There is a word in Italian that means “a little return.” But for the musicians of the AMK Alumni Wind Orchestra, there is nothing little about it.
As Lee Yu Qing puts it, this is “a return to where it all began, a returning that carries deep emotional weight for the musicians.”
It is a return to faces that once sat beside them in the same band room, to inside jokes that still land just as easily, to friendships built not just through music but through the particular intimacy of shared exhaustion, shared nerves, and shared joy.
“Ritornello becomes more than a musical term,” she reflects. “It becomes a reflection of who we are; returning not to relive the past, but to celebrate how it continues to resonate within us today.”
For many of them, life had quietly pulled them in different directions. Careers, families, the relentless pace of growing up. Some hadn’t touched their instruments in nearly a decade. Yet the moment rehearsals began, something came back.
As Joel Chua recalls, what surprised him most was “how quickly the band would improve rehearsal after rehearsal.” The music returned faster than anyone expected, as though it had simply been sitting there, waiting. “Most of us hadn’t touched our instruments in years,” he says, “but through hard work and constant support from each other, we find ourselves enjoying the music making process together again.”
And it wasn’t just the music. The friendships picked up right where they left off. As Joel puts it, “coming together with my juniors and seniors has always felt quite natural, like we were all from the same musical family.”
A lot of that has to do with the man on the podium. When Mr Brando Tan raises his baton, time folds. For seventeen years, from 2000 to 2017, he was not simply a conductor but a constant, shaping presence in the lives of everyone who came through the AMKSS Symphonic Band.
For Ng Yan Ying, being back in the room with him is “an immediate, nostalgic trip back to the formative years of our musical journey.” There is something surreal about it, standing once again where she once stood as a student, watching the same hands, hearing the same voice.
His conducting style, she says, is “a familiar blend of technical precision and expressive storytelling” and “the thread that weaves different generations of alumni into one cohesive family.” The AMK sound, she reflects, “isn’t just about the notes; it’s a reflection of the musical identity he helped us build, proving that even years later, his baton still has the power to bring out the very best in every player.”
The music chosen for this concert is personal, because it is meant to be.
As Lim Shi Zheng explains, the first half goes back to the pieces that meant the most, including Seventh Night of July, “the piece with which the AMKSS band, under his direction, achieved its very first SYF Gold.”
To play these works again is to step back into those moments, to remember what it felt like to stand on a stage together and give everything. These pieces are not just repertoire. They are the soundtrack to some of the most formative experiences of their lives.
Ti Jia Yi knows that feeling well. She thinks back to the long SYF preparation periods, the rehearsals that ran late into the evenings, the tiredness that somehow never quite broke the spirit of the room.
“Practices were long and tiring, and there were days when everyone felt exhausted, but no one gave up because we knew we were working towards the same goal,” she says. “Coming back for Ritornello reminded me of that same spirit. Even after so many years, we still push ourselves during rehearsals, encourage one another, and strive to sound better as a band.”
Yuric Hng Chuin Lin holds a different memory just as close, that of a 2016 trip to Taiwan, his first time travelling without family, surrounded by the people he had spent countless afternoons making music with.
“Those long afternoons and evenings in the band room weren’t just about rehearsing,” he says. “They were filled with laughter, shared determination, and the simple joy of making music together with my batchmates.”
Coming back now, he says, “it really feels as if nothing has changed. The same spirit, camaraderie, and passion for music remain.”
The second half of the concert looks ahead, and deliberately so.
Shi Zheng describes Into the Sky, a Singapore premiere, as a piece that “evokes vivid imagery: soaring through the skies on the back of a dragon, moments of prayer for peace, and a strong, forward-looking spirit.”
These themes, he says, “reflect the values and energy we hope future generations of AMKSS Band members will continue to carry forward, be it in life or in music making.”
The most moving moment of the evening comes when the graduating batch of the current AMKSS Symphonic Band walks onto the stage to join their seniors, two generations sharing the same space, the same stands, the same music. Shi Zheng hopes it “symbolizes the enduring legacy and spirit of the AMKSS Band, one that we hope will continue to thrive for years to come.”
What the alumni want to pass on is simple.
Eugene Pang says it without any fuss. “My wish for them is to stay present in the moment and continue loving music making, because music should always come from the heart.”
He knows, as they all do, how quickly adult life starts to crowd out the things that once felt non-negotiable. “As we grow into adult life, it becomes harder to balance passion and making a living,” he reflects. But the hope is that these younger musicians hold on a little longer, a little tighter, and that “as they move forward, I hope they will pass that same passion on to the next generation.”
That is what this concert really is. It is a reunion. It is a room full of people who grew up together, who remember the same rehearsals, the same nerves, the same conductor’s voice, coming back to do the thing they love one more time.
Ritornello is not a nostalgic retreat, but a living resonance, proof that what was built together never quite went away, and that when the baton rises, it can all come back, full and bright and whole.
Sunday, 22 March 2026
Singapore Conference Hall, 2.30pm
$20
https://bookmyshow.sg/en/events/ritornello-alma-mater-karus/AAWO2026