Evolving With Musical Traditions

YST STORIES

19 October 2018

YST Composition teaching assistant and alumnus Dr Chow Jun Yan was selected to take part in the ASEAN Youth Ensemble (AYE) Music of ASEAN – ASEAN Creation Project, organised by the Princess Galyani Vadhana Institute of Music (PGVIM, Thailand) in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, Thailand. Held from 24 – 31 August 2018, the project aimed to create dialogues between ASEAN country traditions through music.

Over the course of the project, performers and composers engaged in workshops and concerts, as part of the PGVIM International Symposium on Music and Socio-Cultural Development 2018, which explored metamorphoses in musical styles and meanings over time. Participants came from a wide range of countries, including Germany, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam, each bringing experience and knowledge in traditional instruments from their culture.

This comes with its fair share of challenges, including managing the diverse cultural backgrounds, levels of musical experience, and interpersonal relationships within each group. Neil thus makes it a point to ensure each volunteer feels “equally important and included”, as well as to tailor the set list to be accessible to all participants. One of the biggest challenges is financial sustainability, said Neil. “These activities take up a considerable amount of time and energy, and as a working musician it’s been difficult to juggle these commitments of passion with work to earn a living,” he shared. To address this, he aims to focus on what is needed to keep the initiatives going and growing, as well as look for grants that can finance his efforts.

The project culminated in a finale with the ASEAN Creations Concert, where seven compositions with different combinations of traditional instruments were presented. Jun Yan presented his composition for erhu, flute and percussion, titled Nostalgic Portrait, at the concert.

Commenting on the experience, Jun Yan said “I am thankful for this unique platform that brought musicians from different cultures together to create and transform new artistic works.”

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