By Huang Hancheng (26S05B) and Koh Shin Robbie (26A01A)
Saturday, 20th April: we recalled as we left home for RJCO’s “繁星: Constellations” concert amidst sunny skies and hot weather. Having been granted backstage access for this performance, we were particularly excited to get a behind-the-scenes view of the orchestra, and had high hopes for the concert.
That was until we exited the gates of Esplanade MRT station. The sky was grey and miserable, and the sticky, humid air would make your skin itchy and insufferable. By the time we arrived at the Esplanade Outdoor Theatre, the rain had become unrelenting, while people were frantically evacuating instruments and equipment indoors.
In the indoor dressing room, tired, uninterested faces filled the area. The performers were either playing Brawl Stars or doing math tutorials; anything but rehearsing. Somebody told us that they’d been rehearsing since that morning, and if the rain didn’t subside by the next hour, the concert would have to be canceled. He seemed pitiful, but there was nothing he could do. We knew how hard they had worked to make the concert possible – our friends from CO had been griping about the endless rehearsals that stretched till the late night for the past week, on top of their SYF performance. But what if it were truly canceled and their hard work was all in vain? It broke our hearts thinking of that possibility.
Some volunteers and guest performers we met recounted excitedly about nostalgic memories of the “good old days” – practicing and spending time with their CO bandmates. It was a special day for them. To reunite with friends they had greatly missed, and play music as a diverse (the group consisted of many RI/RGS juniors and alumni!) yet unified Raffles Chinese Orchestra, at the picturesque Esplanade Outdoor Theatre. Thank goodness, a glimmer of hope arose as the rain ostensibly stopped a half-hour before the concert.
Afterwards, we were racing up and down the corridor, catching anybody willing to do an interview for this story. As the starting time grew close, many were busy carrying huge instruments to and fro, or yelling out instructions from one room to another. We tailed behind the performers, managing to catch the last few seats available at the theatre. Glancing around, we saw many familiar Rafflesian faces, standing and seated. They had been dullened by the prospect of cancellation, and had heaved a sigh of relief upon notice of the concert’s continuation. The weather was on the orchestra’s side too: against the golden sunset, Constellations began, as the audience welcomed the orchestra with resounding applause.
Set One: Constellations
The first set began with 龙腾虎跃: A Well-Matched Fight. With its literal translation of leaping dragons and tigers, the piece was definitely packed with a lot of powerful percussion action. We spoke to Tan Zi Qian, a current RJCO percussion member, on his thoughts on the piece. He shared that the choice of a percussion-heavy piece was rare yet warmly embraced by his section. The choice of repertoire had come as a dilemma for the orchestra. Having to juggle SYF and this concert in the same week, they were hesitant on choosing harder repertoire, but persevered on so as to not disappoint the fans.
Next was 全家福: Happy Family, a solo performed by Preston Ang on the Suona. With accompaniment from Ernest Chee on the Sheng (Y14) and percussionist Jayden Leow, they delivered a piece that encapsulates the essence of traditional Chinese music in a more contemporary form. The trio shared that the preparation for this performance had been “very tiring, but fun”, having practiced at Preston’s home on multiple occasions. Perhaps more funnily, Preston mentioned with a wry look on his face, that his “mouth was too sore from practice, to drink from the Chagee straw”.
The third piece lined up was 云宫迅音: Celestial Symphony. An adaptation of the soundtrack from the sensational video game, Black Myth: Wukong, which in itself had adapted the opening theme of the 1986 television series Journey to the West— a series our parents may have grown up watching. Speaking with Rafflesians in the audience, they felt that a unique aspect of RJCO’s repertoire was its ability to expose contemporary audiences to Chinese music—a key reason they were eager to attend this concert.
Wrapping up Set One was 金莲花: The Golden Lotus. As the orchestra’s choice piece for this year’s SYF, The Golden Lotus held a special place in their hearts—joy, pride, but definitely pain too. Due to its biannual nature, this SYF was their one and only chance, and indeed the orchestra went all in when it came to preparing for it. However, they were faced with a more immediate challenge, manpower. With the limited size of the CCA, performing a full orchestral piece, and holding a full concert, was a big challenge. This was where guest players came in, responding to invitations from friends. Dizi guest player Olivier Lim shared that while he had left CO to pursue new interests in JC, he had dearly missed the times he had with his orchestra mates, and hence thoroughly appreciated the chance to be reunited.
Set Two: A Symphony of Stars
After a short intermission, Set Two reopened to an even larger audience extending beyond the Rafflesian community, as some tourists joined in on the performance. The orchestra began with two section performances, a display of the strong camaraderie and teamwork in the orchestra as its sections worked after hours to make their segments possible. The first, 共鸣: Resonance, was a performance by the Chuiguan section (comprising of Dizi, Sheng and Suona) with percussion accompaniment. The second, 敦煌: Dunhuang, was a collaboration between the Tanbo and Huqin sections. Ending off the ensemble pieces was 采红菱: Picking Red Caltrops, was a performance by the Huqin section.
Ending with a reprise of 云宫迅音: Celestial Symphony, the crowd erupted into applause as friends and family began cheering out the performers’ names, even rushing in to deliver flowers (broccoli was a hot favourite). The fun did not end there though, as the orchestra soon returned to the stage for another two encore pieces!
The first, an adaptation of the viral KPop song, APT, took the audience by storm. No one had expected a Chinese orchestral adaptation of a pop song, let alone a Korean one. The orchestra nailed the piece, even down to the Korean lines before the song. When asked about this, Zhongruan player Wong E Vee shared that the orchestra stayed back the day before to practice the lines over and over, with everyone remaining enthusiastic despite the delay to their post-CCA dinners. These dinners, as we would soon find out, formed a key experience to many members as they got closer with one another after a long day of practice.
The second and final piece was Lemon Tree, a piece which, as some long-time audiences quipped, was a fan favourite of all Raffles Chinese Orchestras in their various performances. Indeed, this piece had been among the very first performed by many Y5s back when they started their CO journey, including Erhu player Alvin Gu. Having been parachuted as a guest player just two weeks before the concert, he shared that despite the challenge, he had accepted the opportunity readily to relive the “good old days of tomfoolery”.
What was initially mostly a gathering of friends and family, had become a huge crowd of passers-by, who stayed and cheered the orchestra on. Maybe it was the grand, magnificent qualities of A Well-Matched Fight or Celestial Symphony which attracted them, or the unique interpretations of pop songs like Lemon Tree or APT that drew them in, we’re not sure.
Conductor Mr. Yang Jiwei had told us earlier that he wished this concert “reached out to diverse audiences, old and young, to be surprised by the beauty of a school Chinese Orchestra”. That was so visibly realised in the smiles and laughter in the audience. Little girls in strollers, grey-haired couples in dress shirts and sweaters, tourists who spoke in foreign tongues incomprehensible to us. That they are able to enjoy this music together, is the beauty of musical expression.
Too often, orchestras are locked in exclusive concert halls, performing only for a select, paying few. It is only natural, they must feed themselves after all. But it truly is a shame that uninitiated audiences lack a space to dip their toes into Chinese orchestral music. Reader, you must understand that if it weren’t for the outdoor, public setting of the concert, most of the audience wouldn’t have known of it. It is only through experiences such as this concert that they may be immersed in the intricacies of traditional instruments, or more simply, the energetic and youthful music on a cold, rainy Saturday night, and only then grow interest in the genre.
The orchestra chose to perform publicly outdoors, and they chose to play modern and unique iterations of tunes instead of upholding ideas of “purity” and “tradition”. Mr. Yang described it as “community outreach”, but it is really an act of love. An act of love not contingent on musical knowledge or affluence, but simply your willingness to listen.
