NUS Guitar Ensemble

@NUSGuitarEnsemble NUSGuitarEnsemble TikTok: NUSGuitarEnsemble
Established in 1981 by Cultural Medallion recipient Mr Alex Abisheganaden, NUS Guitar Ensemble (GENUS) is the region’s first Niibori guitar ensemble. Modelled after the Niibori Orchestra in Japan, GENUS showcases the distinctive musical character of the Niibori method.

 

As a pioneer in the Singapore guitar ensemble scene, GENUS aims to set the benchmark of musical excellence for ensembles in Singapore. Moving forward, GENUS aims to promote a greater love for guitar ensemble music so as to establish the Niibori art form as an integral part of Singapore’s arts landscape.

 

Recent productions include Exuberance: An Ode to Youth in October 2022; Springtide in March 2022; and Incandescent – A City That Never Sleeps, a collaboration with NUS Dance Synergy for NUS Arts Festival 2022.

 

Key Past Events

2023 Tour and Joint Concert with Prague Chamber Guitar Orchestra (PKKO), Prague
2023 NUS Arts Festival, Odyssey
2023 Esplanade Concert, Scenes from Japan
2022 Annual Concert, Exuberance
2022 NUS Arts Festival, Incandescent – A City That Never Sleeps, a collaboration with NUS Dance Synergy
2021 NUS Arts Festival, In Search of Lost Time
2021 40th Anniversary Concert, Fortyssimo!
2019 Annual concert,Kaleidoscope
2018 Annual concert, Grande de Bal
2017 NUS Arts Festival Closing Show with The Observatory, Vibrational
2016 NUS Arts Festival, Reverie
2015 NUS ExxonMobil Campus Concerts highlight, Jubilee
2015 Annual concert, Reverb
2014 Tour and joint concert with the Niibori Group B Ensemble, Japan
2010 Performed in Pforzheim, Germany

Awards and achievements

2022 Nominated for Tan Ean Kiam Arts Awards
2007 4th in the 2nd International Festival and Competition for Guitar Orchestra in Rheine, Germany
1990 1st Distinguished Award for Ensemble Section at the Singapore Guitar Festival
1989 2nd prize for Ensemble section at the 5th Annual Guitar Competition of the Singapore Classical Guitar Society

Balraj Gopal

Assistant conductor

Mr Balraj Gopal, assistant conductor of GENUS, has been an active GENUS alumnus and the group’s tutor since 1999. Presently, Balraj is the only Singaporean graduate from the acclaimed International Niibori Academy in Japan and holds a specialist diploma in guitar orchestral conducting and management. He also holds a Licentiate of the Royal Schools of Music (LRSM) in Classical Guitar Performance and a Licentiate in Music Theory from the Trinity- Guildhall Board (LMusTCL).

 

He received a long-term mentorship from the founder of GENUS, Maestro Alex Abisheganaden, learning the mechanics and working principles of a guitar orchestra. He is well versed with the Niibori Guitar Method from Japan, and advocates its pedagogy in classroom lessons, guiding and nurturing the talents of young guitarists in several guitar ensembles in Singapore. Balraj has also been commissioned to write music for guitar orchestras, harmonica ensembles and for his trio Guitarmoncello, fusing Asian music with western contemporary tunes in his distinctive style.