Featured Lecture-Demonstration:

Transforming Tradition – The Role of Research in Creating “Wayang Sampur-na”

By Garrett Kam

This lecture-demonstration offers a discourse on Garrett Kam’s creative process as a choreographer, researcher and performer of “Wayang Sampur-na”, an autobiographical work of cultures studied and places visited by the artist since 1975. As a result, it is evolving and changing with his experiences. In this session, he will be talking about his ongoing research in traditional Asian dances and how the different dance styles provide inspiration for new choreographies, incorporating his recent experience from a workshop conducted a week earlier with NAFA students.

REGISTER NOW to secure a seat at the lecture-demonstration.

“Wayang Sampur-na”

- Story

In “Wayang Sampur-na: Epic Turning Points” created in 2010 and performed by Garrett Kam, sampur (Javanese dance sashes) are given new meanings for telling important scenes from the Ramayana epic of devotion, separation and reunion in a sampurna (ideal, pure) way.

- Props

Performing like a Javanese dhalang or solo puppeteer, Garrett creates masks and puppets of characters from sampur as they appear in episodes, animating and pulling them apart as the story unfolds with short narration in English between scenes. This introduces new audiences to the epic and brings another aspect to those who are familiar with it.

- Dance

Mostly danced in the Javanese court style from Yogyakarta, the work also includes choreographic ideas and elements from other parts of Indonesia (Bali and West Java), India, Sri Lanka, Burma (Myanmar), Thailand, Cambodia, Okinawa, China and Korea in addition to some improvisation.

- Music

The opening and closing scenes in this wayang (performance) use Javanese gamelan music, with nine narrative sections done to Javanese and Balinese melodies arranged for Western instruments by Canadian ethnomusicologist Colin McPhee, and Asian inspired film music by Australian composer Elizabeth Drake.

Excerpts of the performance can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JE0a74CFbTg

About the artist
Garrett Kam has a bachelor’s degree in Art (1976) and a master’s degree in Southeast Asian Studies (1987) from the University of Hawai’i at Manoa (UHM). Garrett studied Javanese dance from 1975 to 1979 at UHM, and from 1979 to 1982 under master teachers KRT Sasminta Mardawa, R Sunartomo, RM Sutamba, RL Prabapawaka and Bambang Pudjasworo in Yogyakarta.

Garrett was the first non-Javanese to perform in the professional group of the Mardawa Budaya and Pamulangan Beksa Ngayogyakarta schools of court dance. Garrett has taught and performed in the USA, Thailand, Cambodia, Okinawa, Korea, Indonesia, Singapore, Taiwan and Sri Lanka. He has also studied Okinawan and Korean dance.

Source: www.nafa.edu.sg

Under the royal patronage of H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco

Friday, 8 July 2011, 8pm

SCO Concert Hall

Under the royal patronage of H.S.H Prince Albert II of Monaco, the Little Singers of Monaco (LSM) will make a triumphant return to Singapore on Friday 8 July at the SCO Concert Hall. Since their successful debut in Singapore two years ago, the 31-strong European royal choir, under the musical direction of Pierre Debat, the Chapel Master of the Palace of the Prince of Monaco, returns to treat choral music lovers with a programme that reflects their strong musical tradition. Choral music fans will love the showcase of works by Bach, Mendelssohn, and Charpentier, and be intrigued by their rendition of Gregorian chants, folk songs and more.

Singapore is the first stop for the choir’s Asian tour and it is in the name of charity that the popular choir will be performing this summer. The local concert is organised by the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) where nett proceeds from the performance will go towards the NAFA Student Relief Fund. The fund aids NAFA students who encounter sudden financial difficulty in their school term, to pay for tuition fees, text books and art materials. After Singapore, the little singing ambassadors of Monaco will perform in East Timor and China to benefit various local charity programmes. 

The group of 9 to 37-year-olds tour extensively outside Monaco with their message of peace, winning critical acclaim and fans wherever they perform. Residing in the Cathedral of Monaco, the 37-year-old LSM is internationally renowned for their musical sensitivity and rich traditions of European royal choirs. 11 choir members will be performing in Singapore for the first time, among them the two youngest members. In addition to the diverse age range, diverse nationalities form the choir, including a Monaco Permanent Resident who came from Russia, reflecting the small country’s residency made up of over 100 nationalities. 

Tickets are available from SISTIC at S$45, $35, $25 and student concession is at S$15. Group bookings of 20 tickets or more enjoy 15% discount off ticket prices. OCBC Credit & Debit Cardmembers, CSC Members, Friends of SSO, PAssion Card Holders and MadAboutArts Card Holders enjoy 10% discount off ticket prices. All discount offers exclude SISTIC booking fee and SISTIC terms and conditions apply.

Source: Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts

Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra Brass Quintet
Featuring soloists from the brass section of the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra.

Programme includes:-
His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadaj:
Sweet Word; Falling Rain; Never Mind the Hungry Men’s Blues; Bat Eat Banana
Paul Dukas: Fanfares from La Peri
Victor Ewald: Quintet No. 2
John Cheetham: Scherzo
Roger Boutry: Prelude Choral Et Fugue
Glenn Miller: Moonlight Serenade
W.E.Handy arr.John Wasson: St.Louis Blues
Herbie Hancock: Water Melon Man; Chameleon Glenn Miller: In the Mood

Tan Ngiang Kaw / Tan Ngiang Ann Memorial Vocal Competition
Join the excitement as students from the Department of Music, Vocal Studies showcase their talents and vie for prizes worth a total of $1000.