SINFONICA: VOCE / Ventus Wind Orchestra / Review

 

SINFONICA: VOCE

Ventus Wind Orchestra

Victoria Concert Hall

Sunday (21 December 2025)

I never thought that the last pre-Christmas concert this year would be spent with winds. Thanks to happenstance, I had the pleasure of being in the company of Ventus, a wind orchestra formed three years ago by alumni of school wind ensembles led by young Singaporean conductor Adrian Chiang. This was not exactly a Christmas concert but had all the ingredients of a celebratory event.

Just its second ever concert, Ventus gave a very impressive show. German composer Engelbert Humperdinck’s Overture to Hansel and Gretel (arranged by Makoto Onodera) opened the evening with a rich sonority that grew exponentially as the work progressed. Its main theme is the Evening Prayer which radiated with such a glow at its climax that I can fully imagine this group playing the music of Richard Wagner next.

Leroy Anderson Bugler’s Holiday never fails as a hit single, and it was the trio of trumpeters – Bryan Tan, Sean Ng and Quek Yu Chern – to do the honours. They were confident, committed and knew their tricky parts inside out. The syncopations which added to the work’s dynamic flair were mastered with aplomb and the performance was simply a blast.

There were many seniors in the audience, part of the community’s active ageing groups, who were invited to grace the concert. Not sure what their reaction would be to the concert’s longest and most dissonant work, Ottorino Respighi’s Feste Romane (Roman Festivals) of 1928. This is without doubt the rowdiest and noisiest of the Italian master orchestrator’s Roman Trilogy, and Yoshihiro Kimura’s arrangement would be no less forgiving.

The decibel limit was breached in the opening Circenses (Games at Circus Maximus), scenes of maximum carnage with gladiators and Christians thrown into the pit with lions. The ensemble launched itself into the fray and never left off for a single moment. This was contrasted with the quieter Il Giubileo (Jubilee), a show of religiosity with the chiming of distant church bells, while L’Ottobrata (October Harvest) had an amplified mandolin solo sounding more intrusive than an actual serenade. It was left for Le Befana (Epiphany) to sweep the deck with its orgy of inebriation and debauchery.

Love it or hate it, it was the licence to make merry with all caution thrown into the wind (literally). Never mind the trumpet raspberry at its climax, the player had given himself fully in the spirit of things. I had enjoyed the SSO performing this in the past, but this Ventus reading felt just more special because it came from the hard work of part-time musicians and enthusiasts. For holding this behemoth together, conductor Adrian Chiang is also the real thing. He ought to get invited to conduct the SSO National Day Concert in the near future.

For the concert’s second half, Ventus was joined by Schola Cantorum Singapore (Albert Tay, Chorusmaster), opening with the raucous Polovtsian Dances from Alexander Borodin’s Prince Igor, (arranged by Keiichi Kurokawa) a continuation of the earlier celebrations. Another guilty pleasure of mine, this included that Stranger In Paradise song, famously reused in the Broadway musical Kismet. Not sure whether the choir was singing in Russian or some other language, but what was certain was the sheer virtuosity of the woodwinds – clarinets in particular – for overcoming the furiously spun sinuous dance melodies.

Well-known operatic tenor Reuben Lai
was spotted in the choir.
Clue: the most senior-looking looking guy!

Choral conductor and composer Albert Tay conducted the world premiere of his Song On The Winds, which had the charm and saccharine-sweet seasonal flavour of the best of John Rutter’s offerings. This was sung in English, to be certain.

The final big work was choral composer and conductor Eric Whitacre’s psychedelic Godzilla Eats Las Vegas!, which was musical mayhem writ large. Unashamed to rip off from the likes of John Williams, Leonard Bernstein and other composers for celluloid, its deliberate schlockfest of popular culture references has to be heard to be believed. 

The choir did its part, shrieking like damsels in distress as Tokyo’s favourite dinosaur ripped through town and destroyed anything and everything. It was hugely enjoyable because of its irreverence of ultimate irrelevance, and both ensembles delivered with nothing to fear or favour.

A malnourished Godzilla makes an appearance,
little wonder he had to eat Las Vegas!

The concert had to end sometime, and it was with John Wasson’s In The Christmas Mood – a medley singalong with all the popular commercial hits – and Leroy Anderson’s ubiquitous Sleigh Ride to send the fully-filled Victoria Concert Hall audience home to deck the halls, figgy pudding and mulled wine. I had a funtastic great time, and cannot wait for the YouTube videos to come.

MUSICAL MOSAICS: IMAGINEASIAN / Asian Cultural Symphony Orchestra / Review

MUSICAL MOSAICS: IMAGINEASIAN

Asian Cultural Symphony Orchestra

Victoria Concert Hall

Sunday (10 August 2025)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 12 August 2025 with the title "Asian Cultural Symphony Orchestra's concert celebrates Asean's musical heritage".

There was a definite ASEAN flavour to the Asian Cultural Symphony Orchestra’s (ACSO) latest concert jointly conducted by Dedric Wong and Adrian Chiang. Attended by President and Mrs Tharman Shanmugaratnam, there were no less than four medleys of local and regional songs, but thankfully there was hardly any overlap with each composer having distinct voices.

Kelly Tang’s Symphonic Suite on a Set of Local Tunes, which opened the show, highlighted Dick Lee’s songs including Home and Bunga Sayang. Syafiqah ‘Adha Sallehin’s Singapura Medley was strong on Malay songs, beginning with Di Tanjong Katong, while Zechariah Goh’s Singaporean Folk Medley looked at local Eurasian culture, closing with Jinkly Nona.

Given the recent border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia, a musical truce was declared with concertante works from both nations performed one after another. Thai composer Jinnawat Mansap’s Naka, celebrating the mythological serpent (or naga as we know it) featured Prapanpong Maneewong on the khaen, a mouth organ fashioned with bamboo pipes. Its sheng-like sonority dominated this work which was filled with striding martial strains.

By contrast Cambodian composer Him Sophy’s The Way To Angkor opened plaintively with Tola Say bowing the tro sao, a Khmer spike fiddle with a timbre not unlike the zhonghu. His duet with cellist Olivia Chuang was short but touching, and despite oncoming dissonance from the orchestra, the traditional instrument was a voice not to be silenced.

Wang Chenwei’s Tekka Theka was a tribute to the Kandang Kerbau vicinity of Little India with its bustling market place. Ghanavenothan Retnam’s hauntingly beautiful bansuri (Indian flute) was the protagonist in a work which had Indian, Malay and Chinese influences. In support were Madhavan Kalaichelvan (veena), Muhammad Ansari Abdul Razak (rebana) and Soh Swee Kiat (sheng) representing three musical cultures.

Our closest neighbour across the Causeway was represented by Loh Ui Li in her Malaysian Folk Song Medley, which had Rais Iqbal resplendent on the serunai (Malay reed instrument) with its plangent and piercing tone not unlike a suona. Among the songs were Rasa Sayang and Chan Mali Chan, and before one cries foul, it should be remembered that just a little more than sixty years ago, Malaysia and Singapore were once the same nation.

Food is a subject where many a debate arises, but Eric Watson chose a Broadway idiom to frame his Gourmet Paradise, a three-movement dawn-to-dusk primer of local meals. Vocalist Juni Goh from vocal band MICappella led a rap for Nanyang Breakfast – Kopi, eggs and kaya toast / Nanyang breakfast is so shiok – before extolling the virtues of Roti Prata and Hainanese Chicken Rice.

Closing the colourful concert was the world premiere of Germaine Goh’s When Rivers Remember, uniting the four soloists from four ASEAN nations. Here was the baroque concerto grosso updated to include water-related songs Dayong Sampan, Loy Krathong, Ulek Mayang and Sarika Keo Euy, with visuals representing the Singapore, Chao Phraya, Malacca and Mekong Rivers.

Photo: Nathaniel Lim

If all governments can sort their problems as harmoniously as these instrumentalists and ACSO, lasting peace is here to stay.

Photo: Nathaniel Lim

TUTTI - AN SG60 SYMPHONIC CELEBRATION / SONGS WITHOUT WORDS / Ventus & Band Academy Singapore / Orchestra of the Music Makers / Review

TUTTI – AN SG60 

SYMPHONIC CELEBRATION 

Ventus & Band Academy Singapore 

School of the Arts Concert Hall 

Friday (30 May 2025)

SONGS WITHOUT WORDS 

Orchestra of the Music Makers 

School of the Arts Concert Hall 

Saturday (31 May 2025)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 2 June 2025 with the title "Young musicians flex in weekend concerts".

If one needed another reminder of what young musicians in Singapore can achieve, just look to last weekend’s pair of concerts featuring Ventus / Band Academy Singapore and Orchestra of the Music Makers performing at The School of the Arts. 

Photo: Benjamin Chiau

Friday evening’s concert featured wind orchestra Ventus (58 players) and Band Academy Singapore (32 students) in a tribute to all things Singaporean, with 9 works by 7 local composers. It opened rousingly, with the world premiere of Germaine Goh’s Winds of Tomorrow, a striding march filled with optimism and hope. 

The concert had a maritime theme, with two tone poems by Benjamin Yeo exploring that aspect of local history and folklore. Voyage to the End of the Earth recounted the pioneering spirit of sailors while Redhill used the pelog scale to evoke Malay music before the legendary battle scene between swordfish and humans. 

The conch shell is blown
in Wang Chenwei's The Sisters' Islands.

Both scores were cinematic in narrative and colour. Much in the same spirit was Wang Chenwei’s well-travelled The Sisters’ Islands, also founded upon a Malay saga, which posed challenging solos in this excellent scoring for wind band. 

Terrence Wong yielded two contrasting works, The Legacy of Teresa Hsu - touching portrait of the social worker who lived till 113 - and Battle of Houses, which had strong John Williams vibes without actually imitating the American film composer. Dax Wilson Liang’s Plateau de Valensole cast his net further afield to encompass impressions of French Provence landscapes. 

Photo: Benjamin Chiau

Lee Jin Jun’s inventive Variations on Chan Mali Chan showcased the solo prowess of Erica Goh on euphonium (instrument resembling a tuba except being smaller) while Mohamad Rasull’s May You Achieve Happiness was a fantasy on Zubir Said’s children’s day song Semoga Bahagia, with Malay words sung by both orchestra members and audience. This concert was shared by three conductors, Clive Choo, Joseph Teo and Adrian Chiang. 

Photo: Benjamin Chiau

The Orchestra of the Music Makers conducted by Joshua Tan the following evening on the same stage presented an all-20th century programme. No need to recoil in fear, as all three composers were Romantic in heart. 

Photo: Jeremy Ho

It did not take much to enjoy American composer Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto (1939), with its two lyrical slow movements and quicksilver finale. American violinist Stella Chen, 1st prize winner of the 2019 Queen Elisabeth International Violin Competition (Belgium), exhibited a gorgeous tone that truly melted hearts. 

Photo: Jeremy Ho

The second movement’s poignant oboe solo by Seow Yibin leading into Chen’s impassioned entry was one of many moments to cherish. The velocity and virtuosity conjured by soloist and orchestra in the finale’s near-impossible machinations had to be seen and heard to be believed. Chen’s duet with concertmaster Chan Yoong Han in Carlos Gardel’s tango Por una cabeza for two violins made for the sassiest of encores. 

It's time to tango:
Stella Chen with Chan Yoong Han.

The concert opened with Kurt Weill’s Symphonic Nocturne from Lady in the Dark as orchestrated by Robert Russell Bennett oozed musical sex appeal. Using the song My Ship as its idee fixe (fixed idea or recurring theme), lush strings, seductive woodwinds and slick silvery brass all shined in this suite of songs without words.

Sergei Prokofiev’s wartime Fifth Symphony (1944) completed the demanding programme, led completely from memory by conductor Tan. Despite his avowed modernism, the Soviet composer kept its idiom accessible in tribute to “the unquenchable spirit of man”. 

Photo: Jeremy Ho

The music’s overall pacing was well-marshalled, with angular melodies and thorny dissonances smoothed over by the orchestra’s very polished performance. The acerbic Scherzo and finale’s furiously driven juggernaut were also breathlessly impressive.

IMAGES OF EXOTIC LANDS / re:Sound / Review

 

IMAGES OF EXOTIC LANDS 

re:Sound 

Victoria Concert Hall 

Wednesday (13 November 2024)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 15 November 2024 with the title "Impressive soloists and enjoyable romp by re:Sound".

If one thought that classical music was old-fashioned, staid and boring, one just needs to attend the latest concert by re:Sound, Singapore’s first professional chamber orchestra, for a serious rethink. Which famous orchestra had as its motto, “True Pleasure Is Serious Business”? That could very well apply to re:Sound’s collective identity as well. 

The concert opened with the world premiere of Cultural Medallion recipient Eric Watson’s Concerto Arabesque for flute and strings. A happy marriage of the Baroque concerto grosso and hallowed British string work tradition, its four movements were highly engaging and enjoyable. 

A more excellent soloist than Rachel Ho, familiar to concert-goers as Red Dot Baroque’s traverso player, would be hard to find. She comfortably surmounted the onerous technical challenges in its fast outer movements, yet yielded a silky smooth tone for the second movement’s filigreed and sinuous lines, accompanied by sliding string portamenti. 

Composer Eric Watson takes a bow.

The third movement’s slow tango oozed sensuousness over a palpable South American beat, and the solo arabesques for the finale had everyone’s attention captivated. Even its false ending had nobody fooled, with vociferous applause coming when it truly mattered. 

Programming Maurice Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin after Watson was elementary, a case of perfect symmetry. Its four neo-Baroque dance movements complemented and mirrored the earlier work. Fluidity of string playing defined the flowing opening Prelude, and the quirkily syncopated Forlane benefited from extrovert woodwind and discreet brass contributions. 

The slow Menuet was the only concession to formality, while the closing Rigaudon’s romp again had woodwinds in top form for its central interlude. Tay Kai Tze’s oboe stole the show, with cor anglais, flute and clarinet following up his good work. 

In case no one noticed, the entire first half was performed with the conspicuous absence of a conductor. For the second half, Francis Poulenc’s Concerto for Two Pianos had Adrian Chiang leading from the podium, if only to keep all the riotous elements in check. 

The impressive soloists were Nicholas Loh and Jonathan Shin, who had earlier played examples from the concerto during re:Sound founder Mervin Beng’s eloquent yet succinct preamble about its musical themes. Chief of these were tinklings of the Balinese gamelan, with pelog scales getting a workout, Mozartian niceties with a Gallic twist, and Parisian dancehall frivolities all wrapped up in three neat movements. 

Despite being very different pianistic personalities, Loh and Shin worked like hand and glove, with pinpoint precision and unfettered clangour. The hypnotic slow section at the first movement’s end was so filled with Oriental mystique that one could almost smell the incense. 

The joke-a-minute Finale, with fingers flying over both keyboards, seemed like too much of a good thing. However, the final word was left to the “gamelan” making its run of mass malleting before closing with several healthy slaps of the bottom. The duo’s encore of the uproarious Finale from Poulenc’s Sonata for piano four hands was just as rousingly received.