the Phantom’s appearance? A renowned international organist popular for her sold-out silent film programmes, Dorothy Papadakos brings the film’s raw terror to justice on the magnificent organ with an imaginatively improvised score that is sure to frighten even the Concert Hall’s resident Phantom.

Film screening of the 1929 Phantom of the Opera silent film — “The 1929 silent horror film classic THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA starring Lon Chaney, the Man of a Thousand Faces”

FREE

FREE

ISABELLE DEMERS

IN EVERY CORNER SING

20 November 2017 Mon | 12.30pm

8 April 2018 Sun | 4pm

Isabelle Demers, organ

Margaret Chen, organ Joel Navarro, conductor Canticorum

Niccolò Paganini was a prolific violinist, whose devilish virtuosity was unparalleled.

His Caprice No. 24 in A minor for solo violin is a notoriously difficult piece to perform, and its theme has inspired many variations. Imagine playing the variations with only your feet, impossible you say?

This incredible feat will be performed by Canadian professional organist Isabelle Demers, along with J.S. Bach’s intricate Prelude and Fugue in D major, excerpts from Demers’ own arrangement of Prokofiev’s ballet Cinderella which will transport you right to the doorsteps of the ballroom and Rachel Laurin’s Three Short Studies, Op. 68, culminating in a scintillating Finale from Louis Vierne’s Symphony No. 5.

With support from the Singapore Chapter of the American Guild of Organists VCH Tour registration: 11.30am Tour: 1.30pm

Dubbed the Grand Dame of Singapore’s organ scene, Margaret Chen joins forces with the Singapore Bible College Community Choir, Canticorum, in a spiritual undertaking helmed by esteemed choral conductor Joel Navarro.

Set to sacred verses, Vaughan William’s Five Mystical Songs is a visionary work that climaxes in a triumphant hymn of praise, a salutation to and celebration of music, paving the way for Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms. A harmony of Jewish and Christian elements, the work itself is an embodiment of peace and hope.

This inspiring programme will leave you with renewed faith, in all ways it matters to you.

VCH Tour registration: 2.30pm Tour: 3pm

TICKETING PHANTOM OF THE OPERA $20 CELESTIAL PIPES $20

CELESTIAL PIPES

22 May 2017 | Priority sales for

Friends of the SSO 25 May 2017 | Public sales

16 June 2018 Sat | 2pm & 4pm | $20 Winfried Bönig, organ Lawrence Koh, sand artist A blank slate, infinite grains of sand, infinite possibilities. Conjuring a magician’s power, he channels the spirit of the music that encompasses all cosmic force through his delicate palms.

Into the grains of sand he breathes life, an organic body. Sand artist Lawrence Koh animates The Planets by Gustav Holst in a celestial collaboration with organist Winfried Bönig. Widor’s standout work, the Toccata from Organ Symphony No. 5 has saluted countless weddings to date, its upbeat and charming character irresistibly captivating.

Pre and post-concert activities: Visit the stalls foyer to learn more about the pipe organ!

BOOKING INFORMATION www.sistic.com.sg +65 6348 5555 CORPORATE & SCHOOL BOOKINGS Please call (65) 6602 4245 or email ticketing@sso.org.sg for assistance.

School Booking discounts: VCH Organ Series concerts - $15 (min. 4) CONCESSIONS Concessions: $15 Family of 4 package: 20% Senior citizens (55 years and above), full-time NSF men and full-time students enjoy concession discounts on production of identification. Venue ushers may request to view a valid concession pass. Concession tickets are strictly non-transferable.

No admission for children below 6 years of age unless otherwise indicated.