It was on 14th Febuary 2009, Valentines Day, and with their smart uniforms and polished instruments, the Nan Hwa Military Band presented a concert, themed “Pageantry in Wind 2009”. The concert was organized in an effort to raise funds for the band and giving an opportunity for the band members to express their talent on stage.
Performing a selection of classical, contemporary, and folk pieces, present members and a few guest players, mostly Nan Hwa alumni, performed in the event. The event was even more uplifted with the gracious participation of our distinguished guest conductor, Hibiki Minowa-san who came all the way from Japan.
Taking place in Bangunan Perak Darul Ridzuan, Ipoh, the concert started at 8:30pm..
Our conductors for the night were:
Mr Hibiki Minowa conducting Viriations on “Lobe Den Herrn”; Asuka; Csardas; Macarena (La Virgen de la Macarena); Meditation from “Thais”; Young Man YMCA; Encore presentation
Mr Minowa graduated from the Tokyo University if Arts and studied euphonium and conducting under Kazua Yamada Yashihiko Shiozawa. He founded the professional Tokyo Academic Wind Orchestra in 1980 and taught music at the Miyagi Education University and Nagoya University if Arts from 1975-1996. He was a regular adjudicator for the All Japan Band Competition and conducted band clinics in Hawaii, Sydney, San Francisco & Singapore. He was the music coordinator of the Uster Musical Festival in Switzerland 1995 where he conducted the world premiere for “Autumn in Kyoto”, composed by Tetsunosuke Kushida. Currently, he is the music director for the Miyamae Wind Orchestra. In 1991, he conducted a clinic with Band and has appeared in all our band concerts, including the year 2000 Millennium concert in Chia-Yi, Taiwan.
Mr Tan Kan Thiam conducting Pentland Hills; The Great Wall, Songs of China.
Mr Tan has been the band director/conductor for Nan Hwa secondary school for the past 28 years. He began his music involvement as a bugler with the St. John Ambulance Cadet band under the direction of Rev. Bro Patrick, an Irish bandmaster. Later, he was a member of secondary school band and learnt music under several military bandmasters. He graduated in Chemistry in Malaya University in Kuala Lumpur and received his B.Sc. (Hons) in 1978. He joined Nan Hwa secondary as a Chemistry teacher and took charge of the band in 1981. In 1996, he quit teaching to concertrate in band education and business.
Mr Ho Chee Kiang conducting Sea Songs; Choral Music; Teresa Teng Songs Medley.
Mr Ho is an alumni of the SMJK Nan Hwa Band. He started as a percussionist and later the Drum Major (1981-1986). He spent 9 years pursuing a musical education in Europe, majoring in flute at the D I T Conservatory of Music & Drama and later at the Royal Irish Academy of Music. He also acquired LTCL and FLCM in flute performance. He also attended masterclasses in flute & conducting with renowned artists both in France and Italy. He won the 1996 Woodwind Solo at the Irish Arklow Music Festival and held many solo recitals in Ireland and UK. He was a member of the Irish Youth Wind Ensemble and toured the USA with D I T Symphonic Band.
Soloist featuring: Mr Ho Chee Kiang playing flute for Meditation from “Thais”; Ms Tan Su Yin playing Marimba for Csardas.
Repertoires:
1. Pentland Hills - by
2. Variations on "Lobe Den Herrn" – by Barry E. Kopetz
3. Sea Songs – by Vaughan Williams
4. Choral Music – by Jacob De Haan
5. Asuka – by
6. Csardas (Marimba Solo) – by
Intermission
7. Macarena (La Virgen de la Macarena) – by Alfred Reed
8. Meditation from "Thais" (Flute Solo) – by Jules Massenet
9. Teresa Teng Songs Medley – by Isaac Chia, Kunihiro Sugiura
10. The Great Wall, Songs of China – by
11. Young Man YMCA – by
Encore presentations:
African Symphony – by Naohiro Iwai
Gallop “first suite for band” – by Alfred Reed
The event saw around 700 guest attending, occupying the entire hall. Overall, the concert was a success, and ended at around 10:30pm.
