Ensemble Competition 2019

By:
Isabel Goh Ern Zi (Sr1ScB)
Tan Qing Lin/Photography (Sr1ScB)

On the lovely morning of 11 November, Kuen Cheng High School held its 2^nd Annual Ensemble Competition in the Bank of China Auditorium. After the buzzing students were settled down in their respective seats, no time was wasted as the emcee cued a video which briefed the students of proper audience etiquette. Soon after, the judges of the competition were introduced. On the panel of judges were, pianist Ms Nicole Yap, followed by flautist Mr Patrick Cheng and our own music teachers, Ms Wong Sheau Hui and Mr Sim Wei Yih.

Competing with Beriot’s Duo Concertante Op.57n.3 Allegretto for two violins, the first team, Dragon and Phoenix delivered their piece calmly even though there was a lack of togetherness. Next up was team Rafflesia, a zhongruan duo, who presented Drawing Water Up the Hill. Their rendition of this originally powerful and dynamic track delivered was rather bland due to a slight loss regarding their technique though it provided another perspective in terms of the genre of music. The Trumpet Brothers were introduced next, presenting the infamous Japanese track Zen Zen Zense from the animated film, Your Name arranged for trumpet trio. Although the selection of music was ideal, the team lacked confidence which ultimately led to the loss of essence in terms of musicality. Classical music was reintroduced to the audience following the trumpet trio in the form of Mozart’s String Quartet k157’s 1^st Movement by team Let It Go. Despite their whimsical group name, the team members cooperated well to deliver this light-hearted composition.

The team KC Saxophonist ’19 then picked up the pace with their rendition of the legendary song Bohemian Rhapsody arranged for saxophone sextet. Known for being hard to cover, this song gained its reputation partly because it isn’t limited to one genre in its entire six and a half minutes. Our mesmerising saxophonists on stage were able to pull it off through continuous effort to work on their intonation, phrasing, articulation and other musical elements. After that, modern pop music was presented by team Steady Gang. Being a band comprising of piano, two guitars and a cajon, they performed a self-arranged medley of Lemon Tree, Photograph, There’s Nothing Holding Me Back and Castle on the Hill, and other pop songs. While they (the different instrumenst) took turns carrying the melody, the arrangement was not well-written enough to do the piano justice.  The 7^th group of the day, The Never Withering Flower, was a brass quintet consisting of two trumpets, a French horn, a trombone and a tuba. Before presenting their piece, Tchaikovsky’s Waltz of the Flowers, one of their teammates made a rose appear out of thin air in line with their theme- flowers. Following that was a smooth rendition of Yosuke Fukuda and Melanie Yamada’s Sakura Song-Five by a clarinet quintet, Clar-quintet. Their group name was a combination of clarinet and quintet. Presenting last for the day was team Sambacussion. With perfect harmony and groove, the team delivered a fun, interactive and perfect rendition of Street Samba composed by Jayne Groves and Matt Moore.

While the judges discussed on the participants performance, the students were given the opportunity to watch two videos, the first a video of a traditional Chinese folk song performance and the second a video of Singapore’s Teng Ensemble, a music group which combines eastern and western instruments to perform a variety of music. As soon as the judges came to a conclusion, prizes and certificates were given out to the winners of the day by our Vice Principal, Ms Koo Lai Ping. Shouts of joy and applause filled the call to congratulate the winners and participants of the competition