WBAS YOUTH BAND FESTIVAL 15 DEC 2019 Esplanade Concert Hall
A/P HO HWEE LONG PRESIDENT WIND BANDS ASSOCIATION OF SINGAPORE MESSAGE On behalf of the Wind Bands Association of Singapore, I warmly welcome you to the WBAS Youth Band Festival 2019 Concert. With this year's WBAS Youth Band Festival theme, “A New Day”, we invited our musicians to search for understanding, to explore curiously and experiment courageously through the festival. Through this evening's concert, we invite you to do the same. During the Festival, our musicians met various experts in the field: the conductors, tutors, workshop clinicians, arts practitioners and our friendly chaperones. We hope that through their interactions with each other, the musicians have found stories that inspire them to make the best of every new day. I would also like to express our gratitude to all the conductors, Prof Felix Hauswirth, Mr Wilson Ong, and Mr Yeo Jieyuan, the ensemble and instrument tutors, our supporting partners, the participants' school and parents for the immense support. I wish you an enjoyable evening of music and exploration.
EXPLORE & LEARN WBAS YOUTH BAND FESTIVAL Curated Repertoire We believe the repertoire serves as textbooks for the young musicians. As such, we have carefully selected the music they will be performing tonight, as well as the pieces their tutors performed for them during the festival. Through the music, participants were exposed to works by Singaporean, Belgian, Japanese, American, and Swiss composers. This set of repertoire not only challenges the participants' musical skills, it will also help them expand their horizons.
Knowledge, Skills, Perspectives for the Future At the WBAS Youth Band Festival, we encourage participants to experiment with new knowledge, perspectives, and skills by meeting the right people! Besides attending rehearsals and recitals, participants also got to attend a series of music and lifeskills-related workshops to see things from different perspectives and grow tenacity to deepen their engagement with music.
Professional Development Our aim is to not only develop these young musicians, but also the local community of professional musicians. Together with internationally renowned wind band conductor and educator, Prof Felix Hauswirth, a Conducting Workshop was put together to discuss the latest developments in wind band repertory, along with the interpretation, rehearsal, and methods of conducting various musical works.
CONCERT PROGRAMME Symphonic Band
Conductor: Wilson Ong
Wing Colours*
Yosuke Fukuda
The Adventure of Baron Munchausen*
Bert Appermont
Junior Band
Conductor: Yeo Jieyuan
Spring Breath March
Tomonori Watariguchi
Voyage to the End of Earth
Benjamin Yeo
Aladdin Medley
Arr. Paul Jennings
Faculty Ensemble Petite Suite Gauloise (mvt 2-4)*
Conductor: Felix Hauswirth Theodore Gouvy
Flute: Shirley Tong, Oboes: Jeremy Wong, Tay Kai Tze Clarinets: Sean Lim, Jeremy Chua Bassoon: Emerald Chee, Goh Mok Cheong Horns: Chua Tek Xin, Ruth Lin
Wind Orchestra
Conductor: Felix Hauswirth
Fanfare – La Peri
Paul Dukas
The Little Imp*
André Besançon
Give Us This Day
David Maslanka
*Singapore Premiere
PROGRAMME NOTES This year, the WBAS Youth Band Festival takes on the theme, “A New Day”, as we invite you to explore the meaning and importance of each day in our lives. In this evening’s programme, we’ll hear stories about people who were inspired in various ways to make the best of every day. Bert Appermont's “The Adventures of Baron Munchausen”, details the exciting and humorous tale of a courageous German nobleman, who was determined to save a town from being captured by the Turks. Through four episodes in the story: “The Horse”, “Cannonball”, “Flight to the Moon” and “Journey through the Earth”, let your imagination run wild with vivid scenes of the Baron's epic battles. In “Voyage to the End of the Earth” composed by Singaporean Benjamin Yeo, we are brought on a maritime journey towards the edge of the world. This adventure is filled with beautiful encounters with Mother Nature, such as the calls of majestic whales and friendly seagulls, and the ebb and flow of the oceans’ currents. This piece reminds us of the beauty of Earth and how each new day brings forth new opportunities for us to explore our planet. David Maslanka's “Give Us This Day” provides a more introspective take, as the piece explores the idea of being deeply mindful and connected to oneself as we live in the present moment. Inspired by the book of a Vietnamese monk, the work’s first movement is deeply searching in character. These sentiments are also reflected in the second movement, which is at times both joyful and sobering. Finally, the piece concludes with a choral melody from “Vater Unser in Himmelreich” (Our Father in Heaven) by Johann Sebastian Bach. In this evening's concert, we will also be premiering various works in Singapore, such as “Wing Colours” by Yosuke Fukuda, “The Little Imp” by André Besançon and “Petite Suite Gauloise” by Theodore Gouvy. We hope that tonight’s programme will encourage you to consider what it means to seize the day, as you uncover the renewed hope and opportunities that come with each new sunrise.
ORGANISER
ABOUT WIND BANDS ASSOCIATION OF SINGAPORE Wind Bands Association of Singapore (formerly WASBE Singapore chapter) is a non-profit organization started in 2001 to promote wind band activities and raise the standard of band education and performance through various initiatives such as concerts, workshops and band festivals. WBAS has organised international programme such as the 2005 WASBE Conference, concerts and workshops by the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra, World Music Contest (The Netherlands) Conducting Course, Singapore International Band Festival and local events such as Windstars Ensemble concerts, Junior College- Polytechnic Band Festival, Beginners Band Workshop, Band Student Leaders Workshop, WBAS Youth Band Festival, among many others.
Executive Committee
Ho Hwee Long Takehiro Oura, Philip Tng Liat Peng Lee Tian Tee Sing Moh Li Kenneth Lun Lawrence Siao, Mohd Faizal Othman, Steven Phua Tay Kai Tze, Francis Tan, Seow Yibin, Ignatius Wang
President Vice President Immediate Past President Secretary Treasurer Committee Members
REGULAR PROGRAMME
WBAS Youth Band Festival
Youth Arts Leaders Conference
Singapore International Band Festival
FACULTY
YEO JIEYUAN
CONDUCTORS
Mr Yeo Jie Yuan developed a passion for band music at Maha Bodhi School when he was a student of Mr Quek Boon Hui, and continued his band music education at Manjusri Secondary School under the tutelage of Mr. Simon Foo. Upon graduating, Jieyuan went on to play in various bands including the Philharmonic Youth Winds, National Institute of Education Symphonic Band, Moulmein Winds Symphony, Novo Winds, Le Band, West Winds, and The Band Directors’ Association Singapore Wind Orchestra (BDASWO). In 2009, he graduated from the National Institute of Education (NIE) with a Specialist Diploma in Band Directing. Jieyuan is currently the Band Director of Broadrick Secondary School Concert Band and Manjusri Secondary School Concert Band. He is also the Assistant Band Director of Maha Bodhi School Symphonic Band and Brass tutor of Bendemeer Primary School Concert Band. Mr Wilson Ong graduated with a master’s degree in conducting at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, National University of Singapore in 2018. His teachers include Allen Meek, Chan Tze Law, Douglas Bostock, John Boyd, and Hardy Mertens.
WILSON ONG
Wilson has worked extensively with numerous orchestras and bands, such as the YST Conservatory Orchestra, Mus’Art Wind Orchestra, Mus’Art Youth Wind Orchestra, Singapore Management University Symphonia. He is currently the band director of Pioneer-Jurong Junior College, Loyang View Secondary School, Catholic High School (Primary), and Presbyterian High School. Under the baton of Wilson, Mus’Art Youth Wind Orchestra achieved a gold award at the World Music Contest in 2017. He also recently won the first prize in the Douglas Bostock conducting competition in Bangkok, Thailand.
FELIX HAUSWIRTH Felix Hauswirth was appointed the Professor of Conducting at the Basel Conservatory, Switzerland in 1985, and is regularly invited to teach all over the world. He was also the head of the wind band conducting course at the Bundes-Academy in Trossingen, Germany and has previously taught at the Istituto Superiore Europeo Bandistico (I.S.E.B.) in Trento, Italy. He is currently the Artistic Director and conductor of the Baden-Württemberg Youth Wind Ensemble, Germany, and is author of several books on conducting and wind ensemble literature. In 2009, Felix Hauswirth received the “Midwest Clinic International Award” in Recognition of Outstanding Contributions and Dedication to Instrumental Music Education, and in July 2017, he became an “Honorary Life Member” of the World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles.
Ensemble & Instrument Tutors Junior Band
Tay Kai Tze
Symphonic Band
Francis Tan
Wind Orchestra
Ignatius Wang
Flute Oboe Clarinet
Shirley Tong Jeremy Wong Miao Kaiwen Sean Lim Saxophone Michellina Chan Bassoon Emerald Chee Horn
Ruth Lin
Trumpet Euphonium Trombone Tuba
Yong Lin Kang Chun Meng Don Kow Ngiam Xinghao
Double Bass
Damien Kee Sng Yiang Shan Tan Lee Ying
Percussion
JUNIOR BAND
MUSICIANS
MUSICIANS
SYMPHONIC BAND
WIND ORCHESTRA
MUSICIANS
PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS
THANK YOU TO OUR SUPPORTERS Without you we couldn't make this happen: Supported by
Venue Supporter
Faculty Members of WBAS Youth Band Festival 2019 Conductors, Tutors and Members of NUS Jazz Band NUS Symphony Orchestra NUS Wind Symphony National Junior College Principal, Teachers-in-charge and Band Directors of all participating schools Parents of all participants All volunteers of WBAS Youth Band Festival 2019: Lee Qing Ping, Elaine Chan, Wang Zihan, Bandy Tan, Adeline Prawira, Ethan Toh, Brendan Lee, Chin Sze Khen, Jovan Lee, Kubo Shunsuke, Ng Avery, Pan Jia Ying, Wee Xin Lin, Frederick Pek, Justin Chong, Lu Zi Yue, Vanessa Ow, Connie Xu, Yeo Xinhao, Sandra Wong, Mak Yiing Huey, Azriel Irvin Tan Alec, Joseph Lim, Phoebe Heng
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