Lai holds a PhD and an MA in ethnomusicology from Wesleyan University and an MMus in music history and literature from Ohio University. His dissertation focuses on the transnational musical borrowing of Indian folk drumming among Indian diasporic communities in Singapore and Malaysia by examining the uṟumi mēḷam, a Tamil folk drumming ensemble, and Damaru Singapore, a Pan-Indian street drumming ensemble. It argues that Singaporean Indian folk drummers did not simply reproduce generic folk drumming ensembles from India. Instead, they adapted traditional practices from “home” in diasporic contexts while developing completely new practices that engage with the nation-building practices and the multicultural milieu of Singapore. Lai has conducted fieldwork in Singapore, Malaysia, and Tamil Nadu, South India. His publications have appeared in Asian Music and Ethnomusicology Forum.
This article explores the transformative power of musical instruments on pedagogical strategies w... more This article explores the transformative power of musical instruments on pedagogical strategies within music ensembles, with a focus on world music ensembles at the tertiary level. Drawing from my unique perspective as an international graduate student in the U.S. and having had no prior exposure to world music ensembles, I share my experiences with the saron metallophone from the Javanese gamelan and the mṛdaṅgam, the principal rhythmic instrument of South Indian Karṇāṭak music ensemble. I argue that the interaction of sound between instruments and learners offers a deeply enriching, immersive educational journey. Recognizing this sonic interaction broadens our understanding of world music education and suggests that instruments inherently carry pedagogical value. By embracing this notion, educators can cultivate a more holistic teaching methodology, enhancing the pedagogical landscape within and beyond world music ensembles.
Damaru is a Singaporean Indian folk drumming ensemble that promotes pan-Indian identity and India... more Damaru is a Singaporean Indian folk drumming ensemble that promotes pan-Indian identity and Indian folk drumming in the city-state. This article examines how Damaru navigates and carves a niche in Singapore’s multicultural milieu with the concept of a pan-Indian folk drumming ensemble, and how drummers create artistic products that engage an audience of different sociocultural backgrounds. An analysis of two of Damaru’s rhythmic compositions suggests that drumming, mixing Indian folk drums and rhythmic patterns, and performing the rhythmic patterns in sequence have helped Damaru’s rhythmic compositions reach a broader audience, enabling the ensemble to win state grants and performance opportunities.
This article investigates why uṟumi mēḷams are successful in empowering Singaporean Tamil Hindu y... more This article investigates why uṟumi mēḷams are successful in empowering Singaporean Tamil Hindu youths and keeping them away from gangs and crime. Drawing on oral history resources, historical newspaper articles, and ethnographic data from field research conducted in Singapore, Malaysia, and Tamil Nadu (South India), I explore the chain of events and official narratives that associated uṟumi mēḷams with moral panic, before then considering how musicking in an uṟumi mēḷam appeals to Singaporean Tamil Hindu youths. Finally, the article examines approaches adopted by uṟumi mēḷam to engage their young artists so that they feel purposeful and accepted by the group. Building on music and youth empowerment discourse, I argue that uṟumi mēḷam has an enormous potential as an activity to engage and empower at-risk Tamil youths.
This article discusses the concept of resilience within the context of Singaporean uṟumi mēḷam gr... more This article discusses the concept of resilience within the context of Singaporean uṟumi mēḷam groups. I begin by providing a brief historical background about the construction of social and official religious identities. I then investigate how the tension between practiced and prescribed identities forced Singaporean uṟumi mēḷam groups to be resilient. Finally, I examine how the transnational uṟumi mēḷam network has inspired Singaporean uṟumi mēḷam musicians to adopt strategies to sustain their musical tradition. By examining these strategies and their outcomes, I maintain that Singaporean uṟumi mēḷam groups have been able to refashion themselves in the image of popular culture icons.
Semionauts of Tradition: Music, Culture and Identity in Contemporary Singapore, by anthropologist... more Semionauts of Tradition: Music, Culture and Identity in Contemporary Singapore, by anthropologist Juliette Yu-Ming Lizeray and music education scholar Chee-Hoo Lum, is a timely book that provides an update on the Singaporean music scene. It contributes to "a deeper understanding of the diverse, fluid, interconnected, and constantly evolving assemblages that make up Singaporean musicians' contemporary identities and creative practice" (8). In this ethnographically rich book, the authors seek to mitigate a balance in power relations between researchers and interlocutors, and accordingly they draw heavily on the voices of their interlocutors in their discussions.
The imprints of colonialism are still visible in the legislations and the style of government in ... more The imprints of colonialism are still visible in the legislations and the style of government in Singapore even since attaining independence from the British in 1963. Likewise, historical documents suggest that certain regulations, such as the People's Action Party (PAP) ban on music in religious processions in 1973, contain remnants of British colonialism (Sykes 2015, 397). Concomitantly, while studying urumi mēlam, South Indian Tamil folk drum ensembles in Singapore, I faced discrepancies among perspectives provided by state media, officials, and urumi mēlam musicians. Much ethnomusicological and musicological discourse about music and cultural politics in Singapore borrows extensively from state media and government documents for official perspectives, most of which reference legislation influenced by colonial ideologies. On the other hand, some researchers rely on the perspectives of their interlocutors, who often blame the authorities for their enforced silence. Consequently, in both of these cases, deriving a one-sided argument is inevitable. The lack of written discourse, and mixed perspectives, about urumi mēlam in Singapore motivated me to further investigate and analyze the musicians' struggles. From the government's point of view, urumi mēlam are gang-related ensembles that bring rowdy behavior and noise pollution to public spaces. According to Tamil music scholar Jim Sykes, the authorities only consider urumi acceptable when they stay within the vicinity of a temple, which happens quietly within railings set up for the thaipusam procession, or in places where drumming has been explicitly authorized. Even though most Singaporeans find urumi mēlam essential to Hindu festivals, urumi performances at unauthorized times and places constitute " noise pollution " (Sykes 2015, 393) that generates complaints from expatriates being deprived of sleep. In contrast, responses I gathered from members of the Singapore Tamil Hindu community assert that urumi mēlam are an important emblem of their community. Furthermore, they unanimously agree that urumi mēlam music is an essential element in eliciting trance states during religious rituals. Hindu devotees believe that music performed during thaipusam 1 and thai pongal 2 is a way to thank Lord Murugan for his blessing. Moreover, music is also a form of encouragement for devotees who will carry the kavadi 3 on a 4-kilometer (2.5-mile) trail that can take as long as five hours. However, when accompanying devotees carrying the kadavi, urumi mēlam often perform at volumes beyond the government's acceptable levels. Instead of uncritically embracing perspectives from either side, I sought a research method offering more holistic perspectives. A possible solution came in Zoe Sherinian's Tamil Folk Music as Dalit Liberation Theology (2014). In this groundbreaking book, Sherinian effectively uses Timothy Rice's dialogic ethnography (1994) to call for critical examinations of Indian music scholarship, while urging scholars and researchers to embrace marginalized South Asian musical practices. She achieves her research goals by focusing on three levels of advocacy within South Asian ethnomusicology: 1) musical sound; 2) ideology transmitted through music; and 3) agents who produce, use, and propagate music (Sherinian 2014, 54). Sherinian's research methodology not only empowers the voices of the suppressed and marginalized, but it also allows scholars a broader vantage point that extends beyond South Asian music scholarship. I decided to adopt Sherinian's research methodology and create interview questions under the guidance of Clifford Geertz's " thick description " (1973), and use Mark Slobin's (1993) superculture, subculture, and interculture framework to further organize my field data. As a graduate student from a foreign university who has no connections in the Singapore government, seeking an interview with a state official is beyond my reach. I instead turned to government documents, state newspaper articles, government websites, and interviews on TV and radio as primary sources for my research. In the spirit of dialogic ethnography and thick description, I gathered as many opinions as I could by conducting interviews with musicians and members of the Singaporean Tamil Hindu community. I pulled together data obtained from both sides with the guidance of Slobin's tripartite framework.
This week’s UNESCO Collection of Traditional Music release, Viet Nam: Ca trù & Quan họ-Traditiona... more This week’s UNESCO Collection of Traditional Music release, Viet Nam: Ca trù & Quan họ-Traditional Music, highlights two musical traditions of northern Vietnam. In 2009, quan họ folk songs were inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, which aims to raise awareness of the diversity of this particular heritage. The same year, ca trù singing was included on UNESCO’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding to ensure its survivial. More insight into the tradition of ca trù can be found in the latest issue of Smithsonian Folkways Magazine.
4th Redesigning Pedagogy International Conference Proceeding, 2011
The musical practice of the Wind Ensemble in Singapore dates back to at least the 19th century.
... more The musical practice of the Wind Ensemble in Singapore dates back to at least the 19th century.
Dairianathan (2006b: 31) noted how historically "references to the presence of the Band in Singapore seem to have been caught between apparent absences to relatively little known activity among military bandsmen as professionals". In recent years, the musical practice witnessed a new breakthrough from its enigmatic past, as Dairianathan (2006a: 313) observed that “Band Music underwent a transition towards Music for the Band.” Within the first decade of the new millennium, works for the wind ensemble have been written by young Singaporeans. Two outstanding names are Wong Kah Chun whose compositions are published by Tierolff Music and Benjamin Yeo, whose compositions are published by C.L Barnhouse and Beriato Music. The notable achievement of Wong and Yeo as third generation. Singaporean composers was to have their works published by international publishers. Wong and Yeo are currently music undergraduates in local universities where rudimentary knowledge of music are formally taught to them. Two interesting points were observed: first, they started their creative endeavors as early as 12 years old and second, their compositions were published prior they entered university. Without any formal education in music composing, how did they manage to write compositions that are internationally recognized? This paper hopes to shed light on how informal learning (in the perspective of Lucy Green) has enabled Wong and Yeo to produce musical works of excellence. I also hope to elucidate a number of issues which are vital points of drawing a conclusion to this paper: 1) how the works of Wong and Yeo are found suitable for publication as international wind ensemble
repertoire 2) The impacts of formal compositional education to the composers; and 3) Wong and Yeo’s attitude towards their creative endeavor.
This dissertation contributes to the ethnomusicological literature on transnational musical borro... more This dissertation contributes to the ethnomusicological literature on transnational musical borrowing of Indian music among Indian diasporic communities by discussing the Uṟumi Mēḷam and Damaru, two new Indian musical practices in Singapore. Instead of simply reproducing
This thesis focuses on the ceremonial music of the Hindu Fire Walking ritual held annually in Sin... more This thesis focuses on the ceremonial music of the Hindu Fire Walking ritual held annually in Singapore during the month of November, for the thimithi festival. The study is based upon fieldwork conducted at the Sri Mariamman temple in Singapore in November 2010, and again in the summer of 2013. It describes in particular the music of the naiyandi melam, the instrumental ensemble that provides music for the ritual. Selected scenes of the silver chariot entry and the fire walking ceremony were recorded on video. Two interviews were conducted: one is a voice recording made with the voice memo function of an Iphone 3GS, while the other one is a video interview recorded with Canon video camera. Photographs were taken with a Canon DSLR camera. The photographs, interview transcriptions, and videos synopsis are given in the appendixes to this thesis. An accompanying DVD with videos from fieldwork is attached to this thesis.
In Chapter 1, I trace the genealogy of Southeast Asian urumi melam, and discuss characteristics s... more In Chapter 1, I trace the genealogy of Southeast Asian urumi melam, and discuss characteristics such as matching outfits and hybridized instruments that articulate the idiosyncrasy of Southeast Asian urumi melam. I also look at aspects that distinguish Singaporean urumi melams from Malaysian counterpart. Apart from being socio-religious institutions, Hindu temples in Singapore are junctions or interface points (Allen 1998) of all South Indian performing arts. In the final part of this chapter, I discuss how Hindu temples in Singapore play a significant role in exposing musicians to new musical ideas. In Chapter 2, I examine symbols and power relations of the Hindu thaipusam festival in Singapore through the lenses used by scholars of semiotic and religion. In the first part of this chapter, I analyze three significant symbols of the thaipusam festival using semiotic theories and responses from devotees. In doing so, I acquire a deeper understanding of the symbols by examining possible meanings they convey within the culture. The three symbols encompass 1) the festival, 2) the idol of Lord Murugan, and 3) the spike kavadi. In the second part of the chapter, I draw on theories of power relations to examine the Hindu doctrines, and governmental interventions that provided the impetus of the thaipusam festival in Singapore. The discussions of symbols and power relations in the thaipusam festival in Singapore require a brief understanding of the demography of the Singaporean Indian community and the background of the festival. Chapter 3 focuses on the music of the thaipusam kavadi procession held annually in Singapore during the month of February. The study is based on fieldwork conducted in Singapore
This article explores the transformative power of musical instruments on pedagogical strategies w... more This article explores the transformative power of musical instruments on pedagogical strategies within music ensembles, with a focus on world music ensembles at the tertiary level. Drawing from my unique perspective as an international graduate student in the U.S. and having had no prior exposure to world music ensembles, I share my experiences with the saron metallophone from the Javanese gamelan and the mṛdaṅgam, the principal rhythmic instrument of South Indian Karṇāṭak music ensemble. I argue that the interaction of sound between instruments and learners offers a deeply enriching, immersive educational journey. Recognizing this sonic interaction broadens our understanding of world music education and suggests that instruments inherently carry pedagogical value. By embracing this notion, educators can cultivate a more holistic teaching methodology, enhancing the pedagogical landscape within and beyond world music ensembles.
Damaru is a Singaporean Indian folk drumming ensemble that promotes pan-Indian identity and India... more Damaru is a Singaporean Indian folk drumming ensemble that promotes pan-Indian identity and Indian folk drumming in the city-state. This article examines how Damaru navigates and carves a niche in Singapore’s multicultural milieu with the concept of a pan-Indian folk drumming ensemble, and how drummers create artistic products that engage an audience of different sociocultural backgrounds. An analysis of two of Damaru’s rhythmic compositions suggests that drumming, mixing Indian folk drums and rhythmic patterns, and performing the rhythmic patterns in sequence have helped Damaru’s rhythmic compositions reach a broader audience, enabling the ensemble to win state grants and performance opportunities.
This article investigates why uṟumi mēḷams are successful in empowering Singaporean Tamil Hindu y... more This article investigates why uṟumi mēḷams are successful in empowering Singaporean Tamil Hindu youths and keeping them away from gangs and crime. Drawing on oral history resources, historical newspaper articles, and ethnographic data from field research conducted in Singapore, Malaysia, and Tamil Nadu (South India), I explore the chain of events and official narratives that associated uṟumi mēḷams with moral panic, before then considering how musicking in an uṟumi mēḷam appeals to Singaporean Tamil Hindu youths. Finally, the article examines approaches adopted by uṟumi mēḷam to engage their young artists so that they feel purposeful and accepted by the group. Building on music and youth empowerment discourse, I argue that uṟumi mēḷam has an enormous potential as an activity to engage and empower at-risk Tamil youths.
This article discusses the concept of resilience within the context of Singaporean uṟumi mēḷam gr... more This article discusses the concept of resilience within the context of Singaporean uṟumi mēḷam groups. I begin by providing a brief historical background about the construction of social and official religious identities. I then investigate how the tension between practiced and prescribed identities forced Singaporean uṟumi mēḷam groups to be resilient. Finally, I examine how the transnational uṟumi mēḷam network has inspired Singaporean uṟumi mēḷam musicians to adopt strategies to sustain their musical tradition. By examining these strategies and their outcomes, I maintain that Singaporean uṟumi mēḷam groups have been able to refashion themselves in the image of popular culture icons.
Semionauts of Tradition: Music, Culture and Identity in Contemporary Singapore, by anthropologist... more Semionauts of Tradition: Music, Culture and Identity in Contemporary Singapore, by anthropologist Juliette Yu-Ming Lizeray and music education scholar Chee-Hoo Lum, is a timely book that provides an update on the Singaporean music scene. It contributes to "a deeper understanding of the diverse, fluid, interconnected, and constantly evolving assemblages that make up Singaporean musicians' contemporary identities and creative practice" (8). In this ethnographically rich book, the authors seek to mitigate a balance in power relations between researchers and interlocutors, and accordingly they draw heavily on the voices of their interlocutors in their discussions.
The imprints of colonialism are still visible in the legislations and the style of government in ... more The imprints of colonialism are still visible in the legislations and the style of government in Singapore even since attaining independence from the British in 1963. Likewise, historical documents suggest that certain regulations, such as the People's Action Party (PAP) ban on music in religious processions in 1973, contain remnants of British colonialism (Sykes 2015, 397). Concomitantly, while studying urumi mēlam, South Indian Tamil folk drum ensembles in Singapore, I faced discrepancies among perspectives provided by state media, officials, and urumi mēlam musicians. Much ethnomusicological and musicological discourse about music and cultural politics in Singapore borrows extensively from state media and government documents for official perspectives, most of which reference legislation influenced by colonial ideologies. On the other hand, some researchers rely on the perspectives of their interlocutors, who often blame the authorities for their enforced silence. Consequently, in both of these cases, deriving a one-sided argument is inevitable. The lack of written discourse, and mixed perspectives, about urumi mēlam in Singapore motivated me to further investigate and analyze the musicians' struggles. From the government's point of view, urumi mēlam are gang-related ensembles that bring rowdy behavior and noise pollution to public spaces. According to Tamil music scholar Jim Sykes, the authorities only consider urumi acceptable when they stay within the vicinity of a temple, which happens quietly within railings set up for the thaipusam procession, or in places where drumming has been explicitly authorized. Even though most Singaporeans find urumi mēlam essential to Hindu festivals, urumi performances at unauthorized times and places constitute " noise pollution " (Sykes 2015, 393) that generates complaints from expatriates being deprived of sleep. In contrast, responses I gathered from members of the Singapore Tamil Hindu community assert that urumi mēlam are an important emblem of their community. Furthermore, they unanimously agree that urumi mēlam music is an essential element in eliciting trance states during religious rituals. Hindu devotees believe that music performed during thaipusam 1 and thai pongal 2 is a way to thank Lord Murugan for his blessing. Moreover, music is also a form of encouragement for devotees who will carry the kavadi 3 on a 4-kilometer (2.5-mile) trail that can take as long as five hours. However, when accompanying devotees carrying the kadavi, urumi mēlam often perform at volumes beyond the government's acceptable levels. Instead of uncritically embracing perspectives from either side, I sought a research method offering more holistic perspectives. A possible solution came in Zoe Sherinian's Tamil Folk Music as Dalit Liberation Theology (2014). In this groundbreaking book, Sherinian effectively uses Timothy Rice's dialogic ethnography (1994) to call for critical examinations of Indian music scholarship, while urging scholars and researchers to embrace marginalized South Asian musical practices. She achieves her research goals by focusing on three levels of advocacy within South Asian ethnomusicology: 1) musical sound; 2) ideology transmitted through music; and 3) agents who produce, use, and propagate music (Sherinian 2014, 54). Sherinian's research methodology not only empowers the voices of the suppressed and marginalized, but it also allows scholars a broader vantage point that extends beyond South Asian music scholarship. I decided to adopt Sherinian's research methodology and create interview questions under the guidance of Clifford Geertz's " thick description " (1973), and use Mark Slobin's (1993) superculture, subculture, and interculture framework to further organize my field data. As a graduate student from a foreign university who has no connections in the Singapore government, seeking an interview with a state official is beyond my reach. I instead turned to government documents, state newspaper articles, government websites, and interviews on TV and radio as primary sources for my research. In the spirit of dialogic ethnography and thick description, I gathered as many opinions as I could by conducting interviews with musicians and members of the Singaporean Tamil Hindu community. I pulled together data obtained from both sides with the guidance of Slobin's tripartite framework.
This week’s UNESCO Collection of Traditional Music release, Viet Nam: Ca trù & Quan họ-Traditiona... more This week’s UNESCO Collection of Traditional Music release, Viet Nam: Ca trù & Quan họ-Traditional Music, highlights two musical traditions of northern Vietnam. In 2009, quan họ folk songs were inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, which aims to raise awareness of the diversity of this particular heritage. The same year, ca trù singing was included on UNESCO’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding to ensure its survivial. More insight into the tradition of ca trù can be found in the latest issue of Smithsonian Folkways Magazine.
4th Redesigning Pedagogy International Conference Proceeding, 2011
The musical practice of the Wind Ensemble in Singapore dates back to at least the 19th century.
... more The musical practice of the Wind Ensemble in Singapore dates back to at least the 19th century.
Dairianathan (2006b: 31) noted how historically "references to the presence of the Band in Singapore seem to have been caught between apparent absences to relatively little known activity among military bandsmen as professionals". In recent years, the musical practice witnessed a new breakthrough from its enigmatic past, as Dairianathan (2006a: 313) observed that “Band Music underwent a transition towards Music for the Band.” Within the first decade of the new millennium, works for the wind ensemble have been written by young Singaporeans. Two outstanding names are Wong Kah Chun whose compositions are published by Tierolff Music and Benjamin Yeo, whose compositions are published by C.L Barnhouse and Beriato Music. The notable achievement of Wong and Yeo as third generation. Singaporean composers was to have their works published by international publishers. Wong and Yeo are currently music undergraduates in local universities where rudimentary knowledge of music are formally taught to them. Two interesting points were observed: first, they started their creative endeavors as early as 12 years old and second, their compositions were published prior they entered university. Without any formal education in music composing, how did they manage to write compositions that are internationally recognized? This paper hopes to shed light on how informal learning (in the perspective of Lucy Green) has enabled Wong and Yeo to produce musical works of excellence. I also hope to elucidate a number of issues which are vital points of drawing a conclusion to this paper: 1) how the works of Wong and Yeo are found suitable for publication as international wind ensemble
repertoire 2) The impacts of formal compositional education to the composers; and 3) Wong and Yeo’s attitude towards their creative endeavor.
This dissertation contributes to the ethnomusicological literature on transnational musical borro... more This dissertation contributes to the ethnomusicological literature on transnational musical borrowing of Indian music among Indian diasporic communities by discussing the Uṟumi Mēḷam and Damaru, two new Indian musical practices in Singapore. Instead of simply reproducing
This thesis focuses on the ceremonial music of the Hindu Fire Walking ritual held annually in Sin... more This thesis focuses on the ceremonial music of the Hindu Fire Walking ritual held annually in Singapore during the month of November, for the thimithi festival. The study is based upon fieldwork conducted at the Sri Mariamman temple in Singapore in November 2010, and again in the summer of 2013. It describes in particular the music of the naiyandi melam, the instrumental ensemble that provides music for the ritual. Selected scenes of the silver chariot entry and the fire walking ceremony were recorded on video. Two interviews were conducted: one is a voice recording made with the voice memo function of an Iphone 3GS, while the other one is a video interview recorded with Canon video camera. Photographs were taken with a Canon DSLR camera. The photographs, interview transcriptions, and videos synopsis are given in the appendixes to this thesis. An accompanying DVD with videos from fieldwork is attached to this thesis.
In Chapter 1, I trace the genealogy of Southeast Asian urumi melam, and discuss characteristics s... more In Chapter 1, I trace the genealogy of Southeast Asian urumi melam, and discuss characteristics such as matching outfits and hybridized instruments that articulate the idiosyncrasy of Southeast Asian urumi melam. I also look at aspects that distinguish Singaporean urumi melams from Malaysian counterpart. Apart from being socio-religious institutions, Hindu temples in Singapore are junctions or interface points (Allen 1998) of all South Indian performing arts. In the final part of this chapter, I discuss how Hindu temples in Singapore play a significant role in exposing musicians to new musical ideas. In Chapter 2, I examine symbols and power relations of the Hindu thaipusam festival in Singapore through the lenses used by scholars of semiotic and religion. In the first part of this chapter, I analyze three significant symbols of the thaipusam festival using semiotic theories and responses from devotees. In doing so, I acquire a deeper understanding of the symbols by examining possible meanings they convey within the culture. The three symbols encompass 1) the festival, 2) the idol of Lord Murugan, and 3) the spike kavadi. In the second part of the chapter, I draw on theories of power relations to examine the Hindu doctrines, and governmental interventions that provided the impetus of the thaipusam festival in Singapore. The discussions of symbols and power relations in the thaipusam festival in Singapore require a brief understanding of the demography of the Singaporean Indian community and the background of the festival. Chapter 3 focuses on the music of the thaipusam kavadi procession held annually in Singapore during the month of February. The study is based on fieldwork conducted in Singapore
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Papers by Gene J X Lai
Dairianathan (2006b: 31) noted how historically "references to the presence of the Band in Singapore seem to have been caught between apparent absences to relatively little known activity among military bandsmen as professionals". In recent years, the musical practice witnessed a new breakthrough from its enigmatic past, as Dairianathan (2006a: 313) observed that “Band Music underwent a transition towards Music for the Band.” Within the first decade of the new millennium, works for the wind ensemble have been written by young Singaporeans. Two outstanding names are Wong Kah Chun whose compositions are published by Tierolff Music and Benjamin Yeo, whose compositions are published by C.L Barnhouse and Beriato Music. The notable achievement of Wong and Yeo as third generation. Singaporean composers was to have their works published by international publishers. Wong and Yeo are currently music undergraduates in local universities where rudimentary knowledge of music are formally taught to them. Two interesting points were observed: first, they started their creative endeavors as early as 12 years old and second, their compositions were published prior they entered university. Without any formal education in music composing, how did they manage to write compositions that are internationally recognized? This paper hopes to shed light on how informal learning (in the perspective of Lucy Green) has enabled Wong and Yeo to produce musical works of excellence. I also hope to elucidate a number of issues which are vital points of drawing a conclusion to this paper: 1) how the works of Wong and Yeo are found suitable for publication as international wind ensemble
repertoire 2) The impacts of formal compositional education to the composers; and 3) Wong and Yeo’s attitude towards their creative endeavor.
Thesis Chapters by Gene J X Lai
Dairianathan (2006b: 31) noted how historically "references to the presence of the Band in Singapore seem to have been caught between apparent absences to relatively little known activity among military bandsmen as professionals". In recent years, the musical practice witnessed a new breakthrough from its enigmatic past, as Dairianathan (2006a: 313) observed that “Band Music underwent a transition towards Music for the Band.” Within the first decade of the new millennium, works for the wind ensemble have been written by young Singaporeans. Two outstanding names are Wong Kah Chun whose compositions are published by Tierolff Music and Benjamin Yeo, whose compositions are published by C.L Barnhouse and Beriato Music. The notable achievement of Wong and Yeo as third generation. Singaporean composers was to have their works published by international publishers. Wong and Yeo are currently music undergraduates in local universities where rudimentary knowledge of music are formally taught to them. Two interesting points were observed: first, they started their creative endeavors as early as 12 years old and second, their compositions were published prior they entered university. Without any formal education in music composing, how did they manage to write compositions that are internationally recognized? This paper hopes to shed light on how informal learning (in the perspective of Lucy Green) has enabled Wong and Yeo to produce musical works of excellence. I also hope to elucidate a number of issues which are vital points of drawing a conclusion to this paper: 1) how the works of Wong and Yeo are found suitable for publication as international wind ensemble
repertoire 2) The impacts of formal compositional education to the composers; and 3) Wong and Yeo’s attitude towards their creative endeavor.