Building a canon of Singapore music

THE Foundation For The Arts & Social Enterprise is carrying out an ambitious commissioning series for the creation, performance, recording and promotion of 10 full-length Singapore music pieces, which it hopes to export to the rest of the world.

The pieces range in genre, from classical and Chinese orchestra to rock and jazz. And the participating musicians will be drawn largely, if not exclusively, from Singapore.

Michael Tay, founder and executive director of The Foundation, says: "We're hoping to develop an entire ecosystem, involving everyone from the artists to the patrons, to bring forth a Singapore sound that can be played on the stages of the world. We want to systematically build a canon of Singapore music for the first time.

"Unlike most commissions, we'll see through the whole process from start to finish. Other commissions might stop at a certain point. And, as a result, the piece may not get played anymore after its debut. But we are hoping to remedy that, so that the music lives on long after it is performed live."

The first commission is already in the works: A 30-minute classical piece composed by Cultural Medallion recipient Kelly Tang, to be performed by approximately 70 musicians of the Metropolitan Festival Orchestra.

For inspiration, Dr Tang turned to the artworks in National Gallery Singapore by Singapore and Singapore-born artists, such as Han Sai Por, Simryn Gill, Sarkasi Said and Eng Tow. Each artwork represents a specific theme, which Dr Tang will spin from to create a music work.

He says: "I hope that by doing so, the music will reach out not just to lovers of classical music, but lovers of visual art as well."

Dr Tang's compositions have been performed by world-renowned ensembles such as the Russian National Orchestra, the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Minguet Quartett in Germany, and the Ensemble Contemporain de Montreal. In Singapore, his music is regularly performed by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and the Singapore Chinese Orchestra.

After his commission debuts in 2023, The Foundation will carry on with other commissions in other musical genres, including rock, jazz and stage musical.

For Mr Tay, a dream creation would be something akin to Pink Floyd's rock opera The Wall, which he describes as "music that can cross all borders and appeal to listeners of all ages and persuasions."

The Foundation will seek major funding Patrons for each of the works in this undertaking. The costs will cover the commissioning, staging of the concert premiere, as well as promoting the commissioned works overseas.

The promotion includes the lobbying of international orchestras to perform the works, as well as identifying opportunities through Singapore agencies stationed overseas and foreign partners to restage the works in key cultural cities.

Mr Tay, who is also the founder of the long-running Singapore International Jazz Festival (also known as Sing Jazz), says: "We need music to uplift the country and refocus Singaporeans' sights on the future... We had actually started planning for the series three to four years ago. But the pandemic had delayed its launch. Paradoxically, the pandemic has also now given the project a renewed sense of purpose."