ME5 PHILIP TNGBand Director, West Winds

5 May 2012, Sat, 5pmEsplanade Concert Hall

WEST WINDSBAND OF THE BUKIT BATOK COMMUNITY CLUB

Presented by West Winds in Collaboration with Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay

With Compliments

OFF ON A MOVIE ADVENTURE!

WEST WINDS Band of the Bukit Batok Community Club

ME5 PHILIP TNGBand Director

JOHN WILLIAMS Supermanarr. Bob Lowden

JOHN WILLIAMS Indiana Jones Selectionarr. Hans Van Der Heide

TAN DUN Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragonarr. Michael Brown

JOHN POWELL How to Train Your Dragonarr. Sean Loughlin

MICHAEL KAMEN Robin Hood, Prince of Thievesarr. Kim Baker & Richard Hubbert

ALAN SILVESTRI Captain America Marcharr. Michael Brown

JOHN WILLIAMS Theme from Schindler’s List Violin Solo - Christina X. Zhou

JOHN WILLIAMS Star Wars Concert Selectionarr. Toshio Mashima

Duration: 1 hr 10 mins, no intermission

ME5 Tng is active in many musical activities in Singapore, including conducting the National Day Parade and adjudicating local band competitions. In October 1996 ME5 Tng was appointed as West Wind’s Band Director, a position which he holds till this very day. In 2005, both the SAF Central Band and West Winds were selected to perform at the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (WASBE) Conference held in Singapore. ME5 Tng was also invited as an adjudicator to Australia and as a guest conductor at the Western International Band Clinic (WIBC), Seattle in 2006.

ME5 Tng received another scholarship from the Singapore Armed Forces in 2008 to pursue his Masters in Wind Band Conducting at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. During his studies, he had the privilege to study conducting with numerous conductors, namely, James Keene, Abel Ramirez, Roby George, Robert W. Rumbelow, Tim Foley, Stephen Peterson and Russel Mikkelson. Graduating with excellent academic achievements, he was initiated into the Phi Kappa Phi Chapter at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

MILITARY EXPERT 5 PHILIP TNGBand Director

Having started his musical education on the piano at the age of ten, ME5 Philip Tng has since transcended tremendous musical boundaries to reach his current position as the Senior Director of Music of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Band.

As a saxophonist with the SAF Music and Drama Company, he was awarded a scholarship to study at the Royal Military School of Music, Kneller Hall in London. Upon graduation from the Bandmaster course with several accolades including the Graham Wallace Award for best overseas student bandmaster, the Sommerville Prize, and the first prize in the Fanfare Award of the Fred Mortimer Memorials Competition in 1993, ME5 Tng went on to become the Director of Music of the SAF Central Band. He held this position for five years before assuming the post of Senior Director of Music of the SAF Band in August 2000.

FRANCIS TAN HUAN CHUNAssistant Conductor

Francis Tan received his music education from Indiana University and Australian National University where he studied with several notable instrumentalists and music pedagogues including Steven Pratt and Douglas Stotter, Professors of Conducting at Indiana University; Daniel Perantoni, Professor of Tuba at Indiana University; Max Mcbride, Lecturer in Conducting; and Steve Rosse, Lecturer in Tuba at Australian National University.

During his course of study, he received several notable distinctions in conducting and was subsequently invited to conduct the Canberra Community Orchestra as a guest conductor for their regular season. In Singapore, he was invited to work with Singapore Youth Wind Orchestra in their participation at the World Association of Symphonic Bands conference.

Francis was appointed Assistant Conductor of West Winds in 2007. He is also the conductor of Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) Bands, and Riverside Secondary Symphonic Band.

CHRISTINA X. ZHOUViolin Soloist

Christina X. Zhou started learning the violin at the age of 4 under Sui Yuelong, and later, under Zhang Zhen Shan, Principal Second Violinist of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. She was a piano student of ME5 Philip Tng and obtained her ABRSM Grade 8 certificates in violin and piano at the age of 10 and 11, respectively. In 2001, Christina won the third prize in the violin junior category of the National Violin and Piano Competition in Singapore. In 2007, Christina was accepted into the Eastman School of Music, Rochester, New York, studying violin under Distinguished Professor Zvi Zeitlin. She graduated with a Bachelor of Music (with distinction) from the Eastman School of Music at the age of 21.

During her study at Eastman, Christina performed in a wide range of chamber and orchestra repertoire. She also has served as Concert Mistress and Principal Second Violinist in the Eastman School Orchestras, Eastman Opera Theatre, and contemporary ensembles such as OSSIA and Composer’s Sinfonietta. In 2009, after winning the concerto competition, Christina gave her debut concert with the school orchestra at Eastman Theatre. She has worked closely with Juliana Athayde, the Ying Quartet, Neil Varon, and Mark Scatterday.

Christina has attended prestigious summer festivals such as Bowdoin International Music Festival in 2008 where she studied under Sergiu Schwartz and was selected to perform in the chamber orchestra working with composer Samuel Adler. She also attended Music Academy of the West (MAW) from 2009 to 2011 where she was a fellow of MAW under Zvi Zeitlin. She played in the Festival Orchestra, Academy Opera, and Chamber Orchestra under the baton of many renowned conductors like Maestro Larry Rachleff, Peter Oundjian, Leonard Slatkin, Nicholas McGegan, Daniel Hege, and Warren Jones. She has also served as Principal Second Violinist in the Academy Festival Orchestra. In MAW 2011, Christina was invited to perform Aaron Copland’s Quiet City with faculty members. Her chamber experience includes working closely with Peter Salaff, Jerome Lowenthal, Kathleen Winkler, John Churchwell, the Takacs Quartet. Christina was also a MAW mentor and teacher for two summers, teaching and coaching music ensembles with children between ages 7–18.

After graduating in 2011, Christina returned to Singapore and played with OMM (Orchestra for the Music Makers) and TPO (The Philharmonic Orchestra). She also performed with the Singapore Festival Orchestra for the National Piano and Violin Competition 2011, as well as Tan Dun’s Martial Arts Trilogy, and in “Giselle” and “Don Giovanni” with the Singapore Lyric Opera orchestra. This year, Christina will be pursuing her Graduate Diploma at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music under Professor Zuo Jun.

Christina plays on a 1924 Gennaro De Luccia generously loaned by Mr and Mrs Rin Ke Mei.

WEST WINDSBAND OF BUKIT BATOK COMMUNITY CLUB

West Winds was started with the vision to create a place where musicians in Singapore can gather, for the love of music. In 1993, the support of the People’s Association and Bukit Batok Community Club made the outset of West Winds possible. The musicians come from everywhere, and the differences arising from ideology, interpretation, style, expectation and personality makes West Winds a truly unique group. The middle ground is, simply put, the music and the friendship.

The band actively promotes wind music at the community level. “West Winds Community Series”, is the band’s very own school program where her musicians would visit schools to teach and share music, this would be followed with a joint performance with the school bands. The Community Series underlines West Winds’ desire to contribute to the local band scene. Aside from that, West Winds also performs in Esplanade’s Beautiful Sunday performances and holds an annual concert – the “West Winds in Concert” series.

On the international stage, the band has participated in many prestigious events. Her first international appearance was at the Singapore International Youth Music Festival, where she was awarded a Gold medal. Following that, the band made her first overseas appearance at Adelaide’s Annual Credit Union Christmas Pageant in October 1997, which was televised live in Southern Australia. In 2005, the band auditioned successfully to perform at the 12th WASBE (World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles) International Conference, an international event featuring 12 of the finest wind bands from around the world.

West Winds seeks to evolve her sound over the years. Besides participating in workshops with renowned conductors like Mr William V Johnson, Mr Toshio Akiyama, Mr Ito Yasuhide and Ms Virginia Allen, West Winds also enhances her skills through music workshops internationally. To date she has embarked on 3 music study tours – to California (USA), Osaka and Tokyo (Japan). These overseas forays have added dimensions to the West Winds you hear today.

PICCOLOWong Kee Zhang

FLUTEAnnie Chong Pei YeeDavid Tao Chen MingFelicia Lin Jia XuanPhang Beng HooiTay Wei Seng

OBOELam Lay TingYee Mei Fung

COR ANGLAISLam Lay Ting

BASSOONNg Xue LiTan-Lim Sze Ai

Eb CLARINETLeon Heng Zeng Yang

Bb CLARINETGena Ng Ping PingJeffrey Ang Chee LimKenny Chia Han-WeeKoh Chee KangPip Tang Tse ShinPoh Wu FabianShaun LinSim Kai SuahTan Koh SingYuri Seah Boon Xi

ALTO CLARINETLoh Tzu Liang

BASS CLARINETTung Huiwen

CONTRA-ALTO CLARINETJoel Koh Soon Chay

ALTO SAXOPHONEAlastair Simon ChettyKaleb Kong Song LinSarimah Bte Abd Rahim

TENOR SAXOPHONEEugene Teo Guo ShunTan Siow Wee

BARITONE SAXOPHONECalvin Ang Kwang Fu

TRUMPETGregory Chua Kok HongHuang CaijinMoo Wei YangOng Pei QiTan AilinTan Teng SoonToh Jun LongWinston Goh Sze Hsien

FRENCH HORNAng Chin MayColin Ng Keng FongJames Chua Meng TeckLewis Lim Ngee ChengNg Ting HsiangTeo Puay Bing

TROMBONEAlan Ng Chong BengAlex Tan Chek PengBoey DeyuanNg Woei KeeStephanie Tan Jia HuiYeo Zhi Wen

EUPHONIUMChiu Boon HweeLing Wei Qiang

TUBAAnthony Chew Kok LeongFrancis Tan Huan ChunTeo Kay Min

PERCUSSIONEngku Idris Bin Engku OsmanEugene Pang Biao BoonGabriel Goh Tze MinLeow Teng HongMindy Lin Wan YingMuhammad Hussani Bin OthmanNg Chen YeeNg Hui CiNurul Maisarah

KEYBOARDMindy Lin Wan Ying

INSTRUMENTALISTS

Joycelyn Chng

PROGRAMME NOTES

John Williams | SUPERMAN

Opening this evening’s concert is a medley of pieces from the very first “Superman” film released in 1978. In this early John Williams’ soundtrack, the audience can hear his distinctive and dynamic composition style soar with his characteristic harmonies and spirited melodies.

John Williams | INDIANA JONES SELECTION

This selection features music from all 3 Indiana Jones movies – the popular Raiders March from “The Temple of Doom”, the Love Theme from “Raiders of the Lost Ark”, as well as The Keeper of The Grail from “The Last Crusade”. The selection brings listeners on the thrilling and nail-biting adventures of Indiana Jones, college professor of archaeology by day and treasure hunter by night.

Tan Dun | CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON

Winner of the Academy Award for best original score, this is one of the most unique sounding movie soundtracks to come along in many years. This music features descriptive melodies in an Asian setting and Michael Brown’s captivating arrangement also includes the intense percussion segments from the movie. Following this wuxia (chinese for martial hero) adventure, two warriors in the pursuit of a stolen sword and a notorious fugitive are led to an impetuous and physically-skilled teenage nobleman’s daughter who is at a crossroads in her life.

John Powell | HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON

The animation film follows the friendship of budding dragon slayer, Hiccup, (voiced by Jay Baruchel) and a Night Fury dragon called Toothless. By pure luck, Hiccup shoots down what he thinks may be a Night Fury, a rare dragon which nobody has ever seen. Finding himself unable to kill the helpless dragon, Hiccup gradually gains the trust of Toothless and the both of them soon become inseparable friends. Making his sixth collaboration with DreamWorks, composer John Powell’s orchestral score combines sonorous brasses with calming strings and pompous percussion, as well as influences of Scottish and Irish folk music.

Michael Kamen | ROBIN HOOD, PRINCE OF THIEVES

This arrangement of the 1991 box office hit “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves” features tracks from the original soundtrack such as Overture, Maid Marian, and (Everything I Do) I Do it for You. The audience will be whisked away with Robin as they join him in his escape from a Jerusalem prison, to his arrival in England where he defends and helps the mistreated people of his village, to his encounter with Maid Marian and finally ending with a battle with the notorious Sheriff.

Alan Silvestri | CAPTAIN AMERICA MARCH

The powerful and brilliant march is based on the main theme of the 2011 blockbuster film “Captain America: The First Avenger”. The uplifting and jolly mood raises the spirit of listeners – an apt means to highlight the intentionally patriotic creation of the superhero.

John Williams | THEME FROM SCHINDLER’S LIST

“Schindler’s List” is Steven Spielberg’s 1993 film based on the true story of Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who saved the lives of more than a thousand mostly Polish-Jewish refugees during the Holocaust by employing them in his factories during the Nazi Germany. Schindler used Jewish labour to start a factory in occupied Poland. As WWII progressed and gradually revealed the impending doom of the Jews, Schindler’s motivations switched from profit to sympathy. Schindler subsequently employed concentration camp workers in his Czech factory and saved over 1,100 Jews from death in the gas chambers of Auschwitz. Originally written for violin, the theme from the movie is played by a violin with wind band accompaniment this evening. The heart wrenching melody evokes a sense of grief yet at the same time conveys a sense of determination and hope. John Williams was awarded an Oscar Award for the “Best Original Score” by The Motion Picture Academy for his composition.

John Williams | STAR WARS CONCERT SELECTION

John Williams delivered a grand symphonic score in the fashion of Richard Strauss and Golden Age Hollywood composers Max Steiner and Erich Wolfgang Korngold. Its main theme, Luke’s Theme is among the most widely recognized in motion picture history. Both the film and its soundtrack were immensely successful—it remains the highest grossing non-popular music recording of all-time. In 1980, Williams returned to score “The Empire Strikes Back”, where he introduced The Imperial March as the theme for Darth Vader and the Galactic Empire. This evening’s arrangement features music from the original Star Wars trilogy such as Yoda’s Theme, Princess Leia’s Theme, and The Imperial March.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We would like to thank the following individuals and organisations, for their support towards making this evening’s concert possible :

Mr David Ong, MP for Jurong GRC & Adviser to Jurong GRC GROs;

The People’s Association;

Mr Ng Soo Phio, BBM (L), Honorary Chairman of Bukit Batok Citizens’ Consultative Committee;

Mr Peter Yeo, BBM, Chairman of Bukit Batok Citizens’ Consultative Committee;

Mr Lim Boon Lye, Chairman of Bukit Batok Community Club Management Committee;

Mr Johnson Liew and Mrs Johnson Liew, PBM, of Bengawan Solo Pte Ltd;

Members of Bukit Batok Citizens’ Consultative Committee and Bukit Batok Community Club Management Committee and staff of Bukit Batok Community Club;

Management and Production Crew of Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay;

ME5 Philip Tng Liat Peng, Band Director of West Winds;

Christina X. Zhou, violin soloist for the evening;

The 501st Legion - Singapore Garrisson;

Bukit Batok Community Club Lion Dance Troupe for the loan of instruments;

Our patrons, for their support and generosity;

Mr Shannon Chng , designer of publicity materials for ”Off on a Movie Adventure!”;

Ms Sing Moh Li and West Winds Associate Members for coordinating this evening’s performance;

Our members and guest players, for their hard work in preparing for this evening’s programme.

If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music he hears, however measured or far away.

Henry David Thoreau

An event like this evening’s concert is only possible through generous donations and sponsorships. An average of S$3,000 is spent every year by West Winds, to buy scores for its performances. To keep the music flowing in the community, your help is needed.

We introduce MuSE (Music Sustained by Everyone), a project where you can give your support to West Winds as we give back to the community with our music. Indeed, you are our MuSE.

Your donation can sustain the music in the community for generations. A little goes a long way.

To make your donations, you can make a cheque out to ‘Bukit Batok CCC Community Development & Welfare Fund’, a tax-exempt account and send it to:-

West Windsc/o Bukit Batok Community Club

21 Bukit Batok CentralSingapore 659959

Do also leave us your name, NRIC number, address and telephone number so that we can issue the tax-exempt receipt and thank you personally.

JOIN US!

Are you an amateur or semi-professional musician who enjoys playing challenging band literature?

If you would like to join us, send in your application to westwinds@yahoogroups.com. Include your name, your instrument and contact number. We’ll get in touch!

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