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Pianovers are invited to bask in the atmosphere with their Halloween costumes and props, and to present pieces related to the occasion on 28 October (Meetup #99). In the spirit of the event, Pianovers can feel free to have a round of ‘Trick Or Treat’! However, Pianovers are advised to consider and plan their costumes with children in mind, as our Meetups are kid-friendly – we wouldn’t want to scare little tots away! That said, we can’t wait to see and hear what our Pianovers have in store for the themed Meetup.
In 2006, Derek Amato hit his head hard on a concrete floor in an accident. Although he suffered a severe concussion that resulted in partial deafness and memory loss, the experience unlocks the musical genius in him. He had never played the piano. Now, he became a pianist and composer, going on to play beautiful pieces to various audiences. He is one of the rare few individuals who experience what is known as acquired savant syndrome.
As the Pianovers Meetup soon approaches its 100th Meetup, the weekly session will see exciting changes to its format. Yong Meng announced that from the 101st session onwards, Pianovers can invite their fellow music-loving friends to perform as vocalists, violinists, or be part of an ensemble or band, together with Pianovers.
With the Meetup happening on the eve of Mid-Autumn Festival, 23 September, the event was nonetheless themed according to the festivities. Some took the opportunity to dress their best (we had a couple of Pianovers adorned in Cheongsams) while others, brimming with excitement, were taking group photos to commemorate the special evening. It also brings us immense joy to see many regular Pianovers return and even bring new friends along to celebrate the occasion with us. We are so heartened to see our community grow from week to week, where last Sunday was like a big family party!
Today's Meetup saw Erika and her family arriving early to share homemade mooncakes made by Erika’s mom, Winny! Thank you! It is so generous and kind of you to share them, and to even personally deliver them to us. Also, Jeslyn is back with her father, Peter Prem. It was encouraging to see both dad and daughter of (what we know them as) the fun-loving Boogie Woogie family, back at our Meetup again!
The Mid-Autumn Festival is drawing near! To soak in the mid-autumn atmosphere, Pianovers are encouraged to join the pot-luck gathering on 23 September and bring lanterns, mooncakes, and tea. It shall be a relaxing Sunday evening of delightful music and delicious refreshments.
Tonight, we had a whopping number of piano teachers – eight in all! It's great that teachers are bringing their students to Pianovers Meetup. This out-of-classroom experience and exposure are invaluable in helping them to gain exposure and interact with other piano lovers, both of which are beneficial to their learning process. Pianovers Meetup happens every Sunday at Urban Park @ URA Centre.
Waves of the Danube, by Ion Ivanovici, is a very popular and recognised Romanian tune composed in 1880. It even made its way into a Korean song - In Praise of Death, which was recorded by Yun Sim-deok in Osaka in 1926. Sim-deok met and fell in love with a Korean married man there. They boarded a steamship headed back for Korea but, sadly, jumped together to their death while on board.
Teik Lee performed a mashup of two pieces this evening. He did not announce the names of the songs he would play, leaving the audience to guess them after he had finished his performance. He also jokingly added that the first piece was somewhat related to the Seventh Month; he was alluding to the ongoing Hungry Ghost Festival. It is always fun to have quizzes during Pianovers Meetup, to liven up the mood and make the performance more interesting.
The movements of world-renowned dancer Kaiji Moriyama's dancing on stage were translated into musical notes on a Yamaha Disklavier player piano, accompanied by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra Scharoun Ensemble, demonstrating how artificial intelligence has made its foray into the world of music, in a whole new creative manner.
It was a special NDP-Themed Meetup today, being the session just before Singapore’s National Day! Thus, it was not surprising to see most Pianovers dressed in red tonight. We had a number of Pianovers who played familiar patriotic tunes and definitely brought us together even more. Happy 53rd National Day, Singapore!
Again and again, the experts from Steinway & Sons set off on the thrilling search for extraordinary veneers, ensuring that new models can be created in strictly limited editions. They open up precious natural treasures – occasionally a whole tree trunk is needed to create just one grand piano, which can never be repeated.
I-Wen, 5 years old, has been improving! This evening, she was able to introduce herself very well and the pieces that she was going to play. She is now able to speak very confidently, and was very happy after her performances. Pianovers saw her jumping up and down multiple times. We were all very happy for I-Wen and are glad that public exposure has done her lots of good. Keep it up, I-Wen. We will support you during your piano-playing journey!
There are times at 5pm, when Yong Meng arrived at URA Centre and Mr Tan was already there. Upon seeing Yong Meng pick up the dead leaves in the premises, he took the initiative to assist. This evening, Yong Meng shared with everyone that Mr Tan is one of the silent heroes behind Pianovers Meetup. The fact that the venue is always clean when everyone arrives is also because of Mr Tan's numerous efforts! Thank you so much, Mr Tan, for helping us make Pianovers Meetup a much more enjoyable event!
ThePiano.SG is honoured to have been invited by People's Association to deliver a piano performance at the Luncheon of 6th Meeting of Governors/Mayors of Asean Capitals (MGMAC) on 7 July 2018. This event, held at the Parliament House, was the latest instalment of the event and was hosted by Singapore this year. It was attended by over 40 delegates from the 10 Asean nations, and was chaired by Mayor Low Yen Ling, with Mr Masagos Zulkifli, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources as Guest of Honor.
Jeremy Foo delighted the crowd tonight with a Fugue by JS Bach. Last week, Jeremy played its accompanying Prelude. Recently, we have seen many Pianovers playing Bach's Preludes and Fugues. It would be interesting to see all 48 Preludes and Fugues played by our piano community! As an additional note, 3% of the 1,700 public performances by our Pianovers are Bach's compositions!
A new initiative to promote young Singapore piano talents will be launched this July by leading Japanese multi-national corporation Yamaha.
Called "I Play Yamaha", this initiative by Yamaha Music (Asia), aims to showcase and promote young piano talents aged between 13 and 25 years old in Singapore.
Heart-warming stories of our Pianovers who are parents themselves - Jenny Soh, Tan Eng Wee, and Rony Ang - were shared, and it's evident that parents' involvement in their kid's piano education is very important. Parents should spend more time with the kids than the piano teacher; their encouragement and motivation can most likely go a long way towards helping their kids in their piano education!
Albert today, with the inclusion of these two pieces, just clocked his 100th piece at Pianovers Meetup. This was certainly an achievement, as Albert became the first person to reach this milestone. What made this even more amazing is that Albert has never repeated any single piece, electing to play something different every week! Albert’s passion for piano, and the passion to play and perform are commendable. Well done, Albert!
On 9 June 2018, Pianovers Sailaway #2 was attended by many piano lovers, and local artistes. Throughout the evening, many beautiful songs were played, across both the salon and the upper deck. Many people also took pictures and videos of the wonderful setup inside the yacht and of themselves with the pianos. It was certainly a very memorable and magical experience! Playing the piano will never be the same again!
This evening’s Meetup was Hari Raya-themed. All of us busked in the festive mood, together with our fellow Muslims, and a series of Hari Raya themed songs were played - Suasana Di Hari Raya, Selamat Hari Raya, Seloka Hari Raya, Warna Warni Aidilfitri, and even a medley of Rasa Sayang, Burong Kakak Tua and Chan Mali Chan.
Gregory, who usually plays Chinese pop songs during the Meetups, decided to do something different today, and performed an English song - Sunday Morning. It was a really refreshing experience! At ThePiano.SG, we encourage Pianovers to try a wider repertoire and experience different types of music.
D-Flat Studios presented Singapore’s first digital piano exam for the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) examinations on 9 March 2018. Joshua Hanitio, 12, sat for his Grade 5 piano exam on the Grand Hybrid GP-500 Digital Piano, scoring a distinction, a first for music education in Singapore.
Tian Wei, who has special needs, joined us this evening. We had met his mother Angie at the Popup Stall @ Bedok Point several weeks back and she had expressed her interest to have her son play for us at Pianovers Meetup. We warmly welcomed both Tian Wei and her mum to our Sunday get-together! At Pianovers Meetup, we welcome anyone who wishes to grace our occasion and play a tune for us, and Tian Wei’s playing was nothing short of amazing! Thank you, Angie and Tian Wei, for letting us at Pianovers Meetup know both of you better. We are glad that we connected with you through this platform!