Voteband - Malaysian School Band Site

SINGAPORE: With less than two days to go, the pace of rehearsals has ramped up as St Joseph’s School Marching Band, Kuching practise for their performance at Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music (YSTCM), National University of Singapore.

With the initial euphoria of a trip with friends away from home wearing off, signs of physical fatigue began to surface as the band face the final stretch to Saturday night’s concert.

“Make this practice count,” said Jonathan Fox, the band’s programme director, as he encouraged the boys onwards at yesterday morning rehearsal in the conservatory concert hall.

Despite the many hours of practice the band are used to putting in weekly back home in Kuching, rehearsal sessions here are far more intense.

It is the band’s first taste of what it is like to rehearse side-by-side with professional musicians and some of Asia-Pacific’s best and brightest up-and-coming young talents.

Established a decade ago in partnership with the John Hopkins University from the US, YSTCM is recognised as one of the region’s most prestigious music schools.

Currently, there are 220 musicians representing 22 different nationalities enrolled in the conservatory. Many of their alumni have gone on to have successful careers as professional performers and educators across the world.

Band programme director Fox is the conservatory’s Artist Faculty in Percussion and a highly sought-after percussionist and instructor.

“It’s a great honour for our band to be here, to soak up the atmosphere and learn from such respected musicians such as Fox and Dr Gifford Howarth,” said June Ling, the band’s teacher-in-charge.

“Few people, even professional musicians in our country, have the opportunity to do this and to perform at YSTCM. Hopefully, the boys will make the most of this very rare privilege,” she added.

The band is set to perform two pieces during the “Conservatory Percussion Ensemble: Marching from Bartok to Beethoven” concert this Saturday.

The first is a rendition of Beethoven’s “Ode To Joy” while in the second, the band’s pit percussion and current YSTCM students will accompany renowned percussionist Dr Gifford Howarth to perform Albéniz’s “Leyenda” for percussion ensemble and solo marimba (arr. Gifford Howarth).

Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2012/03/16/crunch-time-for-st-josephs-marching-band-new/#ixzz1pYgmRsEi

SINGAPORE: Seventy-eight boys from Kuching will create history this Saturday when they perform at the prestigious Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music (YSTCM), National University of Singapore.

The St Joseph’s School (SJS) Marching Band’s performance will be the culmination of a year of intensive drills and rehearsals leading up to this event.

The full band will perform a rendition of Beethoven’s “Ode To Joy.” Audiences in Kuching had a sneak preview of this performance during a fundraising concert organised by the band last year.

Meanwhile, reknown percussionist Dr Gifford Howarth will be accompanied on stage by the band’s pit percussion as well as current students of YSTCM to perform Albéniz’s “Leyenda” for percussion ensemble and solo marimba (arr. Gifford Howarth).

The band’s boys, consisting of ages between 10 to 19 years, had their first practice session at the conservatory yesterday afternoon under the watchful eye of Jonathan Fox, the band’s programme director. He is also the conservatory’s Artist Faculty, Percussion.

YSTCM students were also close at hand to give one-on-one coaching to the band’s members as Fox put the latter through their paces.

Earlier in the day, the brass, woodwind, battery and pit percussion sections attended workshops for technique and performance conducted by Fox, and conservatory artist faculty Shannon Pittaway, (trombone) and Jin Ta (flute). This Saturday’s concert “Conservatory Percussion Ensemble: Marching from Bartok to Beethoven” is just one of many performances organised by the conservatory in conjunction with the ongoing 5th Singapore Chamber Music Festival.

The concert will also feature the world premiere of a composition by acclaimed composer and percussionist Jim Casella who will perform his piece with students from the conservatory.

Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2012/03/14/sjs-marching-band-to-perform-in-singapore/#ixzz1pM4AxJlD

Chung Ling Butterworth Wind Orchestra will be presenting a concert, entitled “Dream of Dreams 梦”.

Information:

Date: 22nd April 2012

Time: 8:00pm (7:30pm Doors Open)

Venue: Dewan Sri Pinang, Penang

Music director& Conductor: Maestro Woon Wen Kin

Pei Chin: 016 411 1718 | Yen Yun: 017 482 4046

Date: 6th February 2012

Time: 8.00PM

Venue: Dewan Bankuet, Bangunan Perak Darul Ridzuan, Ipoh

Ticket price : RM10 or RM20, for ticketing info and booking, please contact

1] Tan Kan Thiam - 019-5588085

2] Jenson - 017-4038938 or PM him in FB "http://www.facebook.com/jensonjj91"\

Guest Conductor: Hibiki Minowa