Voyage Festival – And Beyond

Music, as a language, does not obscure the numerous ethnicities and the diversity that

endures among the Singaporean people. Taking place over the span of five days, the Voyage

Festival was a celebration of a close relationship between the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of

Music in National University of Singapore and the Peabody Institute of John Hopkins. Through

pieces such as ‘Siken’ and ‘Ebullience’ that were performed in this event, it is clear that music

is a medium that simultaneously unites and represents the individuality of the world’s many

cultures that are present in Singapore. It is not exclusive to any one people.

Voyage Festival: And Beyond was hosted by the diverse ensemble, the Open Score

Project, which was founded early this year by Accordionist, Syafiqah ‘Adha Sallehin. Not only

an Accordionist, Syafiqah composes the works performed by the ensemble. Comprising of

mostly Singaporeans, all of which are from various races – Chinese, Malay and Indian, the

Open Score Project is a ‘syncretic music ensemble whose sound uniquely converges various

ethnic musical cultures of the world.’1

Music has united the many cultures present in Singapore. The Open Score Project is an

example of this statement. As previously stated in the paragraph above, the Open Score Project

is made up of various races in Singapore. In addition to this, each musician is playing

instruments from their respective culture; the Chinese musicians are playing the Pipa,

Cantonese Gauhu, the Erhu and the Sheng, the Malay musicians are playing the Rebana, the

1
"Open Score Project". 2018. Facebook.Com.
https://www.facebook.com/pg/openscoreprojectsg/about/?ref=page_internal.
Oud and the Accordion. As for the Indian musician, he is playing the Bansuri, a North-Indian

side-blown flute.

Music does not only unite musicians, but it also unites audience member. Music is able

to gather people, also of various cultures and background, and place them in a single location.

The audience members that was in attendance during the Festival was a large mixture of both

local and foreign individuals.

The piece ‘Siken’ is an excellent example of how Western culture has been assimilated

into Singaporean society. Composed by Violette Truong, a graduate in Composition from the

Conservatory and a Singaporean, the piece was inspired by an American poet, Richard Siken.

This piece was composed in a Western Classical form – consisting of three main section, an

exposition, a development, and a recapitulation, and was performed by mostly Singaporean

musicians – all of which are students and graduates of the Conservatory.

Of all the repertoire that was performed during the festival, the Open Score Project’s

Ebullience, composed by Syafiqah ‘Adha Sallehin, was the most diverse and noteworthy

performance. The piece Ebullience was composed specifically for the ensemble, as the

instrumentation of the ensemble is quite unique. The ensemble consists of instruments from

Western culture – Violin, Cello and Double Bass, Arabic culture – Oud and Rebana, Chinese

culture – Erhu, Sheng, Gauhu, Pipa, and Indian culture - Bansuri. Ebullience, as described on

a projector screen that was placed behind the musicians during the performances, and in the
composer’s Instagram account, is ‘a manifest of a kaleidoscope of sounds inspired by the

coming together of musicians from various musical cultures and experiences.’2

Music can be seen as a powerful medium, alongside theater. As mentioned in the first

paragraph, music does not obscure the abundant ethnicities and the diversity that endures

among the Singaporean people. Music has the ability to ‘provide noble, healthy and proper

cultural entertainment.’3 Theater, unlike music, has various language classification and has the

possibility of causing a controversy as, according to Playwright and director Zizi Azah,

“obscures the diversity and the multiple ethnicities that exist.”4

2
Sallehin, Syafiqah 'Adha. "Syafiqah 'Adha Sallehin on Instagram: "26th August 2018. YST Alumni Concert -
Voyage (And Beyond) • A Few Hours after Landing in Singapore, I Made My Way to My Alma Mater for
A..."" Instagram. August 27, 2018. Accessed November 08, 2018.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bm9tL6kFRSm/.

3
Loon, Robin, Kok, Heng Leun, Zizi Azah Binte Abdul Majid, Vadivalagan Shanamuga. 2016. Singapore
Chronicles: Theatre. Singapore: Straits Times Press.

4
Loon, Robin, Kok, Heng Leun, Zizi Azah Binte Abdul Majid, Vadivalagan Shanamuga. 2016. Singapore
Chronicles: Theatre. Singapore: Straits Times Press.