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.

On That Note

The Singers’ Guild presented the annual ‘On That Note’ concert in the Yale-NUS College Hall, featuring several vocal groups over the years including the Chamber Choir, Gospel Choir, Barbershop Chorus, Scheduling Club (acapella), Overtime Project (barbershop), Patchwork (acapella) and The Wallets (one of the College’s first singing groups).

Spring Sing

‘Spring Sing’ was another concert organised by the Singers’ Guild, with performances from the Scheduling Club (acapella), Overtime Project (barbershop), Gospel Choir and Notes & Ties (the College’s first pop acapella group).

Sounds by Singers’ Guild (A Cacophony of Noise)

‘Sounds by Singers’ Guild (A Cacophony of Noise)’ also featured the Korean-Mandopop acapella group Acamando who performed a mix of ballads and rap, with songs in multiple languages.

Collaborations with the Yale-NUS College Chamber Music Collective

The Singers’ Guild also joined up with the Yale-NUS College Chamber Music Collective for ‘On Another Note’, an evening of charming tunes and timeless hits.

Collaborations with the Yale-NUS College Chamber Music Collective

Another collaboration with the Chamber Music Collective saw them tackle a programme of classical, gospel, Mandopop, pop and Disney tunes.

Unmasked

The Singer's Guild and Chamber Music Collective collaborated yet again in April 2022 for an evening of instrumental and acapella music held in the Performance Hall. The recital was titled ‘Unmasked’ to reflect the return to live performances after the COVID-19 pandemic.

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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.

The Chamber Choir

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

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’.

Yale-NUS College Songwriters Society

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.

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.

Tape Days 2018

Tape Days 2019

Bread and Jam

‘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).

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’.

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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.

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.

The Arts – Music

Yale-NUS Orchestra

Yale-NUS Singers’ Guild

On That Note

Spring Sing

Sounds by Singers’ Guild (A Cacophony of Noise)

Collaborations with the Yale-NUS College Chamber Music Collective

Collaborations with the Yale-NUS College Chamber Music Collective

Unmasked

The Chamber Choir

Patchwork Ivy

Yale-NUS Jazz Band

Yale-NUS College Songwriters Society

Tape Days

Bread and Jam

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

Transcript

Anthologies

Sofasogood

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