VCH Open House 2019

S ING A P OR E N AT ION A L YO U T H OR C HE S T R A The Singapore National Youth Orchestra (SNYO) occupies a special place in Singapore’s music community, having produced a strong alumni contributing significantly to both seeding the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and other community orchestras in Singapore as well as teaching the next generation of budding musicians, thereby boosting Singapore’s music and cultural scene.

As a leading orchestra dedicated to the training and development of young orchestral musicians in Singapore, the SNYO is recognised by the Ministry of Education as a National Project of Excellence. Entry into the SNYO is by a rigorous audition process.

In April 2015, the SNYO started a new chapter in its musical journey with the transfer of its management and operations from the Ministry of Education to the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. The impetus behind this change is to provide high quality leadership and artistic development for local musical talent to excel at the national level by drawing on the knowledge and expertise of Singapore’s premier professional orchestra.

Currently led by conductor Joshua Tan, the SNYO is made up of over 180 talented young musicians representing more than 60 schools across Singapore. The Orchestra boasts a unique music talent development programme where selected members receive individual instrumental tutoring from professional musicians such as those from the Singapore Symphony Orchestra.

VISION To inspire a lifelong love for music and a dedication to exceptional orchestral performance.

MISSION Through the playing of orchestral classical music, we nurture future generations of musicians and build a vibrant music community for Singapore.

@SNYO.sg www.snyo.org.sg

Associate Conductor Lin Juan works closely with musicians of the Singapore National Youth Sinfonia, preparing them for the challenging and rewarding journey ahead in the Singapore National Youth Orchestra.

L IN J uan associate conductor

As a student Juan was Principal Cellist of the Singapore National Youth Orchestra (2000-2002), and later on with the orchestras of the Royal Northern College of Music, where he graduated with both Bachelor's and Master's degrees.

He regularly freelances as section cellist with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra; as Principal Cellist he also regularly freelances with the Singapore Lyric Opera Orchestra, The Philharmonic Orchestra, and Metropolitan Festival Orchestra, among other ensembles.

Juan has been featured in solo appearances that has seen him collaborate with groups as diverse as The Philharmonic Orchestra, re:mix, Ding Yi Music Company, The Arts Fission Company and Wild Rice.

He is also active in chamber music performances, appearing regularly with established Singaporean and international musicians.

Working with young people is a central part of Juan’s musical life. In addition to his work with the Singapore National Youth Orchestra, he is also a cello lecturer at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts and conducts the Raffles Institution String Ensemble as its music director.

MU S IC I A N S FIRST VIOLIN Marea Toh Concertmaster Callie Chin Rayson Dai Fu Xuan Matthew Ho Esther Lam Aaron Lim Ethan Lim Lauren Loh Keith Ong Jenny Park Nathanelle Tan Shavinne Tsai Adele Wee Yeo See Kang SECOND VIOLIN Chloe Chee Yuki Chew Galen Gay Colette Goh Goh Shi Qin Bryan Herbert Elise Kuah Keila Kwa Joshua Lim Ng Tze Yuan Elias Oestringer Lecia Ong Marc Sommen Raphael Teng VIOLA Caitlin Chin Skyler Goh Shawn Gui Vernell Lim Ng Ee-Jun Calista Tan Reegan Tan

CELLO Gao Kehan Samuel Goh Han Chaeyoon Nicole Hee Ian Jang Evan Khoo Gregory Lau Zachary Lau Lu Yuhan Dayna Ong Julia Sheng Tan Yu Tang Shavaun Toh Narella Widjaja DOUBLE BASS Matthew Chan Chang Seongmin Alexsalma Herbert Gerard Ng Ting Tyng Nyi FLUTE Chan Xingwei Justin Damhaut Joey Goh Darleene Hiap Piccolo Wilfred Ong OBOE John Fung Tok Rei Kayden Yap CLARINET Josette Hwang Lee Song Bin Amelie Peh Qian Wanni

BASSOON Lau Dong Hao Mark Strange HORN Chua Jia Xuan Chloe Lau Caden Rafiuly Pia Shakti Chapman Yap TRUMPET Koh Mi Yo Tobias Tan TROMBONE Chin Jat Josh Kong Lucas Tan Bass Trombone Martin Ong Tuba Jordan Tan Timpani Choo Xu Ze Clive Tan PERCUSSION Ang Jo Wee Chloe Miranda Choo Xu Ze Kevin Tan Kilian Muliady Ku Tae Lin Vareck Ng Irza Pramana Tristan Seow Clive Tan HARP Chloe Lam

J asmine B lundell narrator

Jasmine is an actor, drama educator, musician, facilitator and emcee. She graduated from East 15 Acting School, training in World Performance – a multi-disciplinary course exploring a wide range of theatre styles. The experience deepened her understanding of dramatic story-telling through a global perspective and now she is developing her interest in interactive theatre, making connections with the audience, both children and adults alike. She is also a classically-trained pianist and violinist, a keen ukelele-ist and she likes to sing...albeit to herself in the shower. She has taught drama in many preschools, primary and secondary schools in Singapore and hopes to share her belief that drama is essential to learning about yourself, love and life.

SN YO P ercussion E nsemble JOEL SMALES Brazil JOE GREEN Xylophonia (arr. BOB BECKER) FRANCIS MCBETH Let’s Give Them A Hand GUSTAV HOLST The Planets: Mars, The Bringer of War (arr. SCOTT WEATHERSON)

S ING A P OR E N AT ION A L YO U T H S INF ONI A B E N J A MIN B R I T T E N The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, Op. 34 Benjamin Britten (1913 – 1976) is one of the most famous of 20th-century British composers. He studied the piano and the viola, and began to compose at the age of 5. By 14, he had written over 100 works. During his lifetime, he wrote a great variety of music, including operas, orchestral, vocal and chamber works.

Britten wrote The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra in 1945 to introduce the instruments of the orchestra, particularly to young audiences. The instruments are grouped into four sections: STRINGS, WOODWINDS, BRASS, and PERCUSSION. The STRINGS are the largest group in the orchestra and include the violin, viola, cello, double bass and the harp. When members of this family sing, they hum, hymn, bling and glitter! What other sounds do you hear in this family?

The WOODWINDS include the piccolo, flute, oboe, clarinet and bassoon. They whistle, trill, tweet, hoot and even go quack.

The BRASS are busy instruments who perform in bands as well as orchestras! Members of the brass family are the horn, trumpet, trombone and tuba. The sounds they make can be loud and majestic or soft and solemn. They blare, whoop and bellow.

The PERCUSSION are instruments that are struck (hit) or shaken. Besides drums of all sizes, the percussion family includes the glockenspiel, xylophone, celesta, tambourine, tamtam, cymbals, gong, bass drum, side drum, triangle, castanets, cymbals, chinese block, whip and xylophone. There is the timpani as well. They bang, crash, chatter, tinkle, snap and rumble!

The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra is a set of “Theme and Variations”. This means that there is a main theme or melody, and the composer then makes different versions from it. In this case, the theme is a majestic, minor key melody by the great 17th-century English composer, Henry Purcell. Each version of theme, the variation, features an orchestral instrument. In the finale of the piece, all the instruments of the orchestra play together in a fugue, where the theme is imitated on the different instruments and sections of the orchestra.

Programme notes by Ruth Rodrigues

Upcoming Concerts P E T E R A ND T HE WOL F IN HOL LY WO OD 1 September 2019, 11am & 2pm Esplanade Concert Hall Tickets from $25 Peter and the Wolf in Hollywood is a refreshing retelling of the classic children’s musical tale by Prokofiev, transported to modern-day Los Angeles - and now at the Esplanade with a big screen! It all begins when the wolf escapes from the zoo, in a prequel unique to this version. Peter is soon swept up in an exciting adventure involving a giant robot, a whirlwind helicopter chase, and of course, the hunt for the wolf!

T HE S S C C E X P E R IE NC E 9 & 10 September 2019 9am – 6pm Victoria Concert Hall Join us for a day of choral music-making!

Help your child discover his or her own voice with workshops conducted by our Singapore Symphony Children’s Choir conductors.

More details: www.sso.org.sg/ssccexperience

P R E S IDE N T ’ S YO U NG P E R F OR ME R S C ONC E R T 27 September 2019, 7.30pm Victoria Concert Hall Tickets from $15 The young but already international award-winning Singaporean guitarist Kevin Loh was talent-scouted by The Yehudi Menuhin School via his YouTube Channel when he was only 12 and subsequently awarded a grant

by The Rolling Stones to study at the prestigious music school. Since then, his extraordinary musicality has won him numerous international accolades and invitations to perform around the world. The President’s Young Performers Concert 2019 is pleased to present Kevin Loh in the guitar favourite, the Concerto de Aranjuez.

How did you find out about the VCH Open House?

What was your favourite part of the event?

Tell Us

Do you have any comments or suggestions?

What You Think!

Please email your feedback to outreach@sso.org.sg with the following details: 1) Name 2) Age 3) Contact Number

5 Lucky winners will receive an SSO gift!

Closing date: 31 May 2019

SSO.ORG.SG