NUS is a large and wonderfully diverse place. In fact, it could be argued that this diversity helps stimulate the many powerful ideas that are developed by the NUS community each year. For artists, diversity is a seeding ground for experimentation and CFA supports this approach through ExxonMobil Campus Concerts each semester.

As a platform to stimulate creativity, EMCC opens each year with Miniatures, in which members of the NUS Symphony Orchestra pair with students from Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music (YSTCM) to play music along the lines of a set theme. Where YSTCM students are budding professional musicians, NUSSO members are talented students who use music to augment their studies in other fields. Bringing these groups together creates opportunities for students who may not otherwise intersect to meet, learn and perform with each other.

We caught up with Nuttakamon Supattranont, a first year student at YSTCM to learn more about their experience.

What drew you to become a part of this year’s Miniatures performance?

This is my first year here in the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, and I’ve already had some great opportunities to perform with the Conservatory’s orchestra. I hadn’t heard about NUSSO yet, but Prof Brett Stemple (Vice Dean, Performance & Artistic Research) had asked that I would consider a solo performance as part of this platform, and I immediately thought this would be a great opportunity to play with people beyond YSTCM. I also saw it as a good chance to make new friends from other faculties who  had an interest in  music.

Miniatures will feature both inspiring pieces from Beethoven, alongside pieces written by his mentors that inspired him. Which piece should we look out for?

The highlight for me will be Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto. Not only is this a famous trumpet piece, but it will be my first time playing this with the orchestra.

It was composed for keyed trumpet, which is the first trumpet that can play the chromatic notes, so in this piece you will hear many of these notes. Moreover, many parts of the concerto feature challenging passages which I think the audience will enjoy.

Most EMCC shows are presented at the University Cultural Centre or at University Town. Given that this is the only show this season that will be held at the Conservatory Concert Hall inside YSTCM, tell us what is it like as a space to perform and listen to music?

The best places for listening to music are not too big or too small, with acoustics that are neither too dry [no echo or reverberation], nor with too much resonance [too much reverberation]. The Conservatory Concert Hall at YSTCM is wonderfully balanced. I think the best seat is in the middle of the hall because that seat has an appropriate distance for what we will be playing, but this is just my personal feel!

EMCC as a platform is about experimentation and the unexpected. Miniatures explores this by pairing some of YSTCM’s brightest music students with members of our celebrated NUSSO. What have you learned through this partnership?

For me, this production is about seizing an opportunity to play with different people and make new friends who also play music. As a YSTCM student, opportunities to play with people from other parts of the University are always exciting. In addition, it was a chance to play chamber music, something which I don’t do often.

The most important thing I hope to strengthen from this performance is my ability to communicate  with others; both the musicians and the audience alike. YSTCM has a full schedule of events and performances but EMCC is a platform that specifically celebrates specific themes and involves different people. So I’m very excited to be involved.