It’s 2015, and another great year for our young local composers as Jinjun Lee‘s original work, ‘What Does the Future Hold?’, was selected as the winning composition of the 2014 World Projects Composition Contest.
“I received the email in mid-December with a sense of disbelief. It took a few days for the news to sink in as I was preoccupied with my trip to Midwest Clinic. I am very thankful for the win, mainly because it will be a great boost to the growing presence of Singaporean wind band composers on the global stage,” exclaimed Jinjun.
“We have the likes of Benjamin Yeo being a successful published composer in the USA and Terrence Wong who has had 2 world famous brass players premiere his works with great success. Although we have a small presence, we are still constantly given special features in our own concerts. I believe that this additional success will help in growing our presence on the international and local stage,” he continued.
‘What Does the Future Hold?‘ portrayed the composer’s dissatisfaction with the current way of life and the home country’s direction, which is centrally focused on economical success amid arising social issues.
The piece attempts to send out a message of change through the use of minimalist writing traits that is intended for the audience to hear varying changes more than just listening for melodies or harmonies.
“Gradually I realised that the idea applies to the entire world as well, such as religious and racial intolerance events leading to violence and politcal unrests among people,” reflected Jinjun.
The idea for the piece began when Singapore Wind Symphony had a call for scores for their SG50 concert, with the theme being on the present and hopes for the future.
“The announcement of the competition came at a convenient time since I had already begun work on it. I eventually took part and submitted my entry, since this work was going to be written and hopefully performed at a later date,” Jinjun said.
‘What Does The Future Hold?’ will be premiered in June 2015 at the Walt Disney Concert Hall as part of the Los Angeles International Music Festival.
A contributing editor at TBP.