After taking a week off, Pianovers are back at the URA Centre. Pianovers Meetup is a weekly Sunday gathering for all piano lovers to not only meet old friends but also make new friends.
The evening began as it always did, starting with an intimate dinner between early birds. This time, Carin, who was a newcomer, Elyn Goh and Yong Meng, the Founder of ThePiano.SG, met at 5pm. They all headed over to Maxwell Food Centre for a scrumptious dinner.
The group then headed back to the Meetup and were joined by other newcomers - Ritesh, and his sons Raghav and Divit. This week, Siew Tin and Winny Turnady contributed goodies, which we all truly enjoyed! Thank you!
As Pianovers waited for the event to start, a few Pianovers began to play on the piano while others mingled and connected with one another. It is always great to see Pianovers socialising about their lives and discussing their passion for music!
Time for Announcements! Pianovers Meetup #106 that is taking place on 16th December 2018 will be a Christmas Themed Meetup. You are all encouraged to play Christmas related pieces, although; you can still choose to play your favourite tune pieces. To match the Christmas Themed Meetup, wear green, red, or white for a nice group photo! Also, there's no Meetup on 23rd and 30th December 2018. So, Meetup #107 will be on 6th January 2019.
The list of performers for Pianovers Recital is out. All 18 performance slots are already sold out, within a day! We want to thank all of our registered performers for your support. We all look forward to having all of you on the stage very soon.
Pianovers Recital is a platform for aspiring pianists to perform. They may come from all walks of life, but their passion for music is indisputable. So, come and support the performances by these enthusiastic pianists! A ticket is $12 each. Free seating. Buy now!
Mini-Recital commenced with Mayuri Gupta, who performed Love Story by Francis Lai. This famous song was first introduced in 1970 as an instrumental theme in the film, Love Story, which was also released in the same year. Recognised as one of the greatest love tragic films, it is considered to be one of the most romantic films according to the American Film Institute. The film, in fact, was placed ninth on the list and is one of the highest-grossing films of all time. "Love means never having to say you're sorry." - a quote from the film, is currently ranked #13 in the "AFI's 100 Greatest Movie Quotes Of All Time". Do you know that the film was followed by a sequel, Oliver's Story, in 1978?
Next was Gavin Koh, who performed two songs, Amazed by Marv Green, Aimee Mayo and Chris Lindsey, as well as "Looking Through Your Eyes" by David Foster and Carole Bayer Sager. The latter was originally performed by Lee Ann Rimes, and also became the lead single for the 1998 film, Quest for Camelot’s soundtrack. Produced by Warner Bro, this animated musical fantasy movie also sports another famous song in its soundtrack list - "The Prayer".
Lim Ee Fong and Pek Siew Tin went up to the piano next and played 若是你在我身边 (恋があぶない) by 佐濑寿, with Ee Fong on the piano, and Siew Tin vocals. This song is a cover from the original Japanese song, 恋があぶない, which was published in 1975. Later on, it was covered by 刘文正 - 若是你在我身边 and then anew, by 任贤齐 Richie Ren in 1996. We announced, previously, that from Meetup #101, there would be a new format for our Mini-Recital. Ensemble performances are allowed. That means performers can play the piano and another instrument, including vocals. While we explore the versatility of the piano with additional instruments, the number of such ensemble performances will be capped.
Our regular Pianover, Albert Chan performed 顺流逆流 by 蔡国权 and 在那遥远的地方 by 王洛宾. The latter is a folk song that means "At a Faraway Place" in English. This song, in fact, was used in the 1948 film 小城之春, and was also selected as the Chinese music classics of the 20th century in 1993. A year later, in July 1994, 王洛宾 received the UNESCO Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Exchange of Western and Eastern Cultures.
Tea Zhi Yuan played Bohemian Rhapsody by Freddy Mercury. This famous song was published in 1975 by the British Rock Band, Queen. This song, as a matter of fact, remains one of Queens's most famous songs and is still considered as one of the greatest rock songs of all time. It was even inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2004. Its musical structure comprises several sections without a chorus - an intro, a ballad segment, an operatic passage, a hard rock part and a reflective coda.
Erika Iishiba played Over the Rainbow composed by Harold Arlen. This song was written for "The Wizard of Oz" film and sung by Judy Garland, who was also the main actress in this movie. It became so popular that it was the Best Original Song at the Academy Awards in 1939. Moreover, this song reached the number one status in the "Songs of the Century" list. This song was also listed as the greatest film song of all time on the list of AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs. Another feather in the cap came when Garland's performance of this song was preserved in the National Recording Registry.
Emma was next, who performed Etude in A minor by Louise Farrenc, who was a French pianist-composer and teacher. Louise started learning piano at an early age with Cecile Soria, a former student of Muzio Clementi. This piece is also part of the ABRSM G5 2019-2020 syllabus. Emma ended her turn with Rektor by Witold Lutostawski. We are thrilled to see Emma again, since her last performance at Meetup #66, on 21st January 2018, and hope to see her perform more regularly in future Meetups.
Lim Ee Fong played To God Be The Glory by William Howard Doane. This song was published in 1875, but failed to gain popularity in the United States and was only included in very few hymnals. In 1945, Billy Graham's song leader, Cliff Barrows, received a suggestion that this song should be added in London Crusade's songbook. The song, immediately became so popular that he included it again later that year in the Crusade in Nashville, Tennessee. The audience, unexpectedly, reacted enthusiastically and from that time on, he used it frequently. With this kind of exposure, the song rapidly became familiar to Christians worldwide and now, is included in most modern hymnals.
Next was May Ling and she performed The Christmas Song by Bob Wells and Mel Tormé. It seems that May Ling is full of Christmas Spirit at this Meetup! Originally subtitled as "Merry Christmas to You" as well as commonly subtitled "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire", this song is a classical Christmas music written in 1945. The Nat King Cole Trio was the first musician group to record this song in 1946, and their 1946 recording, in fact, was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1974.
At the end of the Mini-Recital, the evening moved to the Open Segment. It was time to take a group picture, and many Pianovers quickly got together for the photo! After the photo session, many started to jam on the pianos and had a great time connecting with others. Many Pianovers, also, stayed behind to connect and chat with each other and continued to munch on the goodies.
It was definitely heartwarming to see many familiar faces like Jin Li, Tabitha Gan, Xavier, Will Liang and others who joined today's Meetup. We thank everyone for attending, and we cannot wait to see all of you at the next Christmas Themed Meetup!
