By Benjamin Liew (20A03A) and Ng Jing Ting (20A13A)
Photos courtesy of Celine Chung (20S06H) of Raffles Photographic Society

Last year’s instalment of Vocal Delights having proved no less than a resounding success, Raffles Chorale came through once again this year with their annual a cappella charity concert Volaré. Gracing the Performing Arts Centre (PAC) with their melodious voices on December 13, the 30-odd members displayed extraordinary musicianship and synergy as they shed the conservative image of a chorus and blew the audience away with their repertoire, which included top hits from pop singer Shawn Mendes, and Pentatonix. With all proceeds to Habitat for Humanity, their partner organisation for the fourth year running, the combined warmth of humanitarianism and wonderful music by Raffles Chorale truly brought to the audience the most wonderful time of the year.

By Valerie Tan (20A01E) and Emily Ni (20S03C)
Photographs courtesy of Raffles Photographic Society

Before walking into Albert Hong Hall on 7 December 2019, we’d just eaten a whole box of popcorn in the span of twenty minutes, and thought life couldn’t get any better than that.

Then Raffles Symphonic Band decided to prove us wrong.

It started when the members began strutting out with their instruments, lowering the hubbub of the supportive crowd to a murmur as they signalled the beginning of the concert. Sporting snazzy suits and ties (even colour-coded by section!), they looked positively grand, prepared to blow the audience away with their performances. As the lights dimmed, the emcees came out on stage to open the concert, and we settled in for what was about to be a night of pure entertainment.

By Sophia He (20S03H) and Valerie Tan (20A01E)
Photos courtesy of Raffles Photographic Society

The Oxford dictionary defines being homesick as “experiencing a longing for one’s home during a period of absence from it”. Raffles Players, in their year-end production of 2019, defines homesick as “a dysfunctional family stuck under one roof for 10 days due to a SARS quarantine”. In this adaptation of Alfian Sa’at’s 2006 play Homesick, Raffles Players brought together the complex weave of family and ancestry, kinship and brotherhood, identity and belonging, to deliver their audience two nights of contagious fun in our very own Theatre Studies and Drama Room (TSD). Continue reading “Homesick: On Longing and Belonging” →

By Claire Tan (20S07A) and Val Yeo (20S03O)
Photos courtesy of Jiang Jin Liang (19S06N) from Raffles Photographic Society

CLDCS’ (Chinese Language Drama and Cultural Society) 2019 production, titled 擦肩同行 (cā jiān tóng xíng), left many scratching their heads. What does it mean to “rub shoulders” with another and yet still walk the same path as them? The English title, “Voyage”, left further questions in its wake—how were the two titles related?

These questions would soon be answered in a dazzling display of the best CLDCS had to offer, delivered through drama, music and art. On the 24th of May at the Performing Arts Centre (PAC), two plays, ten songs and multiple calligraphy pieces were immaculately presented to make for an unforgettable showcase.

By Jerome Tay (20S06Q) and Ng Jing Ting (20A13A)
Photos courtesy of Geng Heqin (20S06S) and Xanelle Tan (20S03M) of Raffles Photographic Society

“When you think of music…the last thing you’d think of is your school band, no name, no glam and zero monies.” This tongue-in-cheek self-introduction by Raffles Symphonic Band (RSB), which featured in this year’s edition of CCA Previews, could not have inspired more incredulity from audience members who were present on the night of A Tempo XXVIII. Held on 24 May 2019 at Victoria Concert Hall, RSB’s annual concert veered away from the typical narrative of mediocre showmanship and esoteric tunes to promise an evening of exceptional musicianship and heart-warming (occasionally heart-wrenching) melodies.