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A band on the march | ||
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| By Chang Tou Liang | ||
IN TEMPO 2008 FOR its 40th anniversary celebration, the National University of Singapore Wind Symphony went back to its roots as a marching military band. Beginning with two marches, Gerry Soliano's patriotic and Sousa-inspired Crescent And Stars and Vaughan Williams' folksong Seventeen On Sunday, the general upbeat tone of the evening was set. The orchestra, now close to 100 strong, responded with gusto and confidence under budding conductors Ian Lum and Martin Lim respectively, before its music director Leonard Tan took centrestage. For the 'serious' items requiring more of an interpretation, the young outfit did not disappoint. Sibelius' Finlandia had more blare than usual in its all-wind guise, and voices otherwise sung by the strings were lost but its nationalistic, flag-waving fervour came through. The big work of the programme was Dutch wind band-meister Johan de Meij's Third Symphony, also titled Planet Earth. At 50 minutes, it is overblown to say the least. A solid five minutes of sound effects - the Big Bang and whizzing planets - began the work, and it meandered from the sound world of Holst's Neptune The Mystic before unfolding like some long-winded Richard Strauss tone poem. More cliches abound, from the chugging of Adams and Glass' minimalism to the inevitable big melodies from a quasi-John Williams celestial score. Those more accustomed to Mahler and Bruckner's longeurs might have been bored, but conductor Tan's youthful exuberance kept the ensemble from flagging, ensuring a highly spirited reading that lurched from one climax to another. The band alumni - now in their 60s - accorded the performance a standing ovation. And rightly so, from its humble beginnings at Bukit Timah campus to the spanking new home at Kent Ridge, the band had indeed come of age. | ||
