The Philharmonic Youth Winds will celebrates its 10th edition of their annual concert series this year, as they present a program of varied dance arts, visual arts and chinese orchestra music in collaboration with band music this Sunday in Classiques X.
“Having started the Classiques series with Philyouth 10 years ago, every year has been an extremely fulfilling one for the group as a whole, where boundaries and standards of the group were always being pushed.” said Adrian Chiang, resident conductor of the group.
With the continuous support of its parent group – The Philharmonic Winds, Philyouth consistently challenged themselves to present new programs, by exploring classical band literature to orchestral transcriptions in its ever evolving ‘Classiques‘ series.
However, in view of the ever changing musical and artistic landscape in Singapore, the group wanted to do more to show their support for the local arts scene. As such, they ventured beyond fitting different genres of music and eventually integrated band music with different art forms too.
Philyouth’s first attempt in exploring different art forms was during Classiques! Chœur in 2014, where they engaged a chorus as typically used in an orchestral setting. Its second attempt was in Classiques! Comedy in 2017, where they introduced literature into music by crafting a programme that revolved around Comedy, which is one of the original four themes of literature.
Other than Philyouth’s annual concert series, they also created the pop concert series, ‘Songs our Parents Love‘, which was inspired by the idea to connect the old with the young. The series not only allow its youths to learn about the songs their parents and grandparents listened to, but also opened a new window for them to reconnect with their family members.
With many of such performances in the last decade, managing an interest volunteer group like this is no mean feat for president Edwin Ang and his committee.
“Interestingly, this year also marks my 10th year with the band. I have learnt and gained a lot from the musicians, both past and present, and fortunate enough to have met older members who gave me advice outside of music and rehearsals. Ten years on, I find myself in the same position to provide guidance to my younger counterparts.” said Edwin.
“There are many people that we would like to show our utmost gratitude to. Perhaps one group of people that we often miss out showing appreciation for are our family members, who have been so understanding towards our rehearsal schedules. Week after week, we seem to spend more time with our instruments than them, but yet they silently support our decision to pursue our musical hobbies out of our various institutions or workplaces.” he added.
As Philyouth embarks on a new journey from its milestone, resident conductor Adrian Chiang hopes that the culture of sharing and encouraging each other to be better musicians will continue to grow and pass on to more generations of its members.
“Philyouth has been a home for young musicians to play in after school, and for them to learn from each other. I am fortunate to have the aid of many passionate young musicians who have served in the current and past committees in driving the youth band program.” Adrian reflected.
“I am definitely heartened and glad that Philyouth has gotten to where they are today, with the support of management and members of the Philharmonic Winds; as we continue to bring joy to our audiences and touch more hearts with our music.”
Classiques X!
The Philharmonic Youth Winds
Sunday, 28 January
Esplanade Concert Hall, 7.30pm
Tickets from SISTIC
A contributing editor at TBP.