Albert is a helpful member of the community. He had asked if he could offer to help with anything this evening and offered to arrive at 4pm if necessary. On hearing that we needed drinks, he proceeded to buy four large sets of drinks for us (24 individual packs in all). What was amazing was that instead of buying the drinks from the Orchard area, he actually purchased them near his home, where they were cheaper, and transported them all the way by train to Orchard Central. Thank you so much, Albert, for your thoughtfulness and your kind effort!
It was with great honour that ThePiano.SG was involved in the unveiling of two pianos at Tanjong Pagar Centre on 4 February 2018. We were interviewed, and we are delighted that the interview has appeared in the Tanjong Pagar Centre’s online magazine, Stories By TPC, titled "Music In The Key Of C".
This episode showed the power of music for people suffering from dementia. While music has been known to bring joy to people, it can certainly be said that music brings immense joy to people who are suffering from cognitive disorders. Music has its own curious way of finding its way into people’s hearts and bringing limitless enjoyment to them.
Being the final Meetup before the Chinese New Year, Pianovers contributed snacks and those who attended this evening were greeted by a table full of Chinese New Year goodies. The food galore certainly gave a festive tinge to the already joyful event. To enhance the festive mood, many Pianovers even appeared in red! Today's group picture was different as well, with the loud shout of “Huat ah!”, reflecting the buoyant CNY mood!
Pianovers Meetup #68 was like none other, and was conducted at Tanjong Pagar Centre, a new commercial and residential complex located above Tanjong Pagar MRT. It marked another milestone in ThePiano.SG’s history, as we had been invited to unveil two pianos placed at Tanjong Pagar Park, a large, sheltered space in front of Tanjong Pagar Centre. The two pianos were from Play It Forward Singapore, now currently in its Season 7.
Since Beethoven’s time, the face of music changed forever. Beethoven made it possible for one to break the traditions of music. And by casting away the dogmatic conventional approaches of music from the past, great composers after Beethoven (many of whom modeled their own compositions after Beethoven) carried on his legacy of musical innovation. Other composers too inspired others to push the boundaries of music and the cycle of inspiration goes on and on till present times. And true enough, the cycle will still continue; the music of today: Pop, Rap etc. will irrevocably inspire a new music movement.
While Janice’s performance was going on, Pianovers present noticed bubbles floating around The URA Centre’s premises. It turned out that Jenny had brought a bubble gun and was spraying bubbles out of sight of Pianovers! It was a surreal experience to have bubbles floating freely around the Pianovers just when a song about peace and hope was played. This thrilled not just children like Gwen and I-Wen but also adults. A really magical experience!
Brandon, one of our youngest members, played "If You're Happy and You Know It". Although Brandon is young, he was most comfortable facing a crowd of adults. Pianovers who were present instantly felt a rapport with him and did not hesitate to lend him their support. The only reminder that he was, after all, a boy, came when he clutched his Pikachu soft toy at the end of the performance. That aside, we could all instantly identify with Brandon! Check out how he engaged the audience, and displayed amazing showmanship!
For decades, researchers have been studying the relationships between music and wine. They have been putting through various tests, if only to formalise what lay people – and wine merchants - have been saying all these years – that good music does make wine taste better. Does magic happen when we put the all-important music and well-craved wine together?
After Herman performed "Tale As Old As Time" from Beauty and The Beast, Yong Meng recounted that Belle and the Beast who were initially very different, come together against all odds, learn to change each other for the better, and share a life together. Yong Meng also believes that this kind of love can also be found in ThePiano.SG’s community. There is a wide diversity of people in the community - from young to old, with very different backgrounds. Even the genres of songs we play are also very different. However, we can still come together, against all odds, and walk on this learning journey together because of our common love and passion for the piano. Let us hope that Pianovers’ bond will be as timeless as love!
Michelle SgP is a multi-talented musician. She hails from Singapore but has the unique ability to create her own style that resonates with global listeners. She has just released her most ambitious project, Multiplicity. This album is the product of working in close coordination with up to 68 individuals, from their 20s to their 70s, in multi-genres spanning 10 nationalities. It records the essence of her travels over the years as she sourced for inspiration and the right people to put the album together.
In a departure from the usual Sunday meeting held at Piano Park @ URA Centre, Pianovers Meetup #64 was held not only on a Saturday but also at a special venue. Also, Pianovers Gee Yong and David shared about how Pianovers Meetups have built a very close-knit community of piano lovers over the past year and a half, and have fostered priceless friendships and allowed members to make friends with like-minded people. When one is with a group of very passionate piano lovers, one does feel a sense of belonging to this community! And it is by being part of this community that makes learning the piano a lot more fun!
One instrumental development in Beethoven’s reign was the development of piano music and hence, the development of his piano sonatas. It is in my opinion that it is in these 32 that we see a beautiful series, each sonata carrying a crucial role in the evolution of music. And if we ever compare the 1st and 32nd sonata he wrote, it would seem that 2 different people have composed them.
Pianovers were delighted to hear an original composition by Jaeyong, as a farewell gesture. He will be leaving on 19 Dec, two days after this Meetup. Jaeyong had come to Singapore because he had wanted to join Pianovers Meetup. Since he appeared at Meetups, he has made many piano friends, and has even participated in our new initiative Pianovers Connect. All of us here at ThePiano.SG will miss Jaeyong. Hope to see you back in Singapore and join Pianovers Meetup again very soon!
As Christmas approaches once again, it is time to reflect upon the meaning of the season. There is no better way to do this than to immerse oneself in Christmas carols. These carols, typically performed by church choirs, have captivated people’s attention for ages. Although listeners are mesmerised by these beautiful pieces, it is also interesting to learn about their origins. Here are some of the popular Christmas carols that have accompanied us since we started celebrating Christmas.
More than 120 aspiring musicians came together today to play the piano for charity and made Singapore musical history with a new entry into the Singapore Book of Records.
He had then said, "Thank you for being a great motivation for me to continue what I do and not just give up on everything. I just hope I'm able to do the same for you as well. Good luck for the journey ahead of you and see you soon!” This evening, the person whom Zafri had dedicated the song to, Victoria from Indonesia, was here with him. It was moving to see Zafri dedicating his piece tonight to someone who had influenced him so much!
Video game music transited through several phases. Chiptunes were predominant in the 80s, while the 90s brought digitally synthesized music, MIDI, and pre-recorded music that could be streamed during gameplay. Today, video game music has matured like fine wine; you can now have beautiful soundtracks presented with a full orchestra and even couple that with Dolby Stereo playback. This first part shall explore some of the music from the role-playing game genre.
In a departure from the usual flow where the background of each song is shared after its performance, today after Teik Lee's performance, he was invited to play it one more time as background music to Yong Meng's sharing. The use of music to help narrate the tale touched Pianovers, as could be seen by how one Pianover cried during the sharing session.
As a testament to the role that ThePiano.SG has played in connecting people in the piano community, we have been featured in Casio Music Circle Newsletter Issue #03. The Casio Music Circle Newsletter is a publication from Casio Singapore, targeted at users of its electronic pianos, and it is our honour to have been interviewed for a feature. This interview with Casio Singapore comes hot on the heels of our appearance in Challenge Magazine, the publication of the Public Service Division, Prime Minister’s Office, and more recently, another appearance in Singapore’s national daily The Straits Times.
Albert is a valued contributing member of the Pianovers community and always tirelessly helps to keep the equipment after every Meetup. He even helps to clear the trash, including the packet drinks consumed by Pianovers and guests. Thank you, Albert, for your initiative!
Today’s session was special because the first segment, Mini-Recital, was co-hosted by our very own Pianover Teik Lee! This is indeed a step closer to being part of "Pianovers Connect", a new initiative to provide opportunities for our Pianovers to perform in events or gigs, and for them to conduct activites, workshops and courses for a wider audience. Thank you, Teik Lee, for co-hosting the Mini-Recital!
Music is a powerful and non-invasive medium, making it suitable to engage with patients on the mental, physical and emotional levels. In the healthcare industry, music has been recognised as a form of therapy for patients suffering from various health issues and major hospitals are taking the lead in introducing music therapy to its patients.
Also gracing our event tonight was Nicholas, our photographer who had tirelessly taken photographs for Pianover Meetups for the past year. Even he is no longer doing this for us, he visited us tonight to say hello to everyone. We are happy that the bond that we have built in the group is strong and people feel part of the community! Welcome back, Nicholas!