On 7 November 2016, Mayflower Secondary School Choir performed in the Limelight Series presented by Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay. This concert is a momentous performance for the choir as it was the first time the choir set foot on the stage of Esplanade Concert Hall.
The choir, directed by conductor Mrs Tay Sze Chen, shared a range of repertoire that evening, ranging from music set in the British and European region to folk pieces within South East Asia. We are also privileged to have with us Mrs Iswarya Sundar with her classical Indian dance to the choir’s rendition of Dravidian Dithyramb.
A Special Collaborative Project
In particular, the choir performed Professor Bernard Tan’s commissioned piece “You Choose To Climb” – a choral piece set to the text of Dr. Lee Tzu Pheng’s poem “Catching Connections”. A Cultural Medallion Award winner for Literature in 1985, Dr. Lee Tzu Pheng is considered one of Singapore’s most distinguished poets. A retired university lecturer, she is an award-winning poet who has published in anthologies and journals internationally. This choral piece is then brought forth to inspire Ms Lee Song Fei, a visual artist and an alumnus of the Mayflower Secondary School Choir, Class of 2015, to produce two paintings as an outcome of her interpretation of the music. Her artworks are subsequently displayed outside the Esplanade Concert Hall foyer during the concert. The choir is indeed honoured to be part of this special collaborative project between a choir, a composer, a poet and a visual artist.
We are also indeed honoured to have a number of special guests who have come to grace this concert with their presence, partaking in our music-making.
From left to right: Mr Henry Kwek (Member of Parliament, Nee Soon GRC), Prof Bernard Tan (Professor, Department of Physics, National University of Singapore), Mrs Tay Sze Chen (Conductor, MFSS Choir), Ms Lee Song Fei (Visual Artist, MFSS Choir alumni, class of 2015), Mrs Florence Lee (SAC Member, Patron of MFSS Choir), Mr Loo Ming Yaw (Principal, Mayflower Secondary School), Mr Vincent Toh (Vice-Principal, Mayflower Secondary School), Mr Lai Chyh Jau (Vice-Principal (Admin), Mayflower Secondary School)
The Road of Excellence
The path to a successful full-length concert is certainly not an easy one, especially for a choir who has never had one for many years. Furthermore, the repertoire had its fair spectrum of challenges in various ways. The main bulk of preparation for this concert began in the middle of the year as term 3 began for our students. Juggling with academic demands, expectations in choir, along with baggage that teenagers tend to carry, the road to excellence is not an easy one.
Yet, in the midst of all these, the choir banded together with a common goal – to make the concert a success. They stepped up their game, calling for extra sectionals out of scheduled practices, furiously working together as a team. It is with these high levels of initiative that has left the teachers very proud of how far they have come.
Are there areas of improvement, now that the concert has ended? Yes, there certainly are. But we will take constructive criticisms in the right spirit so that as a choir, we achieve excellence.
The road to excellence is never easy, but once you’ve walked the journey, you’ll look back at the path you took, feeling a sense of accomplishment. Continue to look forward to the adventures/challenges/experiences (coincidentally, the acronym is ACE) ahead of us, collectively working towards a common goal, because we want to be able to look back and tell ourselves how much we have achieved.
Mayflower Secondary School Choir 