Muhamad Yusri

This year the WYCW celebrates 10 years of conducting sharing and learning and the journey has been an amazing one. We started with Part 1 on 29 September with the RP Wind Symphony and we have just completed Part 2 of the workshop with Maestro Tsung Yeh and the Amity Chamber Orchestra from 5 November to 10 November, where for the first time, we exposed participants to conducting a chamber ensemble.

Having had convinced Maestro Yeh to lead Part 2 of the #wycw2019, I led Part 1 and shared a few pointers on non-verbal conducting technique with the participants. This session provided participants the opportunity to work with a Symphonic Band and also serves as a warm up for Part 2 and to prepare participants on what they could expect from Part 2 with Maestro Yeh. RP Wind Symphony acted as the demo band for Part 1 and I believe the members in the band benefited a lot from the session as well.

Part 1

The repertoire for Part 1 were simple but provided participants with ample opportunities to focus on conducting technique rather than worry about the notes in the score. Learning a score can take a lot of time and if a conductor is not prepared for the session with band, he or she will be more concerned with what’s in the score then focusing on communicating the ideas in the score with the band. For this year, Part 1 of the workshop featured the following works:

1. Postcard from Singapore by Philip Sparke
2. First Suite in Eb by Gustav Holst
3. City of Dreams by Benjamin Yeo
4. Amazing Grace by Frank Ticheli
5. At Dawn They Slept by Jay Bocook

Participants had to conduct one movement from the Holst Suite in Eb and another piece or movement from the repertoire list. Each participant was allocated about 30 minutes to work on the chosen pieces over 2 sessions, one in the morning and one after lunch. The learning not only happens on the podium but also by observing other participants at work. In most situations, a lot of learning is gained from observing others at work and taking notes of what were shared and discussed.

Part 2

I became the “Grad Student” for Part 2 and did all (with assistance from good friends) the administrative and logistic work of organising. I had to make sure that all aspects like scheduling, venue bookings, transportation and logistical requirements are met. It was a challenge at times but with support from my friends and colleagues, it felt easier and at the end of it all, a great sense of satisfaction!

The idea for this began from a coffee with Maestro Tsung Yeh and through our communications after, he agreed to lead Part 2 of the conducting workshop. We discussed possible pieces for the participants to study and work on and he suggested the following two:

1. Octet in F by F. Schubert
2. Appalachian Spring (Ballet for Martha) Suite for 13 Instruments by A. Copland

Maestro Yeh also suggested we did preview/ score study sessions prior to practical conducting sessions. He felt that the sessions would give insights to participants on the historical and technical aspects of the repertoire and would help them prepare before coming in front of the ensemble (ALL PARTICIPANTS AGREED!) It was obvious during the conducting session that the 2 preview sessions had helped the participants in their preparation for the day.

Here are some pictures from the 2 preview sessions:

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Some pictures from the conducting day! Maestro Yeh made sure he showed each participant how he or she should conduct. He is so generous with comments and guidance. There are a couple of participant missing in these pictures 😦

Lighter moments over lunch!

At the end of the course, Maestro sat down with the participants and did a debrief and heard feedback from each participant on what they learned from their participation.

And of course, we needed to take a group photo at the end of the course! Thanks to Katherine at Cristofori Serangoon for her help! This photo had Maestro Yeh + 10 Participants + 1 “Grad Student”. What an amazing journey!

I would like to thank Maestro Tsung Yeh, all Participants, members of the Amity Chamber Orchestra and all friends who helped to make this year’s 10th Anniversary edition of the Woodlands Young Conductors Workshop a great success and a most memorable one.

If you are interested to be kept posted on future conducting workshops, please email me at amitychamberorchestra@gmail.com