City of Dreams
A Symphonic Suite for Wind Orchestra
Commissioned by the Band Directors' Association (Singapore)
for 20 Years of Band Music Education in Singapore
CITY OF DREAMS (A Symphonic Suite for Wind Orchestra) was commissioned by the Band Director’s Association (Singapore) for its 20th Anniversary celebration concert. This three-movement work aims to symbolise and celebrate our on-going vibrant band scene while remembering our past and our history.
I. Fanfare ‘Awakening of Dawn’
The fanfare begins with the motivic idea from the opening of the late Mr Leong Yoon Pin’s ‘Daybreak and Sunrise’, Singapore’s first commissioned SYF Indoor Band Central Judging 1992 set piece that is no doubt an important milestone work in Singapore’s band history. Its motif is used as the main melodic material for this opening movement and signifies the start of our Singaporean dreams.
II. Intermezzo ‘Remembrance’
The Intermezzo is written in remembrance of Singapore’s founding Prime Minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, who initiated the ‘Band Project’ in 1966 for both Primary and Secondary Schools.
This movement opens with percussive sounds that recall the rain when Singapore had its first National Day Parade in 1966. The familiar opening phrase of our National Anthem ‘Majulah Singapura’ is then heard in chorale-style before a solo trumpet introduces the main theme of the movement using the first four notes of the anthem. An off-stage bugler (trumpeter) plays a fragment of the ‘Last Post’, paying tribute to the life of the late Mr Lee. The composition then develops further with a lyrical ballad by a solo euphonium, an instrument played by our Prime Minister Mr Lee Hsien Loong when he was in the Catholic High School band. This musical gesture symbolises our recognition of Mr Lee's role in leading our nation forward.
As the movement progresses to the end, a motif from the Malaysia’s National Anthem is heard and is immediately followed by the familiar ‘Majulah Singapura’ fanfare, reminding us of our separation from Malaysia in 1965. The ‘Majulah’ chorale returns and is followed by 5 strikes on the tubular bells representing our 50 years of independence. The off-stage bugler then plays the opening of the ‘Rouse’, an important symbolic ‘call back to duties’ usually played in military funeral and remembrance services after the ‘Last Post’. The sounds of the rain return, this time reminding us of the day the nation sent the late Mr Lee off on his final journey. The movement closes with a final musical gesture - the three notes 'B-D-A' on the tubular bells representing the signing off of this tribute by the Band Directors’ Association (BDA).
III. March ‘Riding That Rainbow’
From the closure of the previous movement emerges a distant drumbeat - it is the onward march of our nation. Snippets of familiar motives are heard throughout the march and highlight parts of our Singapore band story. This march aims to show our thriving and energetic band scene as we look towards a promising future!
I. Fanfare ‘Awakening of Dawn’
The fanfare begins with the motivic idea from the opening of the late Mr Leong Yoon Pin’s ‘Daybreak and Sunrise’, Singapore’s first commissioned SYF Indoor Band Central Judging 1992 set piece that is no doubt an important milestone work in Singapore’s band history. Its motif is used as the main melodic material for this opening movement and signifies the start of our Singaporean dreams.
II. Intermezzo ‘Remembrance’
The Intermezzo is written in remembrance of Singapore’s founding Prime Minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, who initiated the ‘Band Project’ in 1966 for both Primary and Secondary Schools.
This movement opens with percussive sounds that recall the rain when Singapore had its first National Day Parade in 1966. The familiar opening phrase of our National Anthem ‘Majulah Singapura’ is then heard in chorale-style before a solo trumpet introduces the main theme of the movement using the first four notes of the anthem. An off-stage bugler (trumpeter) plays a fragment of the ‘Last Post’, paying tribute to the life of the late Mr Lee. The composition then develops further with a lyrical ballad by a solo euphonium, an instrument played by our Prime Minister Mr Lee Hsien Loong when he was in the Catholic High School band. This musical gesture symbolises our recognition of Mr Lee's role in leading our nation forward.
As the movement progresses to the end, a motif from the Malaysia’s National Anthem is heard and is immediately followed by the familiar ‘Majulah Singapura’ fanfare, reminding us of our separation from Malaysia in 1965. The ‘Majulah’ chorale returns and is followed by 5 strikes on the tubular bells representing our 50 years of independence. The off-stage bugler then plays the opening of the ‘Rouse’, an important symbolic ‘call back to duties’ usually played in military funeral and remembrance services after the ‘Last Post’. The sounds of the rain return, this time reminding us of the day the nation sent the late Mr Lee off on his final journey. The movement closes with a final musical gesture - the three notes 'B-D-A' on the tubular bells representing the signing off of this tribute by the Band Directors’ Association (BDA).
III. March ‘Riding That Rainbow’
From the closure of the previous movement emerges a distant drumbeat - it is the onward march of our nation. Snippets of familiar motives are heard throughout the march and highlight parts of our Singapore band story. This march aims to show our thriving and energetic band scene as we look towards a promising future!
SINGAPORE YOUTH FESTIVAL 2016
28 March - 01 April, 04 April 2016
Singapore Conference Hall
Set Piece Commissioned by the Arts Education Branch, Ministry of Education
for the Singapore Youth Festival 2016 Arts Presentation for Concert/Brass Bands (Primary School Level)
Future of Tomorrow
(Concert March)
Video Score: Wind Band Version | This demo video may only be used for educational purpose.
British-style Brass Band Version | Recording session with the Lion City Brass Band at Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music Concert Hall, Singapore.
Future of Tomorrow (Concert March) is commissioned by the Arts Education Branch of the Ministry of Education as the set piece for the Singapore Youth Festival Arts Presentation for Concert and Brass Bands (Primary Level) 2016. Although written at Grade 2, the music actually sounds more advanced than this grade level. The march uses brief excerpts from well-known Malay folk songs, Katak Lompat and Rasa Sayang as a sectional theme by itself and a bridging motif respectively.
Our youths are indeed our future of tomorrow. This joyful-themed march aims to bring out the best in each of the young players and is hoped that students, band directors and audiences will enjoy preparing, performing and listening to the work.
Our youths are indeed our future of tomorrow. This joyful-themed march aims to bring out the best in each of the young players and is hoped that students, band directors and audiences will enjoy preparing, performing and listening to the work.
For purchase of the music:
FUTURE OF TOMORROW (Concert March for Wind Band)
FUTURE OF TOMORROW (Concert March for Brass Band)
FUTURE OF TOMORROW (Concert March for Wind Band)
FUTURE OF TOMORROW (Concert March for Brass Band)
2016's NEWEST!
CHOPSUEY! Scherzo for Clarinet & Wind Ensemble
Commissioned by the Singapore Wind Symphony for John Bruce Yeh, Assistant Principal Clarinetist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Commissioned by the Singapore Wind Symphony for John Bruce Yeh, Assistant Principal Clarinetist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
CHOPSUEY! is a scherzo ('joke') with a whirlwind of musical clichés that bring to mind the heritage of America, elements of Chinese culture and also music written for the versatile Clarinet, beloved in many musical genres. Many absurd stereotypes are really like "Chopsuey" - a dish made popular by Chinese takeaways all over America but in fact does not exist in Chinese cuisine at all, ironically, making it very American indeed. I hope that when listeners giggle at the recognisable bits, they remember that stereotypes are often false representations of reality. While we may all be guilty of them from time to time, they should be taken with a healthy pinch of salt so that we can enjoy, with open hearts and minds, the wonders and experiences that the infinite variety of nations, places, cultures and music can bring to our lives.
Contact the composer for purchase and performance details.
Contact the composer for purchase and performance details.
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REDHILL
A Symphonic Folklore for Wind Orchestra
Publisher: BenWorks Creation | Grade 4.5
World Premiere (Taoyuan, Taiwan 2014)
Performed by the Singapore Wind Symphony and conducted by Adrian Tan:
Performed by the Singapore Wind Symphony and conducted by Adrian Tan:
Concert Review
Joe Burgstaller and the Singapore Wind Symphony
07 Sept. 2014, Victoria Concert Hall, Singapore.
“‘Redhill: A Symphonic Folklore’ was commissioned by the SWS for their Taiwan Tour 2014, at which Tan conducted its world premiere. The Singaporean composer Benjamin Yeo may look like a bashful schoolboy, until you realise that he is 29 and already well established on the international band circuit. Yeo has appeared at the prestigious Midwest Clinic in Chicago, and his compositions are published by the shakers and movers on both sides of the Atlantic: C.L. Barnhouse in the U.S., and Beriato/De Haske/Hal Leonard in Europe. A strong narrative element pervades ‘Redhill’, following an old Malay legend from pre-colonial Singapore: a boy’s intelligent plan saved villagers from swordfish attacks, but attracted the paranoid jealousy of the Sultan who ordered his murder. As the boy died, his blood painted the hill red. To bring this tale to life, Yeo […] injected ethnic influences that reflect the ancient roots of the island: the sounds of the Indonesian suling, an end-blown bamboo flute, and the Javanese gamelan. A middle passage with piano accompaniment was reminiscent of the melancholic style of xinyao, a sub-genre of Chinese pop ballads written by local singers in the eighties. All these elements were woven into a fabric that is ostensibly identifiable as “Barnhouse music”: an unspoken compositional format common to most pieces published by C.L. Barnhouse, geared towards ease of learning by school bands, and graded to allow for technical challenges for more advanced bands. While this ensured that the work remained accessible to both performer and audience by tapping into a familiar framework, Yeo also introduced a unique “Singaporean” flavour that is attractive and instantly recognisable. Well done, Benjamin!”
Source: The Flying Inkpot
“Benjamin Yeo’s Redhill – A Symphonic Folklore was a well-conceived piece of programme music which retold the ancient story of Bukit Merah and how a school of killer swordfish was repelled. His facility with lyricism, notably in the pivotal oboe solo, showed that he could be writing Broadway musicals pretty soon.”
Source: The Straits Times review by Chang Tou Liang (08 Sept. 2014)
07 Sept. 2014, Victoria Concert Hall, Singapore.
“‘Redhill: A Symphonic Folklore’ was commissioned by the SWS for their Taiwan Tour 2014, at which Tan conducted its world premiere. The Singaporean composer Benjamin Yeo may look like a bashful schoolboy, until you realise that he is 29 and already well established on the international band circuit. Yeo has appeared at the prestigious Midwest Clinic in Chicago, and his compositions are published by the shakers and movers on both sides of the Atlantic: C.L. Barnhouse in the U.S., and Beriato/De Haske/Hal Leonard in Europe. A strong narrative element pervades ‘Redhill’, following an old Malay legend from pre-colonial Singapore: a boy’s intelligent plan saved villagers from swordfish attacks, but attracted the paranoid jealousy of the Sultan who ordered his murder. As the boy died, his blood painted the hill red. To bring this tale to life, Yeo […] injected ethnic influences that reflect the ancient roots of the island: the sounds of the Indonesian suling, an end-blown bamboo flute, and the Javanese gamelan. A middle passage with piano accompaniment was reminiscent of the melancholic style of xinyao, a sub-genre of Chinese pop ballads written by local singers in the eighties. All these elements were woven into a fabric that is ostensibly identifiable as “Barnhouse music”: an unspoken compositional format common to most pieces published by C.L. Barnhouse, geared towards ease of learning by school bands, and graded to allow for technical challenges for more advanced bands. While this ensured that the work remained accessible to both performer and audience by tapping into a familiar framework, Yeo also introduced a unique “Singaporean” flavour that is attractive and instantly recognisable. Well done, Benjamin!”
Source: The Flying Inkpot
“Benjamin Yeo’s Redhill – A Symphonic Folklore was a well-conceived piece of programme music which retold the ancient story of Bukit Merah and how a school of killer swordfish was repelled. His facility with lyricism, notably in the pivotal oboe solo, showed that he could be writing Broadway musicals pretty soon.”
Source: The Straits Times review by Chang Tou Liang (08 Sept. 2014)
Photographs shown on this page are taken by Tan Zexun