Victoria School Chinese Orchestra
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[edit] History
Victoria School Chinese Orchestra was founded in 1974. The fact that a Chinese Orchestra was formed in an English school made it special at that time. The Chinese Orchestra had a humble beginning, starting out with only 20 members and limited instructors. The members had to teach themselves to play their instruments, which proved to be an uphill task for some who had no experience in music.
In the 1980s, VSCO saw much more participation, and its population grew tremendously. It started to take part in community events such as Mid-Autumn Festival concerts and Chinese New Year celebrations.
The 1990s witnessed greater change in the orchestra. This was due to the Singapore government’s efforts to promote participation in CCAs in schools. The school had allocated more funds to the orchestra, to cater to needs such as the purchase of better instruments and the hiring of renowned instructors from the Singapore Chinese Orchestra. The orchestra readily took part in school events like Chinese New Year celebrations, Teachers’ Day, National Day and Speech Day performances. VSCO even reached out to the community, participating in free concerts for Old Folks' Homes.
[edit] Achievements
Through the experience VSCO gained from the various events, along with the orchestra’s history of performance excellence, it managed to clinch the Gold Award in the biennial Singapore Youth Festival (SYF) Central Judging in 1997.
In 1999, VSCO bagged the Silver Award at that same competition. In 2001, VSCO achieved the Certificate of Participation. In the years 2003, 2005 and 2007, VSCO achieved the Gold Award in the SYF, making it one of only two all-boy Chinese Orchestras (the other coming from the current Hwa Chong Institution) to have achieved three consecutive Gold awards.
[edit] Current Status
Today’s VSCO is a different unit compared to its pioneering batch. It has about a hundred active members and a sizeable alumnus. There are currently four professional musicians from the Singapore Chinese Orchestra attached to VSCO as instructors. To make practice sessions more fruitful, there is also a fully air-conditioned practice/rehearsal room.
Moving on with the times, VSCO has also incorporated technology into its system, such as by equipping the rehearsal room with a stereo set, enabling model pieces to be played to the orchestra.
Practices are typically held only once a week for new members - normally a Thursday.
As members' musical skills progress, their practice sessions are gradually increased in number, maxed at three times a week - Monday, Thursday and Saturday.
- Practice Schedule
- Monday - cello-bass section is guided by instructor while other sections have self-practice.
- Thursday - other sections are guided by instructors while bass section has self-practice.
- Saturday - Combined practice day where the orchestra gets together to play under the conductor. New members of the orchestra are not required to turn up for practice on this day.
Additional practices may be required when important events, such as concerts and competitions, draw near.
[edit] Recent Concerts
In the most recent concert staged by VSCO in 2007, 雅声.琴韵, VSCO performed in the Singapore Conference Hall to a near full house. At the event, VSCO premiered a recent composition by local composer, Mr Law Wai Lun (罗维伦先生), entitled 康定情歌.
[edit] Conductor and Instructors
The current conductor for VSCO is Mr Goh Yew Guan, who has held the post for over a decade.
Our other instructors include:
- Cello-Bass: Mr Poh Yee Luh
- Plucked-strings: Mr Seetoh Poh Lam
- Bowed-strings: Mr Neo Yong Soon
- Woodwind: Mr Tony Ang Ting Leong
