A Personal Contemplation of Projects Undertaken
That Teacher Behind the Screen - Is IT Human?
'That Teacher Behind The Screen - Is IT Human?'
from The Learning Curve, part of the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music Forum Series
livestreamed from the Steven Baxter Recital Studio, Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, Singapore
from The Learning Curve, part of the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music Forum Series
livestreamed from the Steven Baxter Recital Studio, Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, Singapore
Teaching is a large part of my life, and establishing The Learning Curve, an ongoing series exploring challenging aspects of teaching and learning in music education has been a pet project of mine. It is a discussion not just for educators, but for students and parents too; it tackles issues music educators may confront, raises questions students can reflect on and discusses decisions that parents often struggle with. The session featured here is ‘That Teacher Behind The Screen – Is IT human?’
In light of Covid-19, music educators turned to online teaching. The reaction from music educators, students and parents have been mixed. While few would claim that online music teaching is better than in person teaching, some claim that it is just as good as in person teaching. The rest feel it can never replace physical instruction, as online teaching lacks a ‘human’ element.
This session features interviews with various music educators, parents and students, on online music teaching. Many dialogues have discussed if online teaching is effective, but this session instead asks: How can online music teaching can be more ‘human’? What does it even mean to be ‘human’ in music teaching?
In light of Covid-19, music educators turned to online teaching. The reaction from music educators, students and parents have been mixed. While few would claim that online music teaching is better than in person teaching, some claim that it is just as good as in person teaching. The rest feel it can never replace physical instruction, as online teaching lacks a ‘human’ element.
This session features interviews with various music educators, parents and students, on online music teaching. Many dialogues have discussed if online teaching is effective, but this session instead asks: How can online music teaching can be more ‘human’? What does it even mean to be ‘human’ in music teaching?
Walking in the Wild
A One-Act Scene
Featuring the segments Memory and Disintegration
|
Featuring the segments Innocence and Maturity
|
Walking in the Wild is a one-act scene I started co-producing with contemporary dancer and choreographer Goh Jia Yin and soprano Ng Jing Yun in 2019. Through vocal art song and contemporary dance, this scene hopes to invite contemplation on the natural cycle of life. It propounds that decay is a part of, and not necessarily the end of, life. This challenges how we commonly demarcate beginnings and endings. Music and dance synthesize in the process as both musicians and dancer transcend their identities as mere ‘musicians’ and ‘dancer’ through various models of crossmodal collaboration. They become artists of life and storytellers of the human experience.
Walking in the Wild does not seek to give answers, but to inspire questions about life and decay, and meaningful discussion on music-dance collaboration in relation to territorialities, bodies, spaces and identities. Still a work in progress, the segments Memory, Disintegration, Innocence and Maturity were presented at the Performers' Presents International Artistic Research Symposium at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, featured above.
George Crumb's Let it Be Forgotten and Wind Elegy (from Three Early Songs), and The Night under many a Star (from Apparition) are featured in Memory and Disintegration. Innocence and Maturity are based on Stravinsky's Pastorale and John Cage's A Flower for Voice and Closed Lid Piano.
Some have also asked how our rehearsals are conducted, as the project involves reimagining existing works across two different artistic fields. So here's a sneak peek into our rehearsal footage below!
Walking in the Wild does not seek to give answers, but to inspire questions about life and decay, and meaningful discussion on music-dance collaboration in relation to territorialities, bodies, spaces and identities. Still a work in progress, the segments Memory, Disintegration, Innocence and Maturity were presented at the Performers' Presents International Artistic Research Symposium at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, featured above.
George Crumb's Let it Be Forgotten and Wind Elegy (from Three Early Songs), and The Night under many a Star (from Apparition) are featured in Memory and Disintegration. Innocence and Maturity are based on Stravinsky's Pastorale and John Cage's A Flower for Voice and Closed Lid Piano.
Some have also asked how our rehearsals are conducted, as the project involves reimagining existing works across two different artistic fields. So here's a sneak peek into our rehearsal footage below!
Rehearsal Footage of Walking in the Wild
A Confluence of Artistic Realms:
A Multimedia Performance of Tan Dun's
8 Memories in Watercolour
A documentary performance of Blue Nun, from Tan Dun's 8 Memories in Watercolour
performed at Beall Concert Hall, Oregon |
A documentary performance of Ancient Burial, from Tan Dun's 8 Memories in Watercolour
performed at Victoria Concert Hall, Singapore |
My doctoral thesis culminated in a multimedia performance of Tan Dun’s 8 Memories in Watercolour. I produced short documentaries that precede each movement. These documentaries highlight the interaction between Chinese painting, Chinese traditional music, and 8 Memories in Watercolour. By exploring the confluence of these artistic realms, this multimedia rendition of 8 Memories in Watercolour serves as a window into Chinese culture on top of being a picturesque set of character pieces. Featured here are two movements from the set: Blue Nun and Ancient Burial.
My Obsession with Gershwin:
Concerto in F and I Got Rhythm Variations
Concerto in F by Gershwin
with the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory Orchestra conducted by Maestro Wang Yahui performed at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory Concert Hall, Singapore |
I Got Rhythm Variations by Gershwin
with the Toa Payoh West Chinese Orchestra conducted by Maestro Moses Gay performed at the Esplanade Concert Hall, Singapore |
I remember growing up mesmerized by videos of the charming Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dancing, often to Gershwin's songs. Actually, you can check out a video of them dancing to Gershwin's Let's Call the Whole Thing Off here, on rollerskates no less. I wish I could dance half as well, but I can't and I certainly don't want to cause an earthquake. And so when I was in my final year of undergraduate studies at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music in 2010, I chose to perform Gershwin's Concerto in F!
Then in 2016, after spending 6 years pursuing graduate studies abroad, I came home to Singapore and was offered a chance to perform yet another Gershwin concerto, this time his I Got Rhythm Variations with the unique sounds of the chinese orchestra (in collaboration with Toa Payoh West Chinese Orchestra).
I know that Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue is the more commonly performed and loved of his concertos, but I didn't choose to perform that because, well, what's life when we don't sometimes take the path less travelled? I have never tired of performing Gershwin's music, and I love teaching it to students. I enjoy the energy, quirkiness and charm of jazz styles effortlessly fused with classical constructs. Uploading the videos here is indeed a nostalgic walk down memory lane.
Then in 2016, after spending 6 years pursuing graduate studies abroad, I came home to Singapore and was offered a chance to perform yet another Gershwin concerto, this time his I Got Rhythm Variations with the unique sounds of the chinese orchestra (in collaboration with Toa Payoh West Chinese Orchestra).
I know that Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue is the more commonly performed and loved of his concertos, but I didn't choose to perform that because, well, what's life when we don't sometimes take the path less travelled? I have never tired of performing Gershwin's music, and I love teaching it to students. I enjoy the energy, quirkiness and charm of jazz styles effortlessly fused with classical constructs. Uploading the videos here is indeed a nostalgic walk down memory lane.
The Schumann Project:
Davidsbündlertänze, Op. 6
Innig, Book 1 No. 2 from Davidsbündlertänze, Op. 6 by Schumann
performed at Beall Concert Hall, Oregon Balladenmassig, Book 2 No. 1 from Davidsbündlertänze, Op. 6 by Schumann
performed at Beall Concert Hall, Oregon |
Einfach, Book 2 No. 5 from Davidsbündlertänze, Op. 6 by Schumann
performed at Beall Concert Hall, Oregon Mit Humor, Book 2 No. 3 from Davidsbündlertänze, Op. 6 by Schumann
performed at Beall Concert Hall, Oregon |
The Davidsbündlertänze, Op. 6, is a set of 18 character pieces by Schumann. The Davidsbündler refers to an imaginary league of characters concocted Schumann concocted to battle the Philistines of music. The Davidsbündlertänze, or Dances of the League of David, are hence understood to be dedicated to the Davidsbündler.
Yet few know that this Op. 6 was Schumann's wedding gift to Clara. Having a rather obsessive interest in composers' personal lives, I decided to delve into the letters exchanged between Schumann and Clara during their courtship. Their story is indeed one befitting a soap opera; two lovebirds fighting a disapproving father. I decided to narrate their courtship in a rendezvous of words and music; I picked excerpts from their letters and fitted them to the atmosphere of each movement, to form a narrative of the Clara and Robert Schumann story.
Yet few know that this Op. 6 was Schumann's wedding gift to Clara. Having a rather obsessive interest in composers' personal lives, I decided to delve into the letters exchanged between Schumann and Clara during their courtship. Their story is indeed one befitting a soap opera; two lovebirds fighting a disapproving father. I decided to narrate their courtship in a rendezvous of words and music; I picked excerpts from their letters and fitted them to the atmosphere of each movement, to form a narrative of the Clara and Robert Schumann story.
Solo Recital at the 2013 Alba Music Festival:
Estampes by Claude Debussy
I have always adored performing music with descriptive titles only because I feel like I am both a painter and a pianist at once. Estampes, composed in 1903, translates into 'prints'; Debussy was fond of Japanese engravings. Consisting 3 movements, each paints a unique scene that speaks of exoticism. La Soirée dans Grenade (An evening in Grenada) features the lilting rhythm of the habanera, augmented intervals of the Arabic scale and guitar strumming, igniting once's imagination of the Spanish landscape. Jardins sous la pluie (Gardens in the rain) features rain droplets of all kinds, from the gentle pitter-patter of a drizzle to the violent howls of a storm. These are live recordings from a recital at the Alba Music Festival in 2013, and in the spirit of synchronicity, it rained during the performance!