Raffles Press

Commentary, Notes from the Underground

FEEL: Mental Health Awareness Week 2018
Reading Time: 10 minutes

By Mabel Yet (19S03Q) and Varun Karthik (19S06A)
Photos courtesy of Kathryn Oei (19A01A) from Raffles Photographic Society

In a perfectly ordered universe, we would hop out of our beds each morning at the keen ringing of our alarms. We’d buzz with energy as we attend all of our lectures and produce top-notch grades almost effortlessly. And we’d never break or buckle even under mounting pressure.

On the surface, it seems like everyone has got their act together, as we are expected to have. Having been blessed with so many privileges–from having a proper education to not having to worry about your next meal–it’s only expected that our lives ought to be impeccable and Oh So Wonderful. Yet, it is these expectations that have shrouded the difficult topic of mental health in shadow.

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Commentary, Op-Eds

Self-help: Comforting Chicken Soup or Cold Celery Soup?
Reading Time: 7 minutes

By Zacchaeus Chok (18S03O)

Whenever I go to the bookstore, my go-to section is the self-help section. In particular, I often seek out advice from personal management and pop psychology books, a subgenre that incorporates simplified psychological concepts. This is not because I am in constant existential dread or that I am a hapless victim mired in a socio-emotional muddle. Rather, I find a peculiar comfort in flipping through the array of self-help books.

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Commentary

Sombre on Strings: A Rendition by Raffles Chamber Ensemble
Reading Time: 5 minutes

By Calista Chong (18A01A) and Wong Zi Yang (19A01D)

On 12 May, Raffles Chamber Ensemble held its annual concert, titled Sombre, in Lecture Theatre 2. Although its title conveyed melancholy, the atmosphere of the lecture theatre was anything but so – it was abuzz with the chatter of an audience not dreading the start of a lecture, but anticipating the mellifluous music of string instruments to fill the hall.

The concert kicked off with the descent of a projector screen, as Raffles Chamber Ensemble assembled backstage, readying themselves to make the audience’s Saturday afternoon nothing short of splendid.

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Commentary

Chinese Orchestra ‘18: Cascade
Reading Time: 6 minutes

By Wong Zi Yang (19A01D) and Nicole Chan (19S05A)
Photos courtesy of Raffles Photographic Society

If you were to mention ‘Chinese’ to anyone, the likely response would be one of disgust, such as ‘ew, no need take Chinese already lah!’

So what would one expect for the turnout at a Chinese Orchestra concert? Surprisingly, quite a large one. Raffles Institution Chinese Orchestra’s ‘Cascade’, performed on 4th May at the Singapore Chinese Orchestra Hall, enriched the night with soulful music.

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Commentary

RIPE Concert ‘18: The Missing Piece
Reading Time: 5 minutes

By Zhu Xiuhua (18S06A), Wong Zi Yang (19A01D), and Yoon Shwe Yee (19S03B)
Photos courtesy of Raffles Photographic Society

This year, the theme for the Raffles Institution Piano Ensemble (RIPE) concert was “The Missing Piece” – containing elements of time and travel, which were the themes for the 2016 and 2017 RIPE concerts respectively. During the concert, the audience was taken on a journey through the baroque era, the classical era, the romantic era, and the modern era to appreciate the soulful ensemble of piano music across different time periods.

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