Aureus Experientia XIII- A collaboration like no other

On Friday, the 10th of May, at the Singapore Conference Hall, the Nanyang JC Symphonic Band and Guzheng Ensemble came together to craft a dazzling performance for all who turned up, fulfilling the theme of “When East meets West”.

Traditionally, an annual band performance, it was decided that Aureus Experientia this year should be made more flavourful while allowing both groups to expose their audience to an appreciation of both Oriental and Western musical culture. The Guzheng Ensemble, having lacked sufficient opportunities to perform this year, were raring to go and pulled off their performances during the first half of the concert with aplomb, with well known melodies such as The Butterfly Lovers and Once Upon A Time in China ringing with familiarity among the audience. The 80-strong Symphonic Band proved to be equally capable of producing captivating music in the second half of the performance. Peter and the Wolf particularly, enthralled the audience as the band performed the music in tandem with a short skit that was the brainchild of Mr Brando Tan, the conductor for the Symphonic Band.

The wolf attacking the cat during the skit from Peter and the Wolf

As the vice-president of the Symphonic Band, flute soloist for the piece Gemeinhardt Suite as well as being the student conductor, Clement Lim had to perform multiple roles during the concert and was arguably the most prominent feature throughout the performance. When asked about his overall performance, Clement believed his flute solo was flawless as he had actually done such performances quite a few times. He felt that his conducting, on the other hand, was 'not fabulous' as it was his 'first time conducting in a formal concert'. The conductor Mr Brando Tan felt it was a good opportunity to give him the exposure.

Clement admitted that he was surprised when he heard that the concert was to be held in collaboration with the Guzheng Ensemble as 'the idea seemed weird' and throughout his 4 years in his secondary school band as well as the Sembawang Wind Orchestra, he 'never had such an experience before'. However he pointed out that both CCAs made it a point to consult each other often, with the Symphonic Band even forming an ad-hoc committee specially to interact with the Guzheng Ensemble executive committee so as to organize the workings and proceedings of the concert more efficiently. Moreover, it could be that both parties had an equal interest in their music and thus struck camaraderie easily while performing. These 2 reasons were probably why such a rather unorthodox combination of East meets West was pulled off so tremendously.

A combined performance by Guzheng Ensemble and the Band for the last song of the night..

Ultimately, the performance was a resounding success, garnering much applause from the audience especially when the last piece (Shan Hu Hai), was played by both the Band and the Guzheng Ensemble. By having the members from both parties to interact with each other and forge closer ties, Aureus Experientia XIII has also served a higher and more meaningful purpose. They definitely reflect the College Motto “Together we build”.

The reporter taking a photo with Clement (left), the man who 'stole the show'.

Tan Hao Yi