Concert Review Writing Competition at 4th S'pore Piano Pedagogy Symposium - CANCELLED!!! Latest Updates on 13 May 09

Pls note that this concert review writing competition have been cancelled due to impending Influenza epidemic. Information gathered from 13 May 09: http://themadscene.athenarts.com/?p=743#comment-29007

The information below is given by Music Essentials:

4th SINGAPORE PIANO PEDAGOGY SYMPOSIUM 22-26 JUNE 2009
Yong Siew Toh Conservatory, Orchestral Hall, Level 3

is back!

Calling all music students! Here's an opportunity to put your listening and writing skills to the test in the Concert Review Writing Competition! Teachers, please circulate this and encourage your students to participate!
Talk by Dr Chang Tou Liang
Who needs music critics?
Mon 22nd June 2009, 11am -12 noon
A chance to meet face-to-face with the music critic himself! Get tips on the ropes of writing reviews.
Piano Recital by Sebastien Koch
Mon 22nd June 2009, 12 noon – 1pm (Programme will be announced later)

Piano Recital by William Westney
Fri 26th June 2009, 12 noon – 1pm

PROGRAMME

Friedrich BURGMULLER Selected Etudes, op. 109 Gabriel FAURE Nocturne in D-flat, op. 63 GERSHWIN/Earl WILD Concert Paraphrases:
Embraceable YouFascinating Rhythm
GERSHWIN/Earl WILD Fantasy on “Porgy and Bess”
(Programme is correct @ time of printing)

Fee: $5/- (Talk & 2 Recitals) Those who are attending the full symposium need not pay $5.
Get your tickets from Music Essentials OR mail a cheque to the address below with your name, address, email address & mobile no. written on the back.

Cheque is payable to SMTA.
COMPETITION INFORMATION:
Eligibility
· Intermediate Section- 16 years and below (born in or after 1993)
· Senior Section - 22 years and below (born in or after 1987)

Outline Review both recitals
Number of words: Each review must not be more than 300 words

Judge Dr. Chang Tou Liang (Judge's decision is final)

Intermediate
1st - $300 Music Essentials Voucher
2nd - $200 Music Essentials Voucher
3rd - $100 Music Essentials Voucher

Senior
1st - $500 Music Essentials Voucher
2nd - $300 Music Essentials Voucher
3rd - $100 Music Essentials Voucher

The winning reviews will be posted on the SMTA webpage. The student and school will be mentioned.

Procedure
Reviews MUST be typed
Arial or Times New Roman, 12-point font
Lines: Double spaced

Your Details
Full Name
Photocopy of Identity Card
Address, Tel/Mobile no., E-mail address
Name of School & StandardTeacher’s name

Review Submission Dateline 1st July 2009, Wed 19:30 hrs Late entries will not qualify

E-Mail to:
Mr Chia Sin Teck http://sg.mc762.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=Sinteck@musicessentials.com
Subject: Concert Review Writing Competition

Contact:
Julie Tan
President, Singapore Music Teachers Associationhttp://www.smtasingapore.com/
100 Orchard Road#02-70 Concorde Hotel & Shopping MallSingapore 238840
Tel: 65-6737 0903
http://sg.mc762.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=julie@musicessentials.com

For more information on the 4th SPPS 2009: http://www.smtasingapore.com/
The Symposium is suitable for all levels of teachers as well as advanced students.
Please feel free to forward this to your colleagues, friends and students.
Don’t miss the Early Bird Registration (till 30th April)

Blues Duo Gig @ the Old Brown Shoe - 25th April 09

Here's an email from some blue musician's gig performance happening this weekend(Credits goes to Louis Lam - Chicken Shack Revival):

Hi Everyone!

Louis here, your friendly neighborhood singer and harmonica dude from Chicken Shack Revival, how u doin?!I'm pleased to inform you I've been invited to perform with Mr Victor Chen, the cool dude with awesome slide guitar action, at the Old Brown Shoe on Saturday 25th April, 2045hrs onwards. We'll be performing in a blues duo format with Victor on acoustic/electric guitars and yours truly on vocals and harmonica. We'll be slightly amplified, playing through small low powered 5 watts tube amps reminiscence of the good ol' days where blues just arrived at the bright lights, big city of the northern towns (Chicago, Detroit) from the rural south. You'll hear the mix of rural earthiness combined with exciting electrified urban vibe. So come on down to the "Shoe" and boogie on with us as we present you with a good ol' blues repertoire from the 40s-60s era plus a few mo' modern surprises.

Details of the Gig for your convenience:
Date: Saturday 25th April 2009
Time: 2045hrs onwardsVenue: The Old Brown Shoe
Address: 619F Bukit Timah Road S(269726)

See you there!
Louis Lam

About Mr. Victor Chen:A long time musical accomplice of mine. We go way back to our very first band L'il Lloyd and the Blues Virus. Victor is conversant with all forms of blues guitar playing. From old school Robert Johnson finger style to Muddy Waters/Elmore James Slide style to cool west coast stylings of T-bone walker. He plays with great rhythm/lead style that sometimes suggests two guitars playing simultaneously. He is at home with both electric and acoustic blues styling. Check out his personal homepage for more information: http://pachome2.pacific.net.sg/~victorchen/index.html

About Old Brown Shoe:A good ol' English pub located along Bukit Timah Rd near to Coronation Plaza. Great ambience for a Saturday night out with friends. The popular dish here is fish and chips, served in a newspaper. Food and Drinks are resonably priced too. They have Heineken, Kilkenny, Guiness and Strongbow cider on tap, plus a large selection of English ales (like Abbot), ciders (like Bulmers) and other exotic beers. A great selection of Wines also. Great food, great ambience, great music and with your favourite beverage in hand, hmmm sure sounds good!

'Mi Lu Bing' Band Profile - The Milo-Bing Experience

Written By Tan Wen Hui
Edited And Vetted by AJ Chen Weijie
April 23nd 2009

If there are two words which best describes local boy-band Mi Lu Bing, youthful and energetic sure deems fit.

The mini-band, made up of three happy friends - Wei Qi (24), Nic (25) and Sam (23), became an overnight mando-pop-rock sensation after clinching the title of overall champion of the first SuperBand contest in 2006, has since been actively playing in local charity shows and concerts despite their tight personal schedules.

Wei Qi, who is currently attending to his undergraduate studies at the Nanyang Technological University of Singapore, majors in art, design and media while Nic is an audio engineering graduate and Sam, a national service freshman.

Amazingly, all three would fork out time just to put their heads together and conjure up an original song to play! No music, no life.

In their debut album 'Mi Lu Bing' released in 2006, not all 9 (but only 3!) tracks penned were based on their personal life experiences which they wish to share with audiences through creative music-making. Same goes to their second album 'Triangle'.

Feedback: Thanks for the comment from Mi Lu Bing in clarifying that only 3 songs were written by them in their first album.

It's great to see musicians providing their own voices to the blog rather than
having the facts being distorted on them. I believe that one can still provide
entertainment and interesting news without having to tell "juicy white lies".
It's all depends on the way how the writer crafts the story: For the sentences above in blue, I extend my apologies to my fellow co-writer/interviewer Tan Wen Hui Joyce for the article in maligning her writing on the article. She has done a good job in terms of the facts as accurate as possible and shown her professionalism in her writing.

Interested to know the 3 songs written by them in their first album? Be sure to check it out on my blog again as I seek answers from them to bring u guys the latest reliable music news on Singapore and Asian Music.

"We've never thought of winning the Superband contest. We joined for the fun." Admitted Nic shyly during an exclusive interview with Razor TV's host Bryan. "We just enjoy playing music, and it so happens that someone - our mentor cum bassist who's turning 50 soon - encouraged us to join and we thought, why not just go and try?" Added Sam.

One of their latest contributions to MediaCorp TV was their performance of 'Bai Wan Bao's' (A Thousand Treasures) theme song written by budding singer and songwriter Zhang Le Sheng.

Nonetheless they each share a common interest in jamming and are Christians too.

Below is an e-mail interview with 'Mi Lu Bing' conducted by me and my co-writer/interviewer Tan Wen Hui. Facilitated by Winnie Chan (Esplanade Staff)

Q1: Why was "Mi Lu Bing' chosen as your band name?
A: It was an impromptu decision while we were deciding to name our band when taking part for SuperBand competiton. We were having Milo Ice then at a coffee shop, sine all of us like the drink, we decided to call ourselves Milo Beng. We needed to give ourselves a Chinese band name, and the name Mi Lu Bing was close to how it sounded like MiLo Beng in Chinese and so Mi Lu Bing. It also fit our band then, being lost and new in the industry then.

Q2: How long have you guys known each other and what inspired you guys to form this band?
A: We knew one another while still on diapers! We are family friends. Our parents knew one another before we were born.

Q3: What was the factor which ignited your interest in music?
A: We have liked music since we were young. It was thru our regular jamming that we felt we could try as a band and took part in the competition.

Q4: How long have you guys been playing your respective instruments?
A: WeiQi is classically trained in classical piano. Sam and Nic took up drum and guitar along the way.

Q5: As a band, what are your future plans for your music career path?
A: We'll take it one at a time, now we'll put in our fullest for the Esplanade concert “Three In Transit” on this Friday. Afterwhich, we'll be full gear on to prep for our next album, scheduled for year end release.

Q6: Amongst all the songs played by your band, which is your favorite track?
A: We like all the songs we have penned. It all had a special meaning to us at one point or the other, so we can't specially pin point one fav one. They are all special to us one way or the other.

Q7: For your band's up-coming performance 'Three In Transit' at the Esplanade on April 24th, what are the new exciting song hits you have for the concert?
A: We'll be playing the hits from our two albums, songs that we performed during our competition, and also our very first attempt in acting, in a short feature film style. Well, more of a MV style in fact.

Q8: What music experience does the band hope to bring for audiences through this concert?
A: Hopefully audience can see the effort we've put in for this concert and how MLB has evolved (musically sense) since our competition days.

Q9: How's life been for each of you as celebrities after becoming the champion for Superband 2006?
A: Not much. We're still living pretty similar life. We still drink MiLo Beng, eat at hawker centres, travel by public transport etc. No, not really a big change in terms of our daily lives. We still iron and wash dishes at home!

Q10: How do you guys handle die-hard female fans who follow you 24/7 since famous soloists and bands have their fair share of media princess-wannabes?
A: We have a group of ardent supporters, but they have been more like friends then die-hard followers or stalkers. We are no heartthrobs... we are heartlanders!

Q11: Complete the following statement: If I had to relive my life all over again, I would...
A: not want change a thing! It's been great so far!!! Yeah!

Q12: And lastly, do you guys have any parting words that you wish to convey to all of your fans out there?
A: Life is a Challenge..., Meet It! Make it a journey worth tavellin.... not a Destination to halt!

Thats the end of the e-mail interview. Check out their RazorTV videos on the section "Featuring local Singaporean Songwriter Singers, Musicians" in my blog. (To find the section - scroll all the way down to the bottom of my blog). If u guys still can't find it, let me know. That's all from me.

Signing off - AJ

OB Music Forest Looking For Part Time Song Composers (Position closed)

Latest updates (as of 7 Dec 09): The positions for part-time mandarin song composers are officially closed.

This is Dennis from OB Music Forest ( http://www.obmusicforest.com/). We are looking for part time mandarin song composers that are able to meet the requirement below.For every song successfully sold in the music industry,the composer gets $4700,and royalty fee is $680 for every usage.Requirements : -Within the next 4 working days(Mon to Thur),I will get my front desk staff to email you a music track,you just need to think of the lyrics and have a recording of the singing and the track and email it back to him/her.-Voice and the track must be on pitch,if you can't sing,you can get another person to take your place.-However,the notes used can only be (Doh,Reh,Mi,Soh and La,in any key,you may transpose the track if you wish to.)

-Songs can only be composed in a ‘中国风’manner,for example like Jay Chou's Ju Hua Tai.-Most importantly,lyrics must be original.

If interested, please sms 81420338 your name and email address and she will get back to you shortly.Thanks.


Credits goes to Dennis from
http://www.meetup.com/The-Singapore-Singers-Songwriters-Meetup-Group/messages/boards/thread/6710935

Jeremy Monteiro CD Launch of Singapore Swing: A Jazz Album of Singapore Songs - 21 April 09

An upcoming CD release from our international jazz pianist Jeremy Monteiro is coming soon. What's more, u get a chance to view this cool musician playing his own original compositions in Jazz@Southbridge. Support Singapore music by buying his album or catching him in live!!!

U can also download his email flyer here!!!

Jazz@ Southbridge: http://www.southbridgejazz.com.sg/

Below is the information (Credits goes to Gaylin - Executive Asst to MD...note that email addresses are masked to protect individual privacy):

From:
"Jeremy Monteiro's office"
To:
"'Info@Showtime'"


Dear Friends,

We take pleasure in inviting you to the launch of the latest album Jeremy Monteiro produced - "Singapore Swing: A Jazz Album of Singapore Songs" with the support of Ministry of Information, Communication and Arts.

This CD has long been an idea Jeremy had in his head and he was delighted that MICA agreed to support it and release it. He considers this album to be among the top 5 favourites of the 25 CDs he has released as a leader so far.

The launch will take place on Tues night, from 9pm onwards at http://sg.mc762.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=Jazz@Southbridge at Boat Quay. Jeremy's band will be performing 3 sets of jazz standards, Singapore songs, and his own originals from 9.30pm - 12.45am. Drinks are at bar prices and there will be no cover charge. I attach an e-mailer for your kind perusal if you need more details.

We hope to see you there. Should you have any queries, pls do not hesitate to contact us.

Warm Regards,
Gaylin

Asst Manager (Operations)
Executive Asst to MD
Showtime Productions Pte Ltd

Jazz by The Beach - 4 Apr, 11 Apr, 18 Apr & 25 Apr

Catch jazz musicians in Sentosa on weekends for April 09!!!

http://www.sentosa.com.sg/events_promotions/events/index.asp

Prize for original music composition - Latest entry by 11 April 09

Dear Music friends and lovers,

if u are looking at my music blog, do take note to look at all events for the past 2 months since there are quite a number of interesting music stuff happening. Alternatively u can RSS (subscribe for free) to get the latest interesting upcoming music news happening in Singapore. Just drop me an email! ;>

The credit of the following information goes to Jerry (organisor of Singapore Singers Songwriters Meetup Group):


Hi to all Singapore Singers-Songwriters Meetup members!

I will like to kindly announce to you on a soft launch of our website at http://www.expressinmusic.com/ . This is a beta version in which the final one will be very much different with better integrated designs and features. As mentioned, there are several projects that we are working on and we will gradually release the projects (along with the monetary reward prizes) in stages by May 2009. We hope to garner your support in submitting your demo pieces in regards specifically to the music requests that are pending.I will like to hereby officially seek your kind music pieces to be uploaded for 2 Music Requests we have currently. They actually belongs to an event held by Ministry of Community, Youth, and Sports (MCYS). Upon your submission, this is how we will like to show our appreciation:

1.) Selected winning entries will be rewarded with an Indonesia trip (return tickets included, a 5-star resort stay at Holiday Inn with breakfast...2D1N)

2.) You will be given the opportunity to perform your selected song at a Mediacorp event during this Indonesia trip.

3.) We are currently scouting for talents to be recruited on board with us permanently as a full-time musician.

4.) Your submitted entries that are selected will be recognised and published on related MCYS website.

Furthermore, you will be credited through an additional given privilege to be featured in our "Highlights" section. Here are the 2 Music Requests below which we will like to appeal towards your kind contribution: http://www.expressinmusic.com/a-river-taxi-proposal/ and http://www.expressinmusic.com/a-love-engagement/ I look forward to your kind replies and sincerely appreciate any contributions and comments. Thank you very much.

Yours Sincerely
Jerry

Link: http://www.meetup.com/The-Singapore-Singers-Songwriters-Meetup-Group/messages/boards/thread/6597229#26487642

DynamicWorkz Presents Young Pianist Competition 2009 - Closing Date - 11 April 09

DynamicWorkz
Presents
Young Pianist Competition 2009


OBJECTIVES
· To provide a performing platform for young musicians
· To develop and identify potential music talents


CATEGORIES
· The Competition is divided into four categories:
Junior (Grade 1 – 3); Intermediate (Grade 4 – 6); Senior (Grade 7 – 8) & Open (Post Grade 8)


DATE & VENUE
Semi-Finals
13 Jun ‘09 Sat, 9.30am – 5pm

Finals
14 Jun ‘09 Sun, 9.30am-12pm; 2pm-5pm

Venue
Yamaha Music School ( Thomson Plaza ) Concert Salon



For more information, please refer to the attached registration form or call us at 6255 2019 or email us at http://sg.mc762.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=contact@dynamicworkz.com.sg.

Supporters:
EPiSTAGE
EpiClub

www.epistage.sg/epiclub

5 Coleman St #B1 -34Excelsior Shopping Centre+65 633 88 913

www.epistage.sg

Get a "Fast Pass" to the auditions of Singapore Idol 2009

The information and poster is provided by IG Academy:

Dear Friends,
Singapore Idol 2009! That's right, the popular singing reality-competition is back and searching for our next local sensation!
Everyone and anyone stands a chance to being the next Singapore Idol and join the ranks of pass winners Taufik Batisah and Hady Mirza.
Academy IG is excited to announce that we are working with Singapore Idol to offer everyone of our students a chance to receive "fast-passes" from Idol Producers.

What exactly is a "fast-pass?"
Essentially, this pass allows the holder to bypass the long and winding queues during the mass auditions and get into the auditioning room first!

Pre-Audition with Academy IG
In April Singapore Idol producers will come down to our school to hold auditions for our students ages of 16-30 to be part of the Idol phenomenon.
Register for Vocal lessons at Academy IG!
Register as a student in our academy and you will automatically be sloted for the audition in April. For more information and general inquiries, please contact Ada at 67372700 or email info@academyig.com

Print out the attached voucher and bring it with you during registration and we will wavier the $20 registration fee.
Let our experience trainers prepare you to become the Next Singapore Idol.
Thanks & Best Regards,
The Academy IG Team!

Please Note:
The 3 main criteria to join Singapore Idol are:
Participants must be between the ages of 16-30
Only Singaporeans and PR residents can take part
Not managed by a talent management unit

German Phonetic for Singers - an introductory workshop - 4 April 09

German Phonetic for Singers - an introductory workshop

For all singers who want to get a first insight into the correctpronunciation of German as stage language for singers of German Art song,Opera, etc. We will go through the basic German sounds within the alphabet, and their correct pronunciation within their context following High German diction asused on stage for actors and classical singers.special topics: open and closed vowels aspirated consonants Umlaute Diphthongss-soundsst/sp sounds

This 2 hour session is merely an introduction. Participants are welcome tobring problematic passages from their song repertoire. If interest is high,more specific workshops can follow.4th April, 10am-12min 6, max 40 participants fee: $15

Please email to info@art-y-fakt. de and i will send the form and payment instructions. Register early, limited space.

Dr Thomas Manhart has studied voice and vocal teaching in Vienna and Passau.He is native speaker German and had years of diction training at the actingacademy Max-Reinhard- Seminar, Vienna. He holds a teachers degree for GermanLanguage and Literature, and specializes in his vocal performances besidesbaroque music also on German 20th century song. As lecturer for GermanPhonetic, he is engaged for the vocal department of NAFA.