50 pianists working hard at playing in sync

TEN-year-old Bryzlyn Sin has flown in from Perth twice just to attend the rehearsals for Sing50.

The mega-concert organised by The Business Times and The Straits Times is less than three weeks away - and everyone from the performers to the technical crew are excited, but also anxious to pull off an unforgettable show before an audience of 45,000.

Sin, who lives in Perth with her Singaporean parents, is among the 50 pianists who will perform on as many Steinway-designed baby grand pianos in the finale of the concert, led by international star Lang Lang.

Together with the Metropolitan Festival Orchestra, the pianists will play some of Singapore's best-loved songs from the past 50 years, including the 1980s TV series tune Kopi O, Gingerbread's 1985 smash-hit Roses and the popular National Day Parade song Home.

Sin said: "I'd never heard these songs before until now, but I really like some of them, especially Home."

Like her, many of the young participants of Sing50 are grateful for the opportunity to be exposed to the country's rich musical legacy.

Sing50 has gathered Singapore's most popular musicians, including JJ Lin, Stefanie Sun, Dick Lee, Rani Singham, Ramli Sarip and Jeremy Monteiro, to perform at the National Stadium on Aug 7.

Sin, who was selected from among hundreds of hopefuls who had sent in audition tapes, said:

"It's really exciting because I've never done anything like this before. I don't even mind having to fly in from Perth every time we're called in for the rehearsals."

The rehearsals have not been a walk in the park. The biggest challenge, say many of the pianists, has been in ensuring that they are all on the same page in the way the songs are interpreted.

Clarence Lee, a Yong Siew Toh Conservatory piano graduate student, said: "We all have to play together in one single style. That's hard.

"The fact that there are 50 pianists performing at the same time is extremely rare. Usually, pianists perform alone or in an orchestra - so the challenges for Sing50 are unique and new to all of us... I don't think I'll ever see this again in my lifetime."

Apart from the Singapore tunes, the pianists will play a specially commissioned piece by local composer Kelly Tang.

Putting 50 grand pianos on stage together to mark Singapore's 50th anniversary was the brainchild of Celine Goh, the general manager of Steinway Gallery Singapore. She had raised the idea with The Business Times editor Alvin Tay, who liked the idea.

Ms Goh said: "It's logistically very challenging because we've never done anything like this. We've had to fly in six Steinway-trained piano tuners from China, get four trucks with hydraulic lift platforms and 40 movers to transport these pianos around."

On Aug 4, after the 50 pianos have arrived at the National Stadium, the tuners will have between 4am and 9am to tune all of them, and also the Singapore Red Steinway Concert Grand D piano that Lang Lang will be playing on.

She added: "This is quite simply one of the most ambitious piano events ever in the history of Singapore." After Sing50, the pianos will be adopted by schools which have signalled their commitment to teaching their students the musical heritage of Singapore.

While most among the 50 pianists are Singaporeans, eager to be part of the country's golden jubilee celebrations, there are also a handful of non-Singaporeans in the group.

One of them is Pierre Olivier, a 42-year-old bank portfolio manager from France, who has lived here with his wife and children for two years.

He said: "I like this country very much. I like the weather, the food, the people and the fact that it's safe and clean. It is why I auditioned to be one of the 50 pianists so I could join in the celebrations of its 50th birthday."