The Straits Times, Lifestyle, Aug 12, 2016
Three of Singapore's Best Choirs
The most rewarding repertory choice came from the Singers Vocal Ensemble ... a sophisticated yet scrumptious setting of Shakespeare's 18th Sonnet (Shall I Compare Thee?) was sung with the kind of warm togetherness only the best choirs can achieve.
The Straits Times, Life!, Aug 12, 2014
Singapore Ensemble Tops in Japan
The Singers Vocal Ensemble are the first Singaporean group to win top awards at the prestigious 30th Takarazuka International Chamber Chorus Contest.
The
Straits Times, Life!, Dec 7, 2006
Small numbers, big voices
In this fly-on-the-wall column, we bring you the buzz in the arts world:

ONE VOICE: Just seven of the twelve members in Singers Vocal Ensemble were able to make it to Prague for a competition, but they still managed to win Best Small Choir.
A SMALL independent choir group from Singapore
has won the Best Small Choir prize at the 16th Prague International Festival of
Advent and Christmas Music - despite being several men down.
The annual amateur choir competition is significant because Petr Eben, the
renowned Czech composer, takes turns with his also-distinguished son, mediaeval
sacred music expert David Eben, to sit on the judging panel.
The choir, Singers Vocal Ensemble, usually has about a dozen members, but
because some could not take time off to go to Prague,
the choir was reduced to just seven members.
Singers Vocal Ensemble was founded and directed by freelance choral conductor
Wilson Goh, 28, about two years ago. The members, all formerly with the
Singapore Youth Choir, are mostly professionals in their late 20s in non-music
fields.
Because of the reduced numbers, which made them the smallest of the 63 choirs
in the entire competition, several members had to sing outside of their usual
vocal range to fill all the parts. For example, countertenor Cyril Wong, 29, an
award-winning poet, had to sing both soprano and baritone roles.
'It was a lot of toggling,' he told Life! on the phone from Prague.
'We all became a bit schizophrenic.'
But their efforts were rewarded as they not only topped their category, which
had 29 choirs from Europe and Asia in the fray, but also received a special
mention for their interpretation of French composer Francis Poulenc's O Magnum
Mysterium, one of the four songs they presented.
The choirs of Catholic
Junior College,
Raffles Girls' School and Raffles Institution also participated, with all three
schools awarded Gold in their respective categories. CJC was judged in the Big
Choir category, which is for choirs with over 33 members, and the other two in
the Children's Choir category.
An all-female group from Singapore,
New Horizon Music Society, received a Silver in the Small Choir category. Every
choir that competes receives either a Gold, Silver or Bronze award.
by Stephanie Yap
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Kakiseni’s Review of The Singers present Getaran Jiwa
(Sat 29 - Sun 30 Apr 2006, KLPac – Pentas 2)
by
Nigel Skelchy (02-06-2006)
This reviewer had the strangest call from a member of The
Singers, a visiting choral group from Singapore.
Basically, the member had called to request that the show be not reviewed.
Meanwhile, the editor of Kakiseni, who had been made aware of this situation
earlier, had shot an email to the director. Reasons then given to Kakiseni for
not wanting to be reviewed ranged from a concern that the review might not
contain the necessary basis for fair criticism and discussion, and that reviews
of choral music and choirs constantly “achieve the result of nullifying the
efforts of choral educators.” But in the end, they were okay with it.
Frankly, if they were concerned that they would receive a bad review then all
that can be said is that they were grossly mistaken.
It has been a long time since choral music of that calibre has been heard in Kuala Lumpur.
Members from The Singers hail from premiere Singaporean vocal ensembles like
the Singapore Youth Choir, The Philharmonic Chamber Choir, Vox Ensemble,
Octmented and Tone Culture, and this show was their Malaysian debut (Sat 29 -
Sun 30 Apr 2006, KLPac – Pentas 2). The group comprised of Fenny Low, Eunice
Liang, Phua Ee Kia, Joy Chen, Ng Sheh Feng, Ho Lian Ian, Ng Swee Yong, Wilson
Goh, Ong Kok Leong, and Gregory Chen. The Singers have represented Singapore
in various international music festivals and choral competitions since the
1980s, more often than not, winning top honours.
The misleading title of the concert The Singers present Getaran Jiwa turned out
to be a performance of contemporary choral music, featuring Malaysian premieres
of works from the Baltics, Asia
and the Americas.
The Singers also highlighted works by a Malaysian composer, Juliette Lai, who
this reviewer suspects is more well-known in her adopted abode of Singapore.
While many of the audience were probably hoping for more reworked Malaysian
oldies, it cannot be denied that the concert as a whole was an eye opener.
The blend was beautiful, pitching was nigh perfect, and rhythm and timing could
really not be faulted. And the programming was intelligent. Technically, any
complaints would really be nitpicking, but I will get it out of the way. From a
performance viewpoint, while the sound of an ensemble is the most important
thing, body posture and body language also serve to convey a message. So
performers should not be singing with hands in pockets (you know who you are)
nor should there be scraping movements of music stands while the narrator is
saying his piece. And once in a while, some of the singers seemed more
concerned about getting the song “right” than “enjoying” the song and making
audience contact. Again, this is nitpicking!
In truth, The Singers actually got it “right” so consistently, it’s scary.
Which was why, when the leader mentioned that they only had two weeks of
rehearsal, some of us had to pick our jaws off the floor.
If the purpose of music is to communicate an intent, whether it’s stillness,
love, sweetness, a sense of place, or just making someone reach for a tissue,
then The Singers communicated – over and beyond a mere intent.
From the moment they walked on with the odd positioning of a man between two
women, it was obvious we were about to listen to something unusual.
The chant like opening of “Taaveti Laul (Psalms of David) 140” by Cyrillus
Kreek of Estonia
transfixed everyone in the audience with its sound. Pure, sweet, lilting, and
evocative of a landscape which few, if any, in our audience had ever visited,
its quietness and stillness recalled the prayer of a solitary person who finds
God in a ray of light. An epiphany already – and we’re only at the first song!
“Komm Süsser Tod (Come, Sweet Death)” by Bach was given a makeover by Norwegian
composer, Gunnar Eriksson. The otherworldliness of this prayer of surrender
yielded our willing submission, and the execution was not just technically
perfect but also interpreted in a manner which laid the soul joyously bare.
While it sounds flippant, it reminded me of Heineken’s tagline in the 80s:
“Heineken. Touches the parts other beers cannot reach.”
The highlight of the first half must have been “Heliseb Valjadel” by Urmas
Sisask. It quickly became evident why a man was placed between two women. His
soaring counter tenor left goose bumps all over KLPAC’s Pentas 2. We only
wished that he was given another (at least) solo. The language was totally
foreign to everyone in the room but we felt as if a cold breeze had just blown
in off the steppes. This was a song composed by a person firmly rooted in his
geography.
Juliette Lai, who was in the audience must have been well pleased with The
Singers’ rendition of her two pieces “Getaran Jiwa” and “Potong Padi”, a folk
song about sowing rice. Though the intonation and phrasing of the lyrics
sounded a little jarring to native speakers, it was obvious that The Singers
enjoyed the pieces, which in itself communicates a sense of enjoyment to the
audience. It was perhaps also evident that they were more at home with
classical pieces. “Getaran Jiwa” was very cleverly arranged with the words in
the title of the song being used to percussive effect in one part of the song.
A tango by Astor Piazzolla, one of the most influential tango composers of all
time and a musician renowned for putting Argentina
on the musical map, entitled “Verano Porteño”, was sung with such precision and
crispness bordering on military, but managed to retain a certain lilt in the
singing line that gave it an enjoyable fluidity.
The narration by Wilson Goh was interesting and educational and helped to
further the enjoyment of the music. His explanation about how an environment
shapes the music in which it is composed directed our attention towards
listening for those cues in the music. This then took us into the mood of that
particular place and time. It was a very nice touch.
If the music was varied, the execution was even more so. But the versatility
displayed in the techniques are tied together nicely by the thematic unity of
the pieces. From the delicious haunting tones of the counter tenor to the
tintinnabulation of Estonian composer Arvo Part to the more familiar tunes from
our neck of woods, the songs and narration clearly illustrated the influence of
environment on music. And in turn, how the music communicates that environment
back to listeners. The Baltic and Latvian numbers spoke of cold, wintry climes,
while “Potong Padi” evoked images of padi farmers with small scythes swinging
to the beat. And what could folks from warm, sunny, muggy South
East Asia have in common with
folks from the cold, snowy, frigid Baltic but our common humanity? Wherever you
go, people are the same: they love, they laugh, they pray, they strive. And
they sing.
From the Japanese flavoured “Small Sky” by the self taught composer Toru
Takemitsu to hymns from the Baltics and back again to the musical getaran from
our little corner of South East Asia,
The Singers treated Malaysia
to a tightly sung, moving and educational concert. We could practically hear
the dedication of the individuals within the group (and of the composers from
around the world, even Malaysian ones working in Singapore).
Their passion shone through as well as their technical knowledge of the
subject.
It was a joy to listen to them!
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