Organized by Band Directors’ Association (Singapore), Festival Winds is a platform for band students around Singapore to have a wonderful and memorable experience in making new friends through music in a short span of four days from 12 to 15 December.
“Festival Winds is an inclusive platform for all students who wish to perform on a bigger stage but may not have the chance to do so. We hope to provide an equal opportunity for every aspiring student musician regardless of their music background or resources they receive in schools or in private,” said Adrian Chiang, BDA(S) current president.
“This is also a great chance for Band Directors within BDA(S) to come together as one to perform for the audience as well! We normally work within small groups of people and it is only in events such as these where we get to see each other, in a bid to build a stronger band community in Singapore,” he continued.
Despite not having any auditions, participants are required to have basic proficiencies in playing their respective instruments since they are expected to put up a finale concert at the Esplanade Concert Hall to consolidate their learning journey at the end of the Festival. They are also expected to attend all scheduled rehearsals and activities to enjoy the full Festival Winds experience.
“The one fundamental criteria we are laying for participants is to come with the right mindset and attitude to learn and absorb as much as they can from the faculty, the conductors and their fellow festival participants.”
Participants will be allocated into two ensembles of different age groups and different levels of music, namely the Junior Winds for 13 to 15 year olds, and Senior Winds for ages 16 and above.
Rehearsals are held at Singapore Polytechnic Band Room, and the concert will be conducted by 2 of BDA(S)’s esteemed advisors, Dr Leonard Tan from the National Institute of Education, and Mr Joost Flach from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts.
Festival Winds marks the end of an exciting year by the Band Directors Association (Singapore), as the committee has worked extremely hard on projects such as the ‘Band Fiesta‘ outreach concerts at Singapore Botanic Gardens, ‘Schools in Concert‘ at Victoria Concert Hall, ‘Adventure Band Camp‘ for Primary School band students at SJI Junior, and ‘Singapore Band Clinic‘ which is a series of masterclasses for students and professionals at Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music.
“In fact, there are already new plans in motion which will become exciting events that everyone can look forward to in 2019. I can assure everyone that the BDA(S) committee will not be resting on our laurels and you will continue to see us working hard at making music and music education more accessible to the masses and fostering greater engagement as a community.”
A contributing editor at TBP.