Resonance

Presented by the St Gabriel's Symphonic Band

Wednesday, 15th August 2007
Victoria Concert Hall, 7.30pm

Concert Programme:

Main Band
Danse Bacchanale
Hanover Festival
Lux Aurumque
I Need To Be In Love
Stayin' Alive

Vocal Ensemble
Lennon McCartney Medley
Caturog Na Nonoy
Tsugaru Jongara Bushi
Insomniac
Sixteen Tons
You are loved

Percussion Ensemble
Razzle, Dazzle and Rock

Main Band
Mainstreet celebrations
For the Fallen
Symphonic Suite Miss Saigon

As I entered the hall I was not surprised to find the hall quite packed which seemed to be a full house. The band was already on the stage and they were keeping their instruments warm by playing. Without waiting too long, the second bell went and the concert began.

The band started with “Danse Bacchanale” which started with a small hiccup but was none the less impressive with good accuracy of the theme of the song itself. The Arabic themes were well played with a good feel. On the overall there was good balance, some good intonation. The piece made good use of the Arabic scales which were well interpreted by the band. The end was pleasant and was a good start for the concert.

The second piece “Hanover Festival” had a good mix of themes and the band had pleasant tuning and clear intonation. Good job on the part of the flutes for synchrony. It was controlled and was played with good expression.

Guest conductor Gillian Mackay soon took over the baton and led the band in the soothing and relaxing piece “Lux Aurumque”. The clarinets put up a good show and the band was quite synchronized and expressive. There were a few intonation problems here but overall, a good try.

The next piece made fans of the Carpenters rejoice. A stunning saxophone solo with fabulous expression and good intonation was without a doubt the highlight of the following piece, “I need to be in love”. The soloist had seriously made it a point to enjoy himself. The band on the whole had a good intonation but the balance was a little bit off as the soloist was at a few parts, drowned by the band. The band also cleverly used a bass guitar to supplement this piece as well as for the next one, “Stayin’ Alive”.

“Stayin’ Alive” did very well to showcase the talent of the band. With the addition of a retro dancer and funky lights, the ambience was superb. It felt like I was back at the age of jive! The percussions did a very good job and the first half of the concert was ended with a thunderous applause.

Next up was the St Gabriel’s Vocal Ensemble. Now as we all know, before one could play an instrument one had to be able to sing first!

The vocal ensemble was a great treat as their synchronized movements and almost pitch-perfect vocals were well executed. I applaud their alumni for trying that otherwise difficult acapella piece; it was considerably well done. Their last piece ended off with encouraging applause and I felt that it was so well done that it was actually tingling my nerves! I enjoyed this one the most of all their pieces.

Next up was the percussion ensemble with their piece “Razzle,Dazzle and Rock”, I felt it was quite well done and the group had a very good contrast in regards to volume and feel.

The band then approached the final three pieces of the concert. The next two pieces were under the baton of Mr Jeremy Chua, an Alumnus of the band. The piece “Mainstreet Celebration” was done with good synchrony and had good intonation on the part of the flautists. There was a slight tuning problem but it was negligible. The piece concluded nicely and led to the next piece, “For the fallen”.

The piece was composed in the memory of those who died on September 11, 2001. The band played with good intonation and clearly portrayed the macabre events of the day. The piece had various themes highlighting the qualities of the people who died that day. The band seemed very absorbed by this piece and did it quite well.

For the last piece, “Symphonic Suite Miss Saigon”, the use of an authentic Vietnamese flute helped to better express the colours of Vietnam in the arrangement of the piece. The band was exceptional at creating the atmosphere at most parts and especially so in the battle segment. It actually felt like I was watching the battle of Saigon unfold before my eyes. This piece ended nicely and to applause and shouts of encore!

Without much ado, the encore was played. Pirates of the Caribbean, being an already famous movie helped to make the encore piece something worth watching. The band played the highlights from the movie which seemed to be a clear reminiscent of the show itself. The final piece was indeed the ‘cherry on the top’.

I really enjoyed this concert and I have to commend the band and the vocal ensemble of its standard.

Reviewed by Benjamin Toh
Band Fusion Editorial Team

16th August 2007

I wonder if this is a good sign or not.. heh.. i can't tell the diff between good or bad reviews.. like they were made to sound good.. but actually isn't or just plain good..