Mention live music performances and it’s understandable that concerts by international acts such as Taylor Swift and Coldplay come to mind. But beyond these large-scale, buzzy events, Singapore has no shortage of homegrown talents and music events in our own professional arts scene.
To spark students’ interest in these local acts, and forge in them a deeper sense of identity, community, and connection with Singapore’s arts and cultural heritage, MOE and the National Arts Council (NAC) initiated the Performing Arts-Based Learning (PABL) experience to bring bespoke live music performances to them. In its inception year in 2024, more than 12,000 students from 48 schools attended such specially curated music performance as part of PABL. This year, the numbers have almost doubled, with over 23,000 students from 85 schools participating in the programme.
“MOE and NAC work closely with local cultural institutions and performing arts groups to put together each PABL programme, which takes place at Singapore’s professional arts venues. We also strive to feature Singaporean artists, arts groups and local works in each programme, including those by Cultural Medallion and Young Artist Award recipients, to help students develop an appreciation for them,” elaborates MOE’s Arts Education Branch (AEB). For instance, Metropolitan Festival Orchestra (MFO) engaged 2023 Young Artist Award recipient Julian Wong to specially curate and rearrange Our Singapore Songbook’s programme since last year.
Making meaningful connections between classroom learning and the local professional arts scene
Unity Secondary School is one of the schools which participated in the PABL for the first time this year. Its Secondary 1 students attended Songsmith: Singapore Songs and Songwriting, presented by The Esplanade Co. Ltd. and Inch Chua with Metronome Collective. During the programme, students were invited to create songs with the performers.
Songsmith: Singapore Songs and Songwriting is one of the live performances that is part of the PABL programming this year.
“We simply suggested words to the singers on stage, and they turned them into a full song right there and then! I was honestly stunned by their talent. It was so cool how they could come up with melodies and lyrics so quickly. It made the performance feel super interactive and fun, and I’ll definitely remember that moment for a long time,” says Roselin Manoj, a Secondary 1 student from Unity Secondary School.
For Ms Christine Tang, Senior Teacher (Music) at Unity Secondary School, having her students on the PABL programme is a great way to include learning experiences outside the classroom, with live performances in a professional setting. “They are enriching and bring to life students’ music learning, such as the musical elements of texture, dynamics, and more,” she adds.
Unforgettable experiences at the PABL programme
Ms Nordiyana Omar, Head of Department (HOD) of Aesthetics & Technology at Yishun Town Secondary School (YTSS), says the school chose SCOTIFY by the Singapore Chinese Orchestra for their students’ first PABL experience as it’s related to their lower-secondary Music curriculum, which includes song writing, pop music, film music and Singapore music.
“It was great to see them thoroughly engaged during the performance. For many of them, it’s their first live music performance at such a setting, and we believe this is an important part of music learning,” says Ms Diyana.
During the performance, students were polled on which songs they would like to hear the orchestra play – a sort of “build your own playlist” experience that had the students delighted or (just a little) disappointed, depending on whether or not the song they liked was voted by a majority of the audience.
Students were polled on which songs they would like to hear the Singapore Chinese Orchestra play during the SCOTIFY performance, and the results were often very close to call.
For Secondary 2 student Ghufayrah Binte Muhammad Azril, attending the SCOTIFY performance was an eye-opening experience which she describes as “top tier”. “This was my first live orchestra performance, and my favourite part was hearing ‘Rasa Sayang’ played live. Usually, the traditional song doesn’t sound like that, but like the conductor said, the orchestra played a more refreshing take on it,” she adds.
Sparking deeper appreciation for the local music scene
As part of the PABL experience, pre- and post-performance lesson resources are provided to support school music teachers in enhancing students’ concert experience and facilitating their responses and learning from the experience back in the music classroom.
Ms Tang says that attending the PABL performance has definitely sparked new levels of engagement among the students. “I plan to build on the momentum by integrating more opportunities for students to experience music through things like live demos, student-led performances or inviting guest musicians to the school,” she elaborates.
Beyond school initiatives, MOE and NAC also hope that by cultivating students’ sense of curiosity and pride towards local music, musicians, and performance venues, it will encourage them to revisit similar performances and performance venues with their families too.
Photos courtesy of: Yong Junyi / Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Nik Voon of ‘Not a Tastemaker’ and Metronome Collective, and Singapore Chinese Orchestra
