When the lights dim, two generations of musicians gather under the glow of the stage: the members of the Anglo-Chinese School Wind Orchestra (ACSWO), which is the alumni band of the ACJC Concert Band, and the newly appointed Year 1 batch of the ACJC Concert Band.
With their seniors having stepped down for studies, these younger students step forward to share the stage with their alumni for LegACy 2026.
This year’s repertoire deliberately transitions from grand, complex wind band works in the first half to lively jazz standards and recognizable combined ensemble pieces in the second. As the ACSWO Executive Committee highlights, “This year’s wide range of music reflects the legacy of excellence that the band has always strives to achieve and surpass.”
Led by conductor Tarun Jayaram, the opening half showcases the technical and emotional range of the musicians, starting with Jan van der Roost’s Olympica.
Originally commissioned as a grand jubilee overture for Japan’s Nagano Community Band, the piece bursts to life with bright brass fanfares and energetic woodwind passages depicting industrious enthusiasm, alongside a serene choral-like movement celebrating natural beauty.
This is followed by Hirokazu Fukushima’s Sinfonietta No. 2 (“Bells for Prayer”), an intricate work built around ascending semitones and resonant bell motifs that carry a profound emotional depth.
Closing out the first half is Omar Thomas’s Come Sunday, a vibrant two-movement tribute to the Hammond organ’s central role in Black worship services that weaves together Bach, blues, jazz, and R&B, before culminating in a joyous, spiritual frenzy.
The second half brings a change of pace as the Jazz Band takes the stage with iconic standards including Alfred James Ellis’s funk anthem The Chicken, Joe Garland’s classic In The Mood, and David Foster’s soulful After The Love Has Gone.
While pairing such contrasting styles across the program may seem like a challenge, the committee notes that “this contrast has reflected the versatility of the musicians as well as the significant effort put in to ensure that the difference in music does not compromise the standard of the performance.”
Beyond the music itself, bringing ACSWO, the Jazz Band, and the ACJC Band led by conductor Jade Lim together creates an invaluable bridge between past and present.
“Past and current members of ACJC band have been able to bond over the shared identity of being in ACJC band through common experiences and changes over the years,” the committee explains. “The alumni have also been able to pass done knowledge and advice to the newly independent J1 batch who have now taken the reigns of ACJC band every since their seniors have stepped down for studies.”
A key pillar of LegACy 2026 is its celebration of local wind band heritage, featuring works by ACSWO’s own members: Benedict Huang’s Reminiscence alongside Peter Gale’s arrangement of A Singapore Kaleidoscope.
The committee shares that “the significant involvement of local wind band heritage composed by alumni of ACJC celebrates their achievements and journey in music since their time in ACJC Band.”
Managing a multi-ensemble showcase within a tight concert run time naturally brought complex stage logistics.
“Planning was required for the different ensemble types due to the arrangement requirements of each ensemble type,” the committee shares. “Coordinating across ACSWO and ACJC Band for the combined pieces was also difficult with separate rehearsal timings which required each band to work on the music separately.”
However, as performance day drew near, the combined rehearsals brought all their hard work into focus. “Combined rehearsals began showing the fruition of all these efforts as both members from ACSWO and ACJC Band were able to appreciate their hard work across the pass few weeks.”
As the program draws to a close with The Lion King, the committee hopes the audience carries home a deeper connection to the band’s history and future.
Ending with such an iconic work “aims to represent the memories of ACSWO members’ time in ACJC created as well as the legacy left behind for future batches to uphold.”
Grounded in Gustav Mahler’s famous sentiment that “legacy is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire,” the committee reflects that “with these final pieces LegACy26 hopes to leave a lasting impression of the effort of past, present and future members of the ACSWO and ACJC Band family.”
LegACy 2026
Sunday, 16 August 2026
SOTA Concert Hall, 5pm
https://tinyurl.com/acswo-legacy26