VCH Open House 2018

n Sinfo outh Y l a n s Natio nd Friend pore a Singa Jon Fox

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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

L IN J U A N assistant 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.

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.

S ING A P OR E N AT ION A L YO U T H S INF ONI A FIRST VIOLIN Gwee Kang Ting Concertmaster Yuki Chew Min Er Ethan Chong Gin Leen Ashley Foong Shu Yan Colette Goh Duo En Justin Heng Xian Wei Matthew Ho Qing Ern Sean Woosung Jang Aaron Lim Zhi Pung Alexandra Loh Wei Ling Deanna Ma Yao Qian Keith Ong Chong Jin Lecia Ong Yi Jenny Park Sojeong Marc Tze-Kai Sommen Cael Andrew Tan Zhi'An Adele Wee En Shuen SECOND VIOLIN Goh Shi Qin Bryan Herbert Keila Kwa Esther Lam Xin Rui Megan Law Zhiyi Megan Lim Pei Xuan Lauren Loh Hui En Ng Tze Yuan Elias Xavier Liang Yi Oestringer Nathanelle Laura Tan Raphael Teng Zhi Xiang Marea Sophie Toh Song Yu Megan Song Ying Hui Angelina Wong Yin Leng Yeo See Kang VIOLA Timothy Cher Zhi Xian Elaine Chung Zhan Pei Skyler Goh Kai'en Shawn Gui Jin Heng Lee Soohyurn Vernell Lim Xi Kristabelle Loke Shan Yuan Jayson Loo Jia Sheng Reegan Tan Yan Qi

CELLO Joash Chee Zi Zuan Chew Hanlin Gao Kehan Han Chaeyoon Nicole Hee Yu En Koh Xuan Wen Gregory Isaac Lau En Hao Li Ziyi Dayna Ong Yan Ting Julia Sheng Yu Tong Narella Widjaja

FRENCH HORN Petrola Sean Lloyd Biescas Chua Jia Xuan Chloe Lau En Qi Andrew Jonathan Lee Pia Shakti Ratnam

DOUBLE BASS Matthew Chan Kai-An Chang Seongmin Damien Chew Alexsalma Herbert Gerard Ng Ting Tyng Nyi Kaitlyn Wong Ying Jie

TROMBONE Chin Jat Josh Kong Jun Han

OBOE John Tze-Wen Fung Lim Ying Zi FLUTE Chan Xingwei Justin Damhaut Joey Goh Yu Shi Darleene Hiap Xin Yi Tashae Tay Shiying CLARINET Jin Mei Xuan Qian Wanni Shie Rui Qi Tian Mengxi BASSOON Jove Fong Yi Liang Lau Dong Hao Rachel Ng Wei Ting

TRUMPET Chan Haowei Koh Mi Yo Shi Ruixin Tobias Tan Yhan Hong

TUBA Jordan Tan Jing Han TIMPANI Irza Ahsan Pramana Clive Tan Jing Jie PERCUSSION Ku Tae Lin Irza Ahsan Pramana Tristan Seow Clive Tan Jing Jie HARP Carissa Ho Min-Yi

JON AT H A N F OX presenter

Jonathan Fox currently serves as Principal Percussionist and Associate Principal Timpanist of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, where he has played since 2000. He has also appeared with ensembles such as the New York Philharmonic (USA), Mostly Mozart Orchestra (USA), Seattle Symphony (USA), Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (Australia), Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa (Japan), and Miss Saigon on Broadway. His recordings of both traditional and contemporary solo and orchestral literature can be heard on the Albany, BIS, Delos, RCA Victor, and Varèse Sarabande labels.

Jonathan has appeared as a solo percussionist numerous times, including appearances as featured artist at Milton Babbitt’s 80th birthday celebration, with the Seattle Symphony, and with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra.

For his efforts in Seattle, Musicweb International called him “a talented and charmingly personable percussionist” and The Seattle Post-Intelligencer called his playing “superb.” Following his Asian première of Thea Musgrave’s six-mallet marimba concerto Journey Through a Japanese Landscape, The Inkpot said Fox performed “with focused confidence and a quiet, unassuming intensity”, while The Straits Times called it “a performance radiating zeal and commitment.” Most recently, Fox was lauded in The Straits Times for “as thrilling a display of musical virtuosity as most of us have ever witnessed” as soloist in Christopher Rouse’s fantasy for percussion and orchestra Der gerettete Alberich.

In addition to his responsibilities as Percussion Artist Faculty at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music (Singapore), Jonathan Fox directs the internationally recognized arts program at St. Joseph’s Secondary School (Kuching, Malaysia) and is an active concert and marching recitalist, clinician, and adjudicator across North America and Asia. He has also been an instructor for the Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps (Allentown, PA).

S ING A P OR E N AT ION A L YO U T H S INF ONI A

Programme

WOL F G A NG A M A DE U S MOZ A R T ( 1 7 5 6 – 1791) Symphony No. 25 in G minor, K.183: I. Allegro con brio 10’00 Mozart composed more than 600 works, and many are acknowledged as perfect representations of symphonic and choral music. He wrote 41 symphonies, and his first symphony was penned at the age of 8. Symphony No. 25 was written at the young age of 17, and it is also sometimes known as Mozart’s “little G minor Symphony”, with reference to the sublime later “Great G minor Symphony” No. 40. The symphony gained popularity in the twentieth century, especially more recently with the movie Amadeus, which uses the first movement of the Symphony as the film’s opening music.

The first movement opens nervously on fast syncopated repeated notes. Adding to the drama, there is a sudden stop before the strings return with their quick syncopations while the oboe sings a mournful tune, with a horn fanfare. The movement keeps up with the fast momentum, leading to a momentary reprieve with winds softly singing a beautiful contrasting subject.

E DVA R D G R IEG ( 1 8 4 3 – 1 9 0 7 ) Wedding Day at Troldhaugen, Op. 65 No. 6 6’00 Grieg wrote Wedding Day at Troldhaugen in 1895 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of his marriage to his wife, Nina. Troldhaugen (“Troll’s Home”) was the name of Grieg’s summer home, located in Norway’s Hardanger mountain range. He built the house at Bergen for himself and his family, but never celebrated a wedding there. The first section of the work describes the congratulations of the well-wishers with folk dances, while the second is more reflective with its pastoral nature.

G EOR G E F R E DE R IC H A NDE L ( 1 6 8 5 – 1 7 59) Xerxes, HWV 40: Largo (arr. Luck) 5’00 Xerxes (also called Serse) was composed and premiered in London for the King’s Theatre in 1738.

The opening aria is set to one of Handel’s best-known melodies, and is often played in an orchestral arrangement, known as Handel’s Largo. The aria is sung by Xerxes I of Persia who is the main character of the opera. The voice type for this character is a countertenor, which means that the range of the voice overlaps with that of a woman’s.

Handel’s music was widely studied by composers such as Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. To Beethoven, Handel was ‘the master of us all… the greatest composer that ever lived’. His classic oratorio Messiah as well as the Largo are some of classical music’s most beloved masterpieces.

C A R L M A R I A VON W E B E R ( 1 7 8 6 – 1 8 2 6 ) Overture to Oberon 9’00 Carl von Weber is considered one of the founders of Romanticism in Germany. He was an innovator of the orchestra, discovering and capitalising on the sonorities of many new instruments, especially the horn and clarinet.

The opera Oberon was his last work and it was commissioned for the Royal Covent Garden Opera in London to an English text. Weber worked on it between 1825-6, intensively studying English in order to set the libretto appropriately. In spite of being gravely ill, he travelled to London to oversee the production and conduct the premiere. He died a few weeks later.

The overture uses various themes from the opera to create a magical atmosphere, starting with a slow introduction featuring a magical horn call summoning Oberon (The Elf King) to rescue the hero, Huon.

The tempo picks up gradually soon after the introduction, making way for the famous tune by the solo clarinet in its low register.

Programme notes by Ruth Rodrigues

J ON F OX A ND F R IE ND S P E R C U S S ION DE MON S T R AT ION

Programme

C H A R L E Y W IL C OXON Rhythmania

J. S . B AC H Prélude in E minor BWV 855

J A ME S A NC ON A Timbale Trades

L E E ZHE N G UI Drum Poem

E UP HE MI A A L L E N (A R R . R A L P H HIC k S) Chopsticks

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Closing date is 31 May 2018

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