Never a dull moment at Sunburst 2018

HAILED of as "one of Singapore's finest musicians", 26-year-old pianist Azariah Tan, who has only 15 per cent of his hearing left, took to the stage at the Sunburst: The Business Times-CapitaLand Fundraising Concert last Thursday, lending his talent alongside other performers in aid of the muscular dystrophy community and financially-disadvantaged students of the School of the Arts (SOTA).

That night, S$250,000 was raised for beneficiaries of the Muscular Dystrophy Association of Singapore and the SOTA Student Assistance Fund. Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin was the guest of honour.

As one of the opening acts, Azariah showed his mettle with Chopin's complex Grande Polonaise Brillante in E Flat, Op 22, playing out the last notes with a flourish.

The 350-strong crowd at the SOTA concert hall remained thoroughly entertained through the night by the likes of 16-year-old Nur Izad Hamzah Azman, who took the audience's breath away with rapid beatboxing tricks, and Singaporean musician and wheelchair dancesport pair Andy Ang and Julie Chong, who blazed across the stage to the Shakira hit Waka Waka.

Organised by The Business Times and presented by CapitaLand Hope Foundation, the philanthropic arm of CapitaLand, the concert was produced by Global Cultural Alliance, a non-profit arts and culture organisation, and curated by artistic director Jeremiah Choy.

Main sponsors OCBC Bank and Standard Chartered Bank, as well as other corporate donors like DBS, OSIM International, PropNex Realty, StarHub and Straco Corporation Limited, and individual donors supported the initiative.