January 22, 2021
By Choy Myn
While Singaporean classical music groups struggle to put on grand shows involving the whole orchestra due to the COVID-19 social distancing measures, one pleasant unintended consequence of this is that smaller, more intimate chamber music performances now finally have their time in the spotlight. Despite the smaller ensemble, the emotional depth of their performances remain uncompromised.
For example, in Singapore Symphony Orchestra’s Metamorphosen and Mozart with Hans Graf, Strauss’ Metamorphoses suggest the human loss and suffering the pandemic has caused. Yet, the joviality expressed through deliberately contrasting pieces like Mozart’s Gran Partita demonstrate the world’s capacity for greater recovery and growth in unity and strength from this encounter.
On the other side of the aisle, Ding Yi Music Company localises this message of unity by adding and incorporating National Day Parade songs like Home, Our Singapore and Di Tanjong Katong into their existing repertoire of classical Western and Chinese pieces.
Joining this movement of chamber performances was NUS Symphony Orchestra (NUSSO)’s Layers, performed in December 2020. We caught up with NUSSO’s ExCo to learn more about Layers and their experience in producing the show.