InTempo 2019: Of Music and Hope
90 minutes, 15 minutes intermission
Please be seated at least 15 minutes before the programme begins.
Event closed
In this iteration of the long-running series, NUS Wind Symphony (NUSWS) explores how music exists not only for pleasure but also to evoke emotions and motivations within us. Featuring works inspired by personal experiences and stories of hope, NUSWS will be presenting James Barnes’ Third Symphony and Satoshi Yagisawa’s Hymn to the Sun . NUSWS will also premiere a new composition by Lim Wen Liang (Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music) on PVC pipes together with wind instruments.
Francis Tan
NUS Wind Symphony
Francis Tan
Music Director & Resident Conductor
Francis Huan Chun Tan received his Master of Music (Conducting) (2017) from the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory, National University of Singapore. He obtained his Bachelor of Music from Australian National University (2003).
He is currently Music Director of the National University of Singapore Wind Symphony and Band Director of the Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble. He also conducts the National University of Singapore Alumni Orchestra (NAO) and is Assistant Conductor of West Winds, Band of the Bukit Batok Community Club. His all-encompassing mission as a conductor is to inject classical and wind band music into Singapore’s cultural DNA in varying capacities. To this end, he contributes extensively to the music field through coaching and conducting bands and orchestras at community arenas. He was guest conductor for the Orchestra of the Music Makers (OMM) (2017) and the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory Orchestra (2015/2017). At the national level, he has been frequently invited as clinician for the Wind Bands Association Youth Band Festivals (2014-2017). He is also a frequently sought after Conductor/Presenter for a range of music concerts, including various outreach orchestral concerts for diverse audiences, like the ‘Nurturing with Nature: Centre for Fathering Charity Concert’ (2016) ‘If Instruments Could Speak, What Would They Say?’ (2016) and ‘Yong Siew Toh Conservatory Children’s Concert’ (2016).
His tenure with the National University of Singapore Wind Symphony has also seen the band clinch the First Prize Gold Award in Division 2 of the 2017 World Music Contest held in the Netherlands. His passion is in developing student leadership through involvement in band programmes which emphasise on character development through music-making. His belief that each band student can be a student leader in his or her own right has fuelled his development of distinctive yet holistic band curricula which are responsive to the demands of the evolving education and music landscape.
He is also the executive committee member of the Wind Bands Association of Singapore since 2008 and has pioneered programmes at the national level for student leadership in youth wind bands and orchestras.
NUS Wind Symphony
Since its inception in 1968, the NUS Wind Symphony (NUSWS) has established itself as one of the premier wind orchestras in Singapore. Boasting an illustrious history, the wind orchestra places its emphasis on creating quality music with a wide range of quality repertoire of varying difficulty – from orchestral transcriptions to modern band music.
From its humble beginnings as a military band, NUSWS has since grown from strength to strength, playing works of increasing depth and sophistication under the baton of its Resident Conductor, Mr Francis Tan.
As one of the pioneering bands in Singapore, NUSWS also aims to produce world class musicians who have a fine appreciation for the arts and who will lead the arts scene both locally and internationally. NUSWS performs two concerts every year Da Capo in October featuring freshmen talents, and InTempo, Singapore’s longest running concert series, in March and has participated in several music festivals and competitions overseas.