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MUSIC NEWSLETTER

PAGE 3

From the Director of Music PAGE 8-9

Guys & Dolls

Battle of the Bands

Botanic Beats PAGE 10

Musician of the Year PAGE 11

FOBISIA Primary Music Festival PAGE 12-13

Focus On: Infant Music PAGE 14-18 Around the Sections Forthcoming Events

FROMTHE DIRECTOROFMUSIC

As we approach the end of another whirlwind 12 weeks, Tanglin’s Music Department has once again taken centre stage at numerous spectacular events that have helped launch 2025 with energy and flair. From thrilling performances to exceptional collaborations, our musicians have been at the heart of it all

This term’s journey began with a remarkable partnership with the Senior Drama Department, culminating in a sell-out four-night run of Guys & Dolls. This 1920s musical extravaganza, which was chosen to mark the school’s Centenary celebrations, featured stellar performances both on stage and in the orchestra pit, where a team of 20 musicians – including teachers, tutors, and students – joined forces to support the production. The success of the show meant that the cast members were invited to reprise their performances at other major school events such as the SEASAC Rugby Dinner, the FOBISIA Heads of Business Conference, and the Centenary Gala at the Fullerton. Congratulations to all who contributed to this phenomenal production!

In early February, we welcomed the internationally acclaimed Desford Colliery Band for a special concert for our Junior School The band, on the final leg of their annual Southeast Asia tour, demonstrated the rich diversity of brass instruments, from gentle dulcet tones to powerful, brassy fanfares Their performance sparked great enthusiasm among the students, with nearly half of Year 4 expressing interest in learning a brass instrument!

We were delighted to have not one, but two visits to the beautiful Botanic Gardens on consecutive Saturday evenings in March. The first concert was given by the Tanglin Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Mr. Holiday and joined by the Welsh operatic singer, Katherine Jenkins. The orchestra, made up of members from the wider musical community, and supported for this event by the British High Commission, entertained the 7000-strong audience with a very British programme of music including a James Bond medley, a rousing rendition of the Welsh anthem Land of My Fathers (Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau), and the uplifting Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 by Edward Elgar.

The following Saturday, musicians from across the Junior and Senior School joined forces for a very special Centenary Edition of Botanic Beats The biennial concert was expanded this year to include even more ensembles, giving several hundred students the opportunity to perform in front of another huge audience. The evening was kick-started with another of Elgar’s patriotic Pomp and Circumstance marches and closed with an exhilarating performance of Kool & the Gang’s Celebration, with all of the evening’s performers coming together to wish Tanglin a very happy Centenary year

Last week witnessed two very special events, with the Finalists’ Concerts for our Musician of the Year competition and the rousing Year 1-4 Singing Festival. A record number of musicians – 155 in totalentered this year’s Musician of the Year competition, making it the most competitive since the new format was launched three years ago The online first round concluded in mid-February with around 60% of performers making it through to the Second Round, held in early March in front of a panel of adjudicators. The successful finalists then treated us to two stunning concerts with the winners of each Class being selected by our visiting judges, Ruth McCartney, Mervin Beng and Tien Yang. Congratulations to everyone who took part in this year’s competition

The Singing Festival was a truly joyous occasion with almost 800 children taking to the stage to perform songs from across the decades in recognition of the school’s centenary. The enthusiasm and energy in the Berrick Hall were palpable, creating a real sense of excitement and celebration.

Alongside all these major events we have, as ever, had an array of other events taking place including Reception and Year One shows, a Year 6 Production, two junior lunchtime recitals, several informal concerts, a week-long Music in the Morning series, Open Mornings and receptions, to name but a few Over 60 students also took in-person ABRSM exams in the final weeks of term, ranging from Initial Grade to the ARSM diploma. Many congratulations to everyone who succesfully passed their graded examinations, but particularly to Amelie W for being awarded a Distinction in her Grade 8 Flute exam and Ahaan N who gained a Distinction in his ARSM saxophone diploma

Behind the scenes interviews and auditions have also been taking place for potential Music Scholars. The standard of performance presented to Mr Seal and myself has been superb, as has the clear desire and passion of our musicians in wanting to share their talent with the wider community

We have also been busy preparing for the forthcoming Centenary Concert at The Esplanade Concert Hall which takes place on 23 April and features a number of large ensembles, as well as the world premiere of a stunning dramatic cantata written by the acclaimed British composer, Jonathan Dove Next term each school will also have a solo and chamber music concert in the Esplanade Recital Studio and there will also be a large-scale Summer Festival with music featuring prominently.

As ever, none of these events or opportunities are possible without the phenomenal skill, dedication, perseverance and willingness of our incredible staff – support teams, visiting tutors and Faculty staff. I would once again like to pay tribute to their enormous efforts in encouraging our students to embark on, and continue with, their musical journeys – they really are an inspirational team, and we are very lucky to have them here at Tanglin. Sadly our Head of Woodwind and Brass, David Smith, has decided to step down from his role after a very successful period overseeing the development of our wind and brass players. He has been ‘instrumental’ in creating an ecosystem for our young band members, developing clear pathways of progression, as well as organising the Wind and Brass Community Days, together with visiting artists Adam Hall and James Morrison. David’s commitments with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and his Vamp Productions business sadly mean that he no longer has the time to dedicate to our ever-increasing musical programme We very much hope that we will retain a close working relationship with us and that we will continue to benefit from his immense talent as a trumpeter and teacher.

I hope you enjoy reading and looking through this term’s newsletter which aims to showcase the enormous breadth of music offered at Tanglin.

Rob Hall Director of Music

Many of the bands also performed at the Blackbird the following weekend, which was an excellent showcase for our talented rock musicians.

Botanic Beats

Botanic Beats held in the stunning surroundings of the Botanic Gardens was a real highlight of the musical calendar this year, with around 300 students from across the Junior and Senior schools performing in orchestras, choirs, percussion and jazz ensembles. The weather was thankfully very kind to us, and an estimated 3000 people came along to watch a vast array of performances from Elgar to Jamiroquai to Bruno Mars

The evening was brought to a rousing close as all the participants gathered on stage to perform Kool and the Gang’s Celebration, complete with a Happy Birthday banner and party hats! Once again, our student musicians did us proud!

The Musician of the Year 2025 reached its climax in the penultimate week of term with the Finalists performing in front of a large audience and a panel of external judges in two separate concerts We were delighted to welcome Ruth McCartney (former Director of Music at Belfast Methodist College), Tien Yang, (Dean of the Arts at SOTA) and Mervin Beng (Chairman of Resound Collective Ltd) to adjudicate and decide on the winners of each category and class. In their summing up, they were incredibly complimentary about the musicianship and performances skills that they had witnessed, and praised each performer for their achievements The standard of both concerts was phenomenal and the adjudicators inevitably found it tough to decide on the winners Huge congratulations to everyone who took part in the competition - the standard of entries seems to rise year after year!

The Intermediate winners were:

Woodwind & Brass - Aditya S

Piano - Safiyya W

Strings - E-Ern C

Singing - Cate W

Rock & Pop - Naisha R

The Open Guitar Award went to Senan D

The Advanced winners were:

Woodwind & Brass - Trevor W

Piano - Austen Z

Strings - Tasuku E

Singing - Olivia M

Rock & Pop - Adeline K

The overall Intermediate and Advanced Musician of the Year prizes were awarded to Cate W and Adeline K.

FOBISIA

We were very excited to travel to China for FOBISIA Primary Music Festival 2025, hosted by Wellington College International Shanghai! This year’s event was the largest ever, with fifteen of our Year 5 and 6 singers and instrumentalists joining 450 students from 24 FOBISIA schools, for three unforgettable days of music making.

The festival began with a cultural excursion to Yu Gardens where the children enjoyed viewing the beautiful architecture, and explored the vibrant shops of the Yuyuan Bazaar. They even managed to join in with Tanglin’s Centenary birthday celebrations while at the gardens as they donned their party hats and blew up balloons for birthday photos.

This year’s Festival theme was Magic and the music selections included popular favourites such as Queen’s A Kind of Magic, We’re Off to See the Wizard, Wicked Medley, Harry Potter Highlights and The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. Rehearsals began in the afternoon with a range of sectional and full rehearsals for the choral and instrumental groups In the evening the students were treated to an incredible magic show, complete with acrobats and magicians who left both children and teachers spellbound.

FOCUSON: INFANTMUSIC

The Infant Music Department has been busy as ever with many events of different scales Our Year 2 ‘Smiley Singers’ performed at St John’s Home for the Elderly and again later in term at Cluny Court for their families; both events were truly joyous and filled with smiles from the children and the community.

In school we have had the Year 1 and Reception Concerts which both had a centenary element in them with Griff learning to Dance in Reception and The Princess looking for her prince in Year 1

For the first time there have been infant musicians competing in two categories of the Young Musician of the Year competition. Two infants were successful in reaching the second round, with one progressing through to the Finalists’ Concert. Congratulations to all the infants who took part - we look forward to even more entries next year!

Delphine Hastwell Head of Infant Music

The Year 2 choir performed in the Centenary Celebration for the community as well as a ‘Big Sing In the Bus Bay’, both of which added to the fun and excitement of the festivities. The final weeks of term have continued to be busy with the opening of the Rainbow drums, including a performance by some Reception children, and the House Singing Festival for all children in Years 1 – 4. This event was truly magical, and all the 8 houses sung through the Decades along to a fabulous live Staff Band.

Next term promises to be another exciting one and we are particularly looking forward to our Bird of Paradise concert for Mothering Sunday with the Year 2 Choir, as well as the Year 2 Ensembles Concert, the Centenary Showcase Concert and the Centenary Summer Festival!

AROUNDTHESECTIONS

Celine Tan - Head of Piano

This term, our students in the Piano Group CCAs throughout the three schools have been hard at work on developing their ensembleship skills. Our Infant pianists are reinforcing their theory foundations through completing weekly worksheets and we have had fun combining in a variety of ways with this term’s song “Mountain Stream”. Meanwhile our Junior and Senior pianists are practicing their pieces for an upcoming Piano Concert in May, featuring a plethora of music – watch this space!

We also have had pianists performing a range of music at several events, such as Music in the Morning at the Nixon Bus Bay, the Y3/4 and Y5/6 lunchtime recitals and Informal Recitals. This is not including some of our students taking their in-person ABRSM piano exams in Week 10, as well as a record 75 entries we received in the Piano category for Musician of the Year 2025.

Congratulations and well done to all – we appreciate your talent, dedication and hard work!

Looking ahead to next term, we have a variety of events to look forward to:

We are all incredibly excited about the forthcoming Centenary Concert at The Esplanade Concert Hall in April.

The Symphony Orchestra will be performing Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture to open the concert This is a significant milestone as this piece is technically demanding for the majority of the Symphony Orchestra members. However their determination and willingness to bring the piece together has been superb over recent weeks and months.

The concert will also feature a special Centenary String Orchestra, made up of numerous string ensembles, including Sostenuto, Camerata, Sinfonietta and Senior Strings. They were excited to hear the big sound that was created when everyone played together for the first time.

Y3 Strings Programme

The Y3 Strings Programme started with an Introductory Launch concert in March during which the Strings Team introduced the various string instruments to the children, with demonstrations of their various capabilities and effects The mini-concert ended with a performance of Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi’s Despacito, arranged for string quartet with harp. The Programme will commence early in Term 3 and we look forward to inspiring the next generation of Strings players.

Jonathan Tay - Head of Voice

This term was a busy and exciting time for our singers in the Tanglin Music Department, with many of them involved in singing performances throughout the school, including the majority of lead roles in the school production of Guys & Dolls, informal concerts, Music in the Morning, and many other events. Many of our singers also took their ABRSM Examinations in March as well as a large number of singing applicants for our annual Musician of the Year competition I will say the quality of singing at Tanglin is on a steady rise, and we are very proud of all of the singers we have heard in school this term

Singers from Tanglin are also making waves in Singapore and beyond, as we congratulate Cate W, (our winner of the intermediate singing category for Musician of the Year this term), who will be performing the title role in local theatre company Centre Stage’s production of Annie Also Meira J for being one of the singers picked to participate in FOBISIA in Shanghai where she sang and performed. Our own music scholar and winner of MoTY Advanced Singing, Olivia M will be graduating this year and is excited to have been admitted into the internationally renowned Bird College (UK) for her professional training in Dance and Musical Theatre. We wish our students all the very best in their musical adventures and celebrate each of their successes with them