IN HARMONY 43 / SAF Central Band with Boston Brass / Review

 

IN HARMONY 43

SAF Central Band

Esplanade Concert Hall

Saturday (25 April 2026)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 28 April 2026 with the title "Well-drilled SAF Central Band shows versatility in concert".

Some of the best things in Singapore are free, and one of these are concerts by the Singapore Armed Forces Central Band. Directed by Military Expert 5 (ME5) Ignatius Wang, its latest concert opened as it always does with Majulah Singapura, the national anthem by Zubir Said. It is a rare occasion when an audience is heard singing with pride, leading the way for a programme of music mostly from the Americas.

Ron Nelson’s Aspen Jubilee was a celebratory work composed for the 40th anniversary of Aspen Music Festival, with winds and brass blazing a high decibel-laden path. Its rousing opening and close were contrasted with a slower central section where soprano Joyce Lee Tung’s wordless vocalise beautifully wafted over the instrumental throng.

Following that ice-breaker, Henry L. Dorn’s Never Forgetting was a study of melancholy, with muted brass and bowed percussion prefacing poignant solos from oboe, saxophone and finally flute. Its elegiac tone reflected intense contemplation and eventual peaceful resolution.

Closing the first half on a spirited high was James M. David’s Pulsing Onward subtitled “A California Pastorale”, three continuous movements with neoclassical references in their titles but inhabited with Latin beats and vibes. Pacific Coast Canons was fast and exuberant, contrasted with the brass chorales of Sierra Sarabande before Golden Gate Toccata exulting in the bright lights of San Francisco.

Cy Twombly's Petals of Fire.
Honestly, the music sounds better
than the art looks.

American-Chinese composer Zhou Tian’s short but brilliant Petals of Fire was inspired by American painter Cy Twombly’s abstract painting of the same title. The most modernistic work on the programme, it relived the violent dissonance and chinoiserie of Bela Bartok’s ballet Miraculous Mandarin and climaxed with the transcendent radiance of Olivier Messiaen. All four works were Singapore premieres which showcased the impressive versatility of this young and well-drilled ensemble.

Then it was time for the band’s guests, the five-member Boston Brass formed by founding member Jeff Conner and Jose Sibaja (trumpets), trombonist Domingo Pagliuca (trombone), Chris Castellanos (French horn) and William Russell (tuba), to join the fray. 

Formed in 1986 and renowned for its mix of virtuosity and humour, the quintet opened with the riotous Galop from Dmitri Shostakovich’s satirical operetta Moscow Cheryomushki, setting the tone of lightness and mirth for the rest of the show. Argentine tango composer Astor Piazzolla’s Verano Porteno (Summer) from the Four Seasons of Buenos Aires, arranged by Sibaja, delighted with its comedic timing, whoops and slides.

With the bigger band in support, Rick DeJonge’s Sounds of Cinema was an enjoyable summation of all the tropes and cliches of movie music scoring that makes the silver screen great without actually quoting any familiar tunes. Other than a hilarious cadenza for tuba, it sounded very like John Williams except it was not. That was its play on the imagination, and ultimate musical magic.

Closing the highly enjoyable evening was Cuban composer Ernesto’s Lecuona’s Malaguena, lushly arranged by Bill Holman, and a brilliant encore by the Boston Brass of Duke Ellington’s Caravan. Watch out for SAF Central Band’s next free concert at Esplanade Concert Hall on 30 May.

Notes from the Balcony / T'ang Quartet and Boston Brass / Review

NOTES FROM THE BALCONY
T’ang Quartet & Boston Brass
Esplanade Concert Hall
Saturday (15 January 2011)

This review was published in The Straits Times

on 17 January 2011 with the title

"Cool music from the Balcony"

William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, the tragedy of ill-fated love caught in a family feud, has spawned much good music over the centuries. That was the subject of this successful collaboration between Singapore’s Tang Quartet and USA’s Boston Brass which kept one transfixed and enraptured for almost two hours.

One poser was about the balance of ensemble: how do four string players stand up to five brass players? The solution was simple: the strings were amplified, while the well-arranged scores ensured that the two groups did not get in each other’s way, instead engaging in witty repartee. In climaxes, brass dominated, with percussion and piano added to the highly piquant mix.

Seven pieces from Prokofiev’s ballet Romeo and Juliet handily showcased this chemistry, from the playfulness of The Young Juliet, through the passionate Balcony Scene, to the choreographed violence of Tybalt’s Death and Montagues and Capulets. The give and take between strings and brass, whose apparent rivalry was humorously highlighted by the players themselves, was totally engaging.

Percussion, provided by students from the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory, played a big part in the exuberant Symphonic Dances from Bernstein’s musical West Side Story, which rumbled, mambo’d and swung with great energy and verve. Who but the ever-resourceful Lenny (Bernstein’s nickname) could fashion a full-blown fugue from the number Cool?

The excellent Boston Brass had moments on their own, opening the concert with Nino Rota’s brief Fanfare for the Prince from the Franco Zefferelli movie and selections from Soviet composer Dmitri Kabalevsky’s own Romeo and Juliet, tuneful enough music but almost a poor man’s Prokofiev.

T’ang Quartet sans brass tackled four of Elvis Costello’s Juliet Letters (arranged by the Brodsky Quartet) including a three-second long vocal debut in Romeo Seance. How were they as singers? It’s anyone’s guess as their efforts were submerged by audience laughter and applause.

There were no programme notes provided, but euphonium player Lance LaDuke and cellist Leslie Tan served as entertaining and very funny emcees. The single encore, the Puerto Rican-influenced America (West Side Story), sent all that attended home with a smile.