Key moments in 40 years of orchestral history

Formally established by the late Paul Abisheganaden in 1979, the NUS Symphony Orchestra (NUSSO) is one of the largest and most prolific musical groups in NUS. Over the years the NUS Symphony Orchestra has toured the world, performed with international virtuosos and debuted new compositions.

Above all, the NUS Symphony aspires to create a community of orchestral music advocates within NUS. It takes pride in the fact that it has always been a group of disparate personalities from different fields brought together by the love of music.

To mark their 40th anniversary year, we caught up with members from each of the group’s four decades to capture the high-points of the group’s history so far. We also took the opportunity to find out details of NUSSO’s festival closing performance , A Night at the Gallery at this years’ NUS Arts Festival 2020: Ways of Seeing.

Your production A Night at the Gallery features music inspired by visual interpretations of places. How do you feel the visual aspect of these works is carried in the music?

Our concert, A Night at the Gallery, paints a musical picture for audiences through an imagined gallery of music inspired by paintings and landscapes. Each piece encourages the listener to use his imagination to create a rich visual experience in his mind, and immerse himself into a story possibly unique to him alone. The heavy use of brasses in the highlight piece ‘Pictures at an Exhibition’ helps in depicting the grandiose gallery while the combination of woodwind and string instruments in Smetana’s ‘Die Moldau’ creates imagery of a mighty river flowing through the Czech countryside, while the rippling figurations in the woodwinds and string instruments evoke the image of the mighty Vltava river flowing through the composer’s beloved homeland. Smetana pairs these tunes with different melodies to portray various scenes and atmospheres along the river’s journey.

How does this correlation between two different arts genres support the NUS Arts Festival’s theme of Ways of Seeing?

Aligned with the theme Ways of Seeing, the Orchestra has leveraged on the opportunity to prompt audiences to take unconventional approaches in listening to and appreciating music. Mussorgsky and Smetana composed their pieces, ‘Pictures at an Exhibition‘ and ‘Die Moldau‘, with clear intent in depicting an imagined gallery and natural landscapes respectively. Bruch used his composition of Scottish Fantasy to create his perceived image of Scottish highlands. Bruch composed Scottish Fantasy to create a musical portrait of what he imagined the scenes and landscapes of Scotland to be like. Beyond listening to the music performed, the theme Ways of Seeing creates a unique multi-sensory experience for audiences, inviting them to use their imagination to create visual images to complement the music played. Through the use of visual aids to help our audience understand the context of the piece and the composer’s intentions, we hope that they can better appreciate the piece through the lens of the composer.

What piece of music creates the strongest vision in your mind? Has the NUS Symphony Orchestra attempted it?

The highlight piece ‘Pictures at an Exhibition‘ provides the strongest visualisation. Written as a tribute to the composer’s close friend Victor Hartmann, it re-creates a tour of an art exhibition. Shaped and inspired by Hartmann’s paintings and sketches, the movements in the piece complement one another in taking us through an imagined gallery. Examples would include movements such as ‘Gnomus’ where the disjunct and grotesque composition was shaped by Hartmann’s work depicting a gnome-looking mythical creature.

In contrast, we have the ‘Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks‘, inspired by Hartmann’s sketches for the decor of a scene in the ballet Trilby. The piece itself takes reference from the ballet featuring children dressed as birds, butterflies and chicks in their eggs. This has notably shaped portions of ‘Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks’, such as its lively and chirpy beginning. The lively, chirpy beginning of ‘Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks’ brings to mind various scenes from the ballet.

Between the movements, Promenade simulates the experience of moving through a gallery, bridging the pieces to one another. The intricate layers within each composition help in depicting and conveying Mussorgsky’s intentions in visualising Hartmann’s works through re-imagining and “seeing” ‘Pictures at an Exhibition’ as a visual work.

While the Orchestra has previously performed selected movements of ‘Pictures at an Exhibition’, this will be the first time we are performing the full suite of 10 movements.

A 40th anniversary is a very important milestone for the NUS Symphony Orchestra and significant activities have been planned for in support of this. Which is the most significant for the Orchestra and why?

Right now, the Orchestra is planning our trip to Europe. Following our collaboration with the Berlin Konzerthaus Audience Orchestra (KAO) in June 2019, we will be collaborating with them once again in June 2020. This tour is a huge opportunity for us as we immerse ourselves in the rich musical knowledge Europe provides.

Aside from learning professional music practice from our friends at KAO, the Orchestra will also be visiting instrument makers and museums to broaden our musical and cultural knowledge. The Orchestra will be bringing the pieces played during the NUS Arts Festival to Europe, alongside other pieces.

Catch A Night At The Gallery at the NUS Arts Festival 2020. The event will be held on 28 March at UCC Hall. Please click here for tickets to this performance.

What is your proudest NUSSO memory?

Swee Jin Koh, graduated 2014

Seeing the warm response to our music after we performed a free outreach concert as part of the NUSSO Vienna tour in 2013. The audience gave us standing ovations and many of them came up to the musicians to express how touched they were by our music.

Zheng Yang, graduated 2007

I felt equally proud after the last note of every concert. Sometimes even during our final rehearsals you don’t feel ready, despite all our efforts, but somehow, magic always happens on concert day.

It’s really not magic, but the culmination of everybody’s hard work, trust in each other, and intense focus!

Tan Eng Keng, graduated 1995

In the year 1994 – 1995, I was appointed as concert master. There were many better players than myself in the orchestra and I did not feel adequate about it at all. In fact, I even approached Mr Lim Soon Lee that I hope he could find someone better. Yet without a pause, he said he really thought I could do the job and this gave me the assurance and courage to carry out the role. I am humbled by that, and proud to be under amazing leadership of the orchestra.

How are you different because of your experience with NUSSO?

Swee Jin Koh

My NUSSO experience helped me to see the impact of music outreach. When there were visual aids or explanations about the music, audiences (especially those with no prior music background) could more easily understand what they were listening to and appreciate the music more. This made me realize that music should have a purpose – not just for the musicians’ enjoyment but to work towards a goal of helping the audience enjoy the music more thoroughly.

This realization sparked the idea of starting up an orchestra with this exact purpose – giving birth to the NUS Alumni Orchestra!

Zheng Yang

The bonds and friendships forged have stayed with me till today, a decade after leaving NUSSO! Along the way, these friends and mentors have certainly made me a better person.

Tan Eng Keng

NUSSO has always been a community for me, one that plays hard during rehearsals and also plays hard during social events! I remember fondly that despite our heavy study load, it was always so refreshing to come in on Wednesday evenings to indulge in music making, not to mention in the company of great friends, full of fun and laughter. We recently had another gathering of some from our batch, and had very fond memories of those years we were in the orchestra.

Do you ever think about the legacy of the group? What comes to mind when you think about the people who started NUSSO and supported the group over the years?

Swee Jin Koh

When I was in NUSSO, my seniors in the executive committee would reiterate that NUSSO is a premier student arts group. NUSSO is in a very privileged position where we get funding, we can focus on education and outreach, and that is where NUSSO can set itself apart from the others.

The teams who have started and kept NUSSO going have always taken a lot of pride in their work, and kept in mind the importance of musical excellence.

Zheng Yang

I believe most people who join NUSSO are changed for the better. There’s something about the music, camaraderie and perhaps our conductor Mr Lim’s philosophy lessons! Thinking back, I’m grateful for those who gave me a chance to be part of it all.

Tan Eng Keng

I played under two great conductors: the late Mr Paul Abisheganaden and Mr Lim Soon Lee. They are both key influences in the orchestra’s growth. They were both so passionate about music and tirelessly led the Orchestra for so very long.

During my student years, I had a conversation with Mr Lim one evening about the challenges I faced in a relationship I was having at the time. With his fatherly voice, he empathized and said “Love is the toughest topic in life”. Though it was just a brief sentence, it played a major part in comforting me.

The leaders who are foundations to the orchestra, are highly capable and yet so authentic and human. I think this is a unique point that draws people into it.

When you attend NUSSO performances today, how do you feel?

Swee Jin Koh

I’m immensely proud that NUSSO has come so far. Not many orchestras can boast of a history that dates to the 1930s!

Zheng Yang

I still feel the passion and intensity I mentioned earlier. Mr Lim’s sincerity in touching the audience with music is not something I experience every time I watch performances, even when watching professional groups. This makes me miss making music with my friends even more.