A male student on stage singing during Tape Days while a crowd of students watch him. Drums and microphone stands are present in the background.

The Arts – Music

Many of the College’s students played musical instruments, sang and even composed their own music. They formed a number of different musical ensembles, including an orchestra, as well as many vocal groups and rock bands.

From classical to jazz, pop, rock, dance and even acapella, all types of music could be heard on campus at concerts, special events or impromptu jam sessions. There were also two major annual music festivals, ‘Tape Days’ and ‘Bread and Jam’.

Practice rooms were available with musical instruments, and concerts could take place in the Yale-NUS College Hall and Multi Purpose Hall, as well as the College’s outside spaces.

Yale-NUS Orchestra

Formed in 2016, the Yale-NUS Orchestra staged regular ‘Gala Concerts’ in the Yale-NUS College Hall, performing a selection of orchestral and classical compositions.

The Orchestra later transformed into the Yale-NUS College Chamber Music Collective, playing classical and instrumental pieces, and also collaborating with the Singers’ Guild to perform a number of classical, gospel and popular music concerts.

A brown concert poster with violin and a white sparkling dress.
A white concert poster with pink flowers and a black violin illustration in the middle.
A white concert poster with a violin illustration on the left.
A black concert poster with a violin in the middle.
A black poster with the title "GALA CONCERT" in the centre.

Yale-NUS Singers’ Guild

The Yale-NUS Singers‘ Guild was an umbrella organisation for the College’s many vocal groups who sang classical, gospel, acapella, barbershop and more.

A big group of students posing on stage in the Yale-NUS College Hall.
A group of students singing on stage together.

The YNC Chamber Choir sang a range of classical vocal music from the Renaissance to Contemporary Classical. They performed at the 2016 Family Weekend.

Patchwork were an acapella group who arranged and performed their own versions of R&B, pop and rock songs.

Formed in 2014, the YNC Gospel Choir was one of the larger vocal groups with close to 20 members. They sang a range of material from Swahili hymns to Kanye West, Sovereign Grace Music to modern religious songs.

A group of choir students standing and performing on stage.Three female students posing with posters in their hands.A group of students from Gospel Choir posing on stage in the performance hall.

The Chamber Choir

An acapella performance of classical choral music held at the College’s campus inauguration ceremony.

Six members of the choir (2 female, 1 male, 2 female, 1 male) performing in front of three microphone stands on stage.
Five people (2 female, 1 male, 1 female) performing on stage with microphones in their hands.

Patchwork Ivy

This acapella group’s name signified that they were diverse individuals ‘patched’ together who wanted to spread their music like ivy.

Yale-NUS Jazz Band

In 2020, the Yale-NUS Jazz Band performed with acclaimed jazz saxophonist Dr Damani Philips in the Black Box Theatre.

Dr Philips also gave a talk discussing his book What is This Thing Called Soul: Conversations on Black Culture and Jazz Education and conducted two workshops, ‘The Use of Hip-Hop in Jazz Pedagogy’ and ‘The Use of Melodic Pivoting in Jazz Improvisation’.

A female student singing on the stage.Damani Phillips playing saxophone on the stage.A male student playing drums.A poster for a concert of Damani Phillips with Yale-NUS Jazz Band. Blue tinted photo of Damani Phillips playing saxophone while someone else is playing the bass framed in orange header and footer.

Yale-NUS College Songwriters Society

A poster for Songwriters Society Welcome Tea with a photo of a guitar, a computer, a cup of tea and some stationary in the background.

The Yale-NUS College Songwriters Society welcomed aspiring songwriters, and created a space where members could work together to develop their songs from initial ideas to fully realised performances.


As part of the ‘YNC Arts Fest 2015: Before We Leave, Off the Page’ was the group’s first showcase of original songs. For many members it was the first time they had performed their own songs in public.

A group of six students with guitars, a book, and a computer in their hands.

Tape Days

‘Tape Days’ was an annual music concert featuring student bands performing music from the 1990s. Held on the last day of school, it was an opportunity for students to let their hair down and celebrate the end of the academic year with their friends and classmates.

Two students playing guitars and singing on stage with purple light in the background.

Tape Days 2018

A red Tape Days poster with a tape illustration.
A group performing on stage with a “tape days” banner and blue lights in the background.

Tape Days 2019

Audience holding flashlights during a performance.A female student singing on stage with orange-green-blue lights.A male student in a Pikachu hat playing guitar.A Tape Days poster with Windows XP classic green patch landscape in the background.

Bread and Jam

A Bread and Jam poster with four students (2 male 2 female) lying on the bushes with jam and bread on their faces.

‘Bread and Jam’ was an annual concert showcasing rock and pop bands. Nicolas Kang (Class of 2020) and Joseff Manto (Class of 2021) set up 'Bread and Jam' to be an entry-level and inclusive event, allowing students of all musical abilities to take part. Each band played two songs on the night, one well-known (the bread) and another which demonstrated the band’s unique ‘flavour’ (the jam).

Yanni Chia in white shirt and blue jeans singing on stage while the other group members play guitars at Tape Days, photographed from the side.

Yale-NUS has helped me realise my dream of becoming a rockstar.

Yanni Chia (Class of 2021) talks about ‘Tape Days’ and ‘Bread and Jam’.

Yanni Chia singing on stage, close-up shot.

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A Bread and Jam poster with four students (2 male 2 female) lying on the bushes with jam and bread on their faces.Yanni Chia in white shirt and blue jeans singing on stage while the other group members play guitars at Tape Days, photographed from the side.

Anthologies

From 2017 to 2021, The Literary Collective published a series of anthologies of prose and poems written by students.The first was titled Misc., a reference to the range of miscellaneous voices contained within the writing. Is No Longer There (2018) was inspired by the theme of ‘preservation’. Until it Heals (2020) explored ideas of pain and healing, of overcoming hurt and eventual renewal.

A purple poster for Bread and Jam with a photo of two students with guitars faded into a photo of a marina.
An orange poster for Bread and Jam with a photo of six students in the lift.
A grey poster for Bread and Jam with a photo of three students behind a wire fence.
A pink poster for Bread and Jam with a photo of five students in a room.
A yellow poster for Bread and Jam with a photo of five students practising with their instruments in a practice room.
An orange poster for Bread and Jam with a photo of five students posing in a common lounge.
A blue poster for Bread and Jam with a photo of four students posing in the mirror in a public restroom.
A red poster for Bread and Jam with a photo of five students standing against a wall.

Sofasogood

‘Sofasogood’ was a more informal music event, held every other Friday evening in Elm Courtyard, and focused on singers and acoustic instruments. Started by Arjun Jayaraman (Class of 2021), Chia Yaim Chong (Class of 2020) and Bryson Ng (Class of 2021), it helped students relax, forget about classes and enjoy some live music.

Students listening to a Sofasogood (a female student playing the guitar and singing sitting in sofa) performance at Elm Courtyard.
Two students are singing while another student is playing the guitar during a Sofasogood concert.

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