SSO rhapSSOdy May-Aug 2017

MCI (P) No. 001/09/2016 Newsletter of the SSO Community Outreach Department

www.sso.org.sg

May-Aug 2017

sso

CHORAL MUSIC VO I C E S I N H A R M O N Y

Contents 3 7 9 10 12 14 15 16 17 18

VCH Open House 2017

Choral Music Getting To Know You Tips!

Fun & Games Film & Music Masterclass Fun Facts Ask Auntie Melody Musical Jokes SSO Recommends

Editorial Team Senior Manager, Programmes: Kua Li Leng Editor & Coordinator: Kathleen Tan Vanessa Lee

Join us at the Victoria Concert Hall for a day of musical fun! From educational workshops, to backstage and historical tours of the building, and not forgetting a variety of performances — there’s definitely something for everyone!

Wed, 24 May 2017, 8.30am onwards Victoria Concert Hall For more information, please visit www.sso.org.sg/vchopenhouse

The SSCC 11th Anniversary Concert: Sound Musings

Sat, 27 May 2017, 7.30pm Victoria Concert Hall Wong Lai Foon, conductor Darius Lim, conductor Tickets available via SISTIC. For more information, please visit: www.sso.org.sg

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SSCC Experience Be immersed in a full day of music and voice workshops with the Singapore Symphony Children’s Choir (SSCC).

The programme offers an opportunity to sing alongside senior SSCC members and to perform onstage at the Victoria Concert Hall for an informal concert at the end of the day.

Mon & Tue, 4 & 5 Sep 2017 9am-6pm Participants’ Presentation 5.30pm-6.30pm Venue: Victoria Concert Hall For more information, please visit: www.sso.org.sg/ssccexperience

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Choral Music

What makes up a choir?

A typical choir is made up of 4 basic voice types or ranges – Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Bass – commonly known as SATB. These parts can be further divided into groups within each voice type (e.g.

Soprano 1, Soprano 2, Alto 1, Alto 2, etc).

There are many kinds of choirs, and the most common ways to characterize choirs would be by their gender mix. Female choirs and children’s choirs usually are made up of higher-pitched voices, and male choirs are usually made up of lower-pitched voices.

Mixed Choir (SATB)

Choral singing refers to a group of people singing together in different parts (usually 4-part or even more). These different parts come together to form harmony, and are designed to make the choral songs richer and more colourful! These groups are often called choirs.

Female Choir/ Children’s Choir (SSAA)

How did it all begin?

Western music history is said to have begun with Gregorian chant. Gregorian monks in the 9th century (801-900 AD) realized that they could improve their focus and concentration when reciting religious chants, and started to singing the same religious chants, but in an interval of a perfect fourth or fifth apart from the monk next to them. There was even strict etiquette that would instruct the monks on what and when to sing, and for how long.

Male Choirs (TTBB)

Choirs can perform with or without music accompaniment. When the choirs sing without music accompaniment, it is called a cappella. Some modern choirs even have a full band setup with drum sets and electric guitars!

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Choral Music How high (or low) is each voice range?

Soprano

Alto

Tenor

Bass

Why do we need to separate into different voice ranges?

Different people of different age groups and genders have voices of varying pitches.

Some people might able to sing a higher or lower note than others.

It is important for the choir-master or choirmistress to assign the correct voice part to each person. If a singer’s vocal range does not fit well within the specified singing range, singers will find it difficult to perform certain repertoire in the voice parts that they are assigned. In the long run, this

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could create problems in vocal training and vocal development, and even damage the vocal chords.

Many singers are careful to do some vocal warmups before singing, and practice using pitching exercises, in order to know what range they can manage comfortably. The vocal chords are muscles, and need to be trained and warmed up, just like any other physical exercise!

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Choral Music

The Singapore Symphony Orchestra and Chorus performing Bruckner’s Mass No. 3 at the Esplanade Concert Hall.

What are the requirements for singing in a choir?

What kinds of songs do choirs perform?

• A good sense of pitch and hearing • Able to read music scores • Able to keep to a strict timing • Being able to sing by ear and to sing their parts accurately in a group

Choirs perform for all occasions and have a wide repertoire.

As choir members have to be able to sing as a group, they would need to be well synchronized in order to start and end in unison or at a specific timing.

An ideal choir singer’s voice should not stand out. Singers would usually try to use their head voice instead of a speaking voice, so as to be able to blend in with the rest of the voices in the choir.

There are certainly a great variety of choirs, and these would include school choirs consisting mainly of students, church choirs consisting of congregation members, professional choirs consisting of singers who make a living out of choir singing, as well as community choirs consisting of members of the specific community singing for special events or causes.

Choirs regularly perform with orchestras to create moving, emotional music, not only in classical music repertoire, but also in film and game music. Some classic film and game soundtracks with powerful choral parts include the Lord of the Rings and the Final Fantasy games.

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Choral Music

Scientists have found that there are many psychological and physical benefits of choir singing. These are some of them: • Regulate heart rate • Increase life expectancy • Improves concentration

• Strengthen feeling of togetherness • Reduce stress levels and depression

For those who do not aspire to become a solo pop or classical singer, perhaps you might find your calling in a choir, as part of a greater good!

If you're between the ages of 9 and 16 and love to sing, come audition for the Singapore Symphony Children's Choir! For more information, please visit: www.sso.org.sg/ssccauditions

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getting to know you

Choirs of the Singapore Symphony Group A musical family brought together by the same passion for the classics. We let their astute sense of musicality take us on a journey through the inner works of what it is like to perform with the choirs of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, the Singapore Symphony Chorus (SSC), the Singapore Symphony Youth Choir (SSYC), and the Singapore Symphony Children’s Choir (SSCC).

Shane Thio Accompanist, SSC

Wong Lai Foon Choirmaster, SSCC

Luke Teo Member, SSYC

Chloe Natasha See Member, SSCC

Ethan Murugasu Member, SSYC (Boys’ Ensemble)

Ena Su Member, SSC

What’s the best part about singing in/ conducting/ accompanying a chorus?

Ena: Being able to produce a beautiful sound is just the most indescribably amazing feeling!

Ethan: You get to be a part of this wonderful blend of voices that come together strong, forming harmonies with different sections.

Chloe: Being around people who share my interest in singing. It is how I express myself and to be able to sing with my peers takes all my fears of performing away.

Lai Foon: I enjoy helping the choir understand the composer’s intention and musical style, and translating that into symphonic music created by human voices.

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getting to know you

Choirs of the Singapore Symphony Group What’s the greatest challenge of singing in/ conducting/ accompanying a chorus?

Ena: To sing precisely, be aware of impulse and pitch, listen to each other and watch the conductor, all at the same time!

Shane: To balance playing both the orchestral reduction and individual vocal parts, and follow the conductor at the same time!

Ethan: To remain unaffected by wrong tunes and off beats and be able to continue performing with confidence proves the greatest challenge in choral singing, to me.

Lai Foon: Time management during rehearsals, also, conductors having to juggle between singers of different ages, personalities and capabilities.

What’s the most memorable or favourite performance you’ve been a part of?

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Ethan: Carmina Burana: Just standing on the same stage as the adult choir and Mr Lim Yau, and listening to them sing, accompanied by the SSO, made the performance for me.

Luke: The SSO Christmas concerts are the most fun! The best part is when the audience partakes in the carolling with the chorus and the whole hall gets filled with beautiful tunes.

Chloe: My first public performance with the SSCC at the Esplanade. I had the honour of wearing our concert choir red dress, and sharing the nerves of my fellow choristers before the performance.

Lai Foon: I had the privilege of conducting the SSCC from the uppermost balcony of the Esplanade Concert Hall during their performance of Britten’s “War Requiem” with the SSO.

tips:

Choral Singing!

1. Your voice is what you eat We all love our burgers and fries but these are the same foods that may cause you to lose your voice. Indulge if you must but avoid fried or spicy food, sweet drinks and dairy products especially before practices or performances!

• Colour code your music notes by putting stickers to mark out the details to pay attention to.

Chloe: My advice is to have fun, to relish in the simple joys of singing.

Don’t be afraid to express your feelings through melodies!

2. Practice makes perfect Try to understand the tunes and focus on how to better improve your pitch, tonality and musicality. The more you sing it, the better you’ll get at it.

Luke: Practice, practice, practice!

Listen to the tunes whenever and wherever you can. Always encourage your chorus mates, every bit of support can go a long way!

3. Learn your score in fun ways • Sing while you exercise; it helps increase your stamina and strengthen your breathing techniques at the same time.

• Sing with your group of friends; rehearse pieces, do cross checks or form your own SATB quartet!

4. Hydrate, hydrate and re-hydrate Letting your vocal cords run for an endurance marathon without water, is never a good idea. It affects everything including vocal accuracy and stamina.

Always have a water bottle in hand; refresh whenever you feel exhausted – you’ll be warbling like a nightingale in no time again!

5. For an upcoming audition Auditions always turn us into bundles of nerves, we know. So, find a short and interesting piece, preferably something that you are already familiar with. Keep practicing to anchor the dynamics and colour of the song.

Ethan: Everyone starts somewhere.

Don’t be discouraged by others seeming better. Instead, focus on improving yourself by learning your own strengths and weaknesses.

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fun & games

Concert Day Chaos The conductor needs his baton for a concert!

Can you find the correct route leading to it?

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Film & Music Which came first? Film or Music?

Almost all films today have some form of music. While some film score composers envision music as being composed in accordance with the dramatic needs of an existing storyline, sometimes artists, animators and film producers may become inspired to create their work based on a piece of classical music instead. We explore examples from a pioneer of animation, Walt Disney, and the beautiful welding of art with classical music.

Make Mine Music (1946) Peter and the wolf is the brainchild of Sergei Prokofiev, written in 1936 as a children’s story voiced over by a narrator, accompanied by music from an orchestra.

Sleeping Beauty (1959) Disney used the ‘Garland Waltz’ from Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty ballet and added lyrics for the theme song, ‘Once Upon a Dream’. The piece was sung by voice artists Mary Costa and Bill Shirley in Disney’s Sleeping Beauty film.

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Fantasia (1940, 2000) Fantasia is a compilation of eight segments of animation to classical music. Some of the well-known classical pieces features in Fantasia 2000 include George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, the Firebird Suite by Igor Stravinsky and a remastered version of ‘The Sorcerer’s Apprentice’.

Is animating to music easy?

Challenge 1:

Complex Co-ordination Musical elements such as choice of tempo, instrumentation and dynamics must be coordinated with the animations on screen.

Matching the music with animation is time-consuming as the technician has to time the audio to the visual frame by frame.

For Magic Piano, Chopin Shorts, pianist Lim Yan has to accompany the animation in front of a live audience! Imagine the amount of practice he puts in!

Creators might disagree on believability, character designs and plot development before coming together to create a cohesive work for the specific audience.

Challenge 3:

Diverse Multi-Media Animation styles range from traditional hand-drawn methods, to stop motion animation using puppets or clay, and 3D computer animation. Deciding on a particular type of animation from a wide selection of mediums is tricky.

Quality and realistic animation is also a feat even with today’s technology. Did you know Pixar took almost 2 years to create Hank the Octopus from Finding Dory? The creators observed live animals and experimented in their studios to recreate the complex movements exhibited by the dexterous octopus!

Challenge 2:

Varied Interpretations Many individuals are involved in film work — producers, artists, animators, musicians and sound engineers, but not everyone interprets a piece of music the same way.

Look out for the second part to our feature in our next issue in September !

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singapore national youth orchestra

Masterclass

Members of the Singapore National Youth Orchestra have opportunities to participate in masterclasses by experienced professional musicians. Other than being coached by Singapore Symphony Orchestra musicians such as cellist Peter Wilson and flautist Roberto Ă lvarez, these young musicians have also played for violinist Borika van den Booren and hornist Laurens Woudenberg from the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra!

Peter Wilson coaches Chen Youjia at the MOE(Evans Road) Auditorium.

Peter Wilson, SSO Cellist & SNYO Tutor: A masterclass involves building rapport with the audience and the student. It requires multi-tasking skills from the teacher — giving the student new ideas when performing a particular piece while ensuring that the audience feels a participant in the process. The openness of the masterclass allows the sharing of ideas and questions between the teacher, audience and student.

Nehemiah Yen, SNYO Violinist (Masterclass Participant): A masterclass combines both a recital setting with a class setting, enabling a student to experience and overcome his nerves as well as learn at the same time.

Roberto Ă lvarez demonstrates some phrases and playing techniques to Janelle Yuen and the audience.

What are the differences between a masterclass and a regular class?

1) Participants are likely to play well-rehearsed pieces in a masterclass to broaden their musical understanding of the works and refine their technical approach.

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2) A masterclass has both aspects of a lesson and a performance and is usually presented in front of a live audience.

3) Not only do participants gain knowledge on how to improve their playing, the audience can also pick up some pointers during the masterclass!

5 interesting facts about:

The Piano

Different shapes and sizes

Ivory keys

A grand piano can weigh up to 450kg, an upright one can weigh from 200kg and the smallest functioning piano is only 9.8 inches wide and 7 inches high!

Piano keys were originally made from ivory until the 1950s, when cost and environmental concerns led piano makers to switch to plastic keys.

Consist of many parts

Tuning frequency

There are approximately 10,000 parts in a piano which work together in synchronization to produce its sound.

Seasonal changes in temperature and humidity will cause the piano to go out of tune. It is recommended that pianos should be tuned twice a year, just like going to the dentist!

Percussive piano The main mechanism behind the piano consist of many small hammers that strike its corresponding metal string to create its sound. Because of this striking motion, the piano can be considered as part of the percussion family.

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Ask Auntie Melody Do you have any burning questions about music?

If your question is featured, you will win a surprise gift!

Q A

Q A

What is the transparent stand in front of some musicians used for? – Celia, 9 Dear Celia, The transparent stand that you see on stage is called an acoustic shield.

In some pieces, there may be loud passages that musicians will need to play and the shields will help to deflect these loud sounds from the player immediately in front of them in order to prevent direct impact which can be quite damaging to their ears.

What is a concert-master and what does he do? – Melvin See, 12 Dear Melvin, The principal first violinist is called the concert-master and he leads not only the string section, but the entire orchestra as well. This practice derives from back in history from the days before there were conductors leading the orchestra.

The entire orchestra cues their timing from the concert-master. Perhaps this is because the strings makes-up almost two-thirds of an average orchestra of about 100 musicians! The concert-master also decides on the bowings so that the strokes are coordinated and synchronized between all string sections.

Winners will be notified by phone or post. All questions are subject to editing for clarity.

Email your questions to outreach@sso.org.sg

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or Snail Mail them to SSO Community Outreach Department Victoria Concert Hall #01-02, 11 Empress Place, Singapore 179558

Music Jokes The ‘Too Good for Choir Practice’: Only turns up on performance day & sings the wrong song at the wrong speed in the wrong place

The Soloist: Sings loudly & holds the final note that little bit longer than everyone else

The ‘Complete Inaudible’: No-one has ever heard a note from her

The Chatterers: Talks throughout the choir practice, breaks, songs

The Music Sorter: Arranges papers into alphabetical order in between pieces

The Rebel: Looks angelic but creates havoc when the conductor’s back is turned

The Traditionalist: Will not join in with anything written in the last 50 years

The Clumsy: Drops books during the quiet bits

The Old-Timer: Has been singing for many decades & remembers the way things used to be done

The Newcomer: Doesn’t know any of the music & so copies everyone else

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SSO Recommends If you were interested in these articles and would like to find out more, why not check out some of these concerts?

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24th Singapore International Piano Festival 2017 Thu-Sun, 1-4 Jun 17, 7.30pm Victoria Concert Hall

SSCC 11th Anniversary Concert Sat, 27 May 17, 7.30pm Victoria Concert Hall

VCH Presents: Magic Piano & Chopin Shorts Sat & Sun, 10 & 11 Jun 17, 2pm Victoria Concert Hall

Singapore National Youth Orchestra in Concert Tue, 18 Jul 17, 7.30pm Esplanade Concert Hall

All SSO events are endorsed by the National Arts Council and local schools are eligible for up to 50% claim/ subsidy from the Totalisator Board Arts Grant. For more information, please call us at 6602 4200 or email us at corporate@sso.org.sg.

Upcoming Events

MAY

JUN

SSCC @ Istana ^ Mon, 1 May 17, 10.45am Istana Main Tent

VCH Organ Series: Peter and the Wolf ^ Sun, 18 Jun 17, 2pm & 4pm Victoria Concert Hall

VCH Presents: Angela Hewitt Thu, 4 May 17, 7.30pm Victoria Concert Hall Classics in the Park: SSO @ Botanic Gardens ^ Sun, 14 May 17, 6pm Singapore Botanic Gardens, Shaw Foundation Symphony Stage VCH Open House 2017 Wed, 24 May 17, 8.30am onwards Victoria Concert Hall

JUL SSO on Campus @ Victoria Junior College ^ Thu, 20 Jul 17, 7.30pm Victoria Junior College, Performance Theatre

^ These concerts are free and seating is on a first-come-first-served basis.

Information correct at time of print and is subject to change without notice.

SPH Gift of Music Series: SSO Lunchtime Concert ^ Fri, 21 Jul 17, 12.30pm Victoria Concert Hall SSO @ Botanic Gardens ^ Sat, 22 Jul 17, 6pm Singapore Botanic Gardens, Shaw Foundation Symphony Stage

AUG VCH Organ Series: Chok Kerong & Phoon Yu ^ Sun, 6 Aug 17, 4pm Victoria Concert Hall

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Synthesizers being used during a rehearsal of John Adams’ Violin Concerto, Jan 2017