Harmonica Orchestra remembers Lee Kuan Yew
The 35-year-old Harmonica Orchestra paid tribute to Mr Lee with its annual concert, Soiree 2016
The NUS Harmonica Orchestra’s (NUSHO) decision to dedicate its annual concert, Soirée 2016, to Singapore’s Founding Prime Minister the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew, is testament to his ability to unite people, even a year on after his passing. The performance at Victoria Concert Hall on 25 March featured a repertoire that celebrated Mr Lee’s legacy and the success Singapore has achieved in its pursuit of excellence. Drawing an audience of about 700 people, the musical tribute was accompanied by a screenplay of photos and short videos tracing Mr Lee’s life.
“When we first planned Soirée 2016 in March 2015, it was after the sudden passing of Mr Lee. In sadness, shock and grief, we decided to dedicate Soirée 2016 to Mr Lee,” said Ms Josephine Koh, NUSHO Music Director and Conductor.
Each musical piece in the repertoire, which the group has been practising since last November, depicts milestones in Mr Lee’s life. One of the highlights was Samuel Barber’s haunting Adagio for Strings, the opening piece played at Mr Lee’s state funeral. Those Years, the theme song of Taiwanese drama The Apple of My Eye, was selected to mark the early years of Mr Lee’s life as well as to honour the love he had for his late wife, Madam Kwa Geok Choo.
“To be honest, if it wasn’t for the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew, I wouldn’t be here doing my PhD, so I really owe him a lot for making Singapore the country it is today,” said harmonica soloist Ranjit Gulvady, a graduate student at the Mechanobiology Institute at NUS.
The concert used music to depict milestones in Mr Lee’s life as well as Singapore’s success in the pursuit of excellence
The musicians also premiered the SG50 Tribute Medley, an original arrangement of National Day songs such as Home, We will get there and Song for Singapore. Traditional pieces such as the stirring March by Dmitri Shostakovitch and Scheherazade by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov honoured Mr Lee’s political endeavours and Singapore’s transformation under his leadership. Danzón No 2 by Arturo Márquez and pop song, The Prayer, popularised by Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli, portrayed the hope and Singapore spirit that lives on.
“Soirée 2016, besides being a celebration of Mr Lee’s legacy and revisiting some of the critical moments in his life, will also drive home the values and spirit that help build Singapore as it is today,” said NUSHO President Year 3 NUS Chemical Engineering student Xu Shao Qing.
The 35-year-old Harmonica Orchestra, which brought back 20 alumni for Soirée 2016, is a unique instrumental ensemble that fully integrates the harmonica with woodwind, brasses, percussion, piano, guitar and percussion instruments. Every year, Soirée gathers musical talents of various capacities, from harmonica players and soloists to tutors and music arrangers.
