“ We had to put in a lot of effort into this and took a very long time to finally play the notes or knock the guitar at the right timings .”
LUMEN | LESSONS FROM THE SPORTS & THE ARTS
Guitar Ensemble ’ s performers exuding confidence , eager to put on a spectacular performance .
“ We had to put in a lot of effort into this and took a very long time to finally play the notes or knock the guitar at the right timings .”
Our Performing Arts CCAs impressed at this year ’ s Singapore Youth Festival Arts Presentation ! After much preparation and countless rehearsals , the members of the Guitar Ensemble , Vocal Ensemble , Drama Club , and the Symphonic Band excelled , clinching multiple Distinction Awards for their performances .
Guitar Ensemble attained a Distinction for their rendition of Jounetsu Tairiku , composed by Taro Hakase . Their performance stretched the guitar as an instrument , incorporating percussion into their piece . It was not easy to coordinate , as Dylan Wong Kwang Yi recalls , “ We had to put in a lot of effort into this and took a very long time to finally play the notes or knock the guitar at the right timings .” Nonetheless , their efforts paid off , earning them a standing ovation at the School of the Arts Singapore .
Tension was in the air during the warm-up at SOTA , but the SJI Vocal Ensemble in their timeless blacks stood tall and strong .
Similarly , SJI ’ s Vocal Ensemble also achieved a Distinction with their three pieces : De Profundis Clamavi , Bushes and Briars , and Morning Rain , after months of hard work . Jaden Lee Zhi Jie recounts being deeply struck by the meaning of the first piece in particular , when he was told the English translation of the title - “ From the Depths I Cried Out ”. “ Our conductor always tells us to imagine what it would be like to be the subject of this song , the person who ’ s crying out from the depths ,” Jaden reflects . Unfortunately , crisis struck shortly before the performance . The outbreak of a COVID-19 cluster a week before the performance threw a spanner in the works , and practice sessions had to be postponed to prevent other performers from falling sick . Thankfully , most of the infected students recovered in time to perform , and their hard work and dedication showed through in the end .
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