Tickets for the year-end charity concert ChildAid open for booking on Monday (12 November).
The public can buy tickets priced at $18 or $38 ($19, $41 inclusive of booking fees) to the shows on December 7 and 8, Friday and Saturday, to be held at the Marina Bay Sands Grand Theater through the MBS ticketing website. Proceeds from the ticket sales will go to The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund and The Business Times Budding Artists Fund.
Concert-goers can expect an electrifying eighth edition of ChildAid, a showcase of young talents jointly organised by The Straits Times and The Business Times, which are newspapers of the Singapore Press Holdings.
The two-and-a-half hour show will juxtapose different music and dance genres and give a twist to classic and pop songs. It will feature a cast of 210 youth: 140 young people, mostly aged 19 and below, who were selected in an open call for entries and auditions and by invitation, backed by a 70-strong orchestra.
Artistic director Iskandar Ismail, who has been involved in ChildAid since its second edition in 2006, said the audience can expect music with a twist and more synthesised sounds.
The 2008 Cultural Medallion recipient said: “There will be new elements. All the while, we have the classical violin and cello. This year, we will have the electric violin and cello. Even the orchestra will be playing a contemporary piece where there are sections for soloists to improvise their segments instead of playing to every note that is in the score.”
Among those in the line-up is brother-and-sister team James and Jaz Loh, aged 15 and 14, who will fire up the stage with their performance on the electric violin and cello.
The 70-strong musicians from the Orchestra of Music Makers, which will accompany most of the performers under the baton of Associate Professor Chan Tze Law, will also perform a showpiece of their own, titled Mothership, which includes electronic elements. Adding to the sensory experience of the orchestra piece is a multimedia presentation designed by filmmaker and artist Brian Gothong Tan.
Show director Jeremiah Choy of Orangedot Productions said: “To go with the Electric Edition theme this year, the feel of the concert will be more eclectic, edgy and full of interesting genre juxtapositions. There are direct inputs from the performers as to what they wish to perform.”
The influence of YouTube, a popular platform for young people to express their creativity and put a spin to popular song, can also be felt in the concert.
A band made up of five Korean teens – guitarists Fred Nam Hyeonuk, 19, Yae Hyeon Kyeong, 18, bass guitarist Joshua Park Young Joo, 18, drummer Lee Chang Yoon, 17, and lead vocalist Michael Kim Si Jin, 17 – will inject a rock ambience to Korean rapper Psy’s Gangnam Style, which went viral on YouTube.
Another act will be a rendition of Carly Rae Jepsen’s hit, Call Me Maybe, a song which gained popularity through YouTube.
At least three of this year’s performers have spawned a fan following on YouTube. They are:
-Clarence Liew aka CLO, 20, who performed at the YouTube Stars concert in May, and has more than 2,000 subscribers
-Dominic Chin, 17, who performed at the Esplanade Yfest in June, and has more than 2,000 fans
-Toh Yi Fan aka Tzire, 15, who was the opening act of the YouTube Stars concert in May, and has more than 5,000 subscribers.
Clarence and Dominic are part of a group singing a medley of songs, while Yi Fan will rap with Lineath Rajendran, 18, an original composition which they co-wrote.
The audience will also be enthralled by choir and dance groups: the ITE Show Choir, Saltare Beats, Hip-Hop IG from Republic Polytechnic, dancers from Anglo-Chinese (Primary) and dancers from The School of Dance.
Award-winning young classical musicians from Singapore and the region will also join this year’s line-up.
Homegrown violinist Gabriel Ng, 17, recipient of the HSBC Youth Excellence Award in 2006, who also won the Best Bach Performance prize at the 2012 Menuhin Violin Competition in April, will fly back from London where he is based to perform in the concert.
As part of a partnership with Steinway Gallery which is providing three grand pianos for the concert, three contestants from the Southeast Asia Steinway Youth Piano Competition regional finals will also take the stage as guest performers. They are grand prize winner Hsieh Wei Ting, 16, from Taiwan, and Nguyen Le Binh Anh from Vietnam and Gun Chaikittiwatana from Thailand, both 15.
From Japan, Hidekazu Nakajima, 17, who performed in ChildAid Asia in Tokyo last year, will also be making a guest performance.
Working behind the scenes to put together an electrifying show is an experienced creative and production team made up of professionals. They include the likes of stage designer Randy Chan, costume designer Moe Kasim and choreographer Zaini Mohd Tahir, among others.
Said ChildAid organising chairman Alvin Tay, who is also editor of The Business Times and chairman of Budding Artists Fund (BAF): “At the launch of ChildAid 2012 earlier this year, we said that this year’s concert will be bigger, better and brighter. Now that I have seen our final list of young performers, I dare say that it will be one of our best ever. Our young talents are looking forward to put together an electrifying show for all of you. Please come and support them, and support the two children’s charities that they are performing for.”
Marina Bay Sands is the official venue partner for ChildAid 2012 while Citi and HSBC banks are the main sponsors.
Concert times:
Date – 7 and 8 December, Friday and Saturday
Time – 7.30pm
Venue – Marina Bay Sands Grand Theater
WHERE TO BUY CHILDAID 2012 TICKETS
Tickets open for sale today.
Tickets are priced at $18 and $38 ($19 and $41 inclusive of booking fees).
Purchases can be made:
-Through the Marina Bay Sands website: www.marinabaysands.com/ticketing
-By telephone: 6688 8826
-Through walk-in sales: Marina Bay Sands Theater Box Office, SkyPark, Art Science Museum, Retail Mall Concierge, Hotel Tower 1 Concierge Counter
Issued by Singapore Press Holdings Ltd
Co. Regn. No. 198402868E
For more information, please contact:
Mr Yeo Siew Chi
Manager
Corporate Communications
Singapore Press Holdings Limited
DID – 6319 1586
Email – yeosc@sph.com.sg
Ms Shahrena Hassan
Senior Manager
Editorial Projects Unit
English and Malay Newspapers Division
Singapore Press Holdings Limited
DID – 6319 5097
Email – shahrena@sph.com.sg
About The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund
The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund (SPMF) started in October 2000 as a community project initiated by The Straits Times to provide pocket money to children from low-income families to help them through school. The children can use this money for school-related expenses, such as buying a meal during recess, paying for their bus fares or using it to meet other schooling needs.
SPMF received its charity status in November 2011 and has been granted an Institution of A Public Character since January 2012. Governed by a board of trustees, its mission is to reach out to every child in need and provide them with the resources to do well in school – and beyond. Funds raised go towards school pocket money disbursements and support of the social and educational development of children and youth.
SPMF works closely with the National Council of Social Service (NCSS) as its strategic partner to disburse the pocket money to needy students through NCSS network of family service centres, special schools and children’s homes. SPMF disburses an average of S$5m and supports an average of 10,000 cases of school going children in primary and secondary schools each year. SPMF has set aside $1.5m to extend financial assistance from 1 January 2013 to current and past beneficiaries and siblings of existing beneficiaries who could continue their education in ITE, Junior Colleges or Polytechnics. The children and youth we support are full time students who come from a family with net per capita income below S$450. Primary and secondary school children receive $55 and $90 per month respectively. Post-secondary students will receive $120 per month during their school term duration.
In March this year, SPMF launched STep-Up, a coaching programme to boost the English skills and current affairs knowledge of Primary 5 and 6 beneficiaries.
For more information: www.spmf.org.sg
About The Business Times Budding Artists Fund
Initiated by The Old Parliament House Limited in 2004 and adopted by Business Times in May 2005, The Business Times Budding Artists Fund (BT BAF) aims to enable children between the ages of five to 19 years distanced by socio-economic circumstances to pursue their aspirations to develop artistic talents in music, dance, theatre, visual arts and theatre production.
The Fund originated from a strong conviction that no child with strong interest and artistic potential should be deprived of the opportunity to develop his or her talents because he or she is economically disadvantaged.
Objectives of the Fund :
i. Offer opportunities for financially disadvantaged children who display artistic potential and commitment to be formally trained in the arts.
ii. Provide platforms for established and professional artists to impart their skills and experience to the next generation of talents. This will mean continual renewal in the creative industry.
iii. Heighten awareness of the importance of nurturing the artistic talents of children and young adults and the ensuing value of such skills to building the next phase of artistic development of Singapore.
For more information: www.baf.sg
About The Straits Times
The Straits Times, the English flagship daily of SPH, has been serving readers for more than a century. Launched on July 15, 1845, its comprehensive coverage of world news, East Asian news, Southeast Asian news, home news, sports news, financial news and lifestyle updates makes The Straits Times the most-read newspaper in Singapore.
Quality news, in-depth analyses, impactful commentaries and breaking stories are packaged to give readers riveting accounts of events in Singapore, the region, and beyond.
The Straits Times’ key strength is in its world class coverage of news outside Singapore. With 20 bureaus in major cities around the world, The Straits Times correspondents bring world news to readers on a Singapore platter, helping them appreciate world events from a Singaporean perspective.
In keeping with the times, The Straits Times introduced weekly supplements such as Digital Life (DL), Urban and Mind Your Body (MYB) to complement The Straits Times as well as IN and Little Red Dot to cater to young readers in schools. In July (2012), The RHB-The Straits Times National Spelling Championship, which attracted 1,200 primary-school contestants here, has been presented a jury commendation in the World Young Reader Prize (Brand category) by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-Ifra).
The Straits Times also has an online presence at www.straitstimes.com. The site features top stories, blogs and an online forum threads. Also under The Straits Times’ umbrella are citizen journalism site Stomp and online television service The Straits Times RazorTV.
About Singapore Press Holdings Ltd
Incorporated in 1984, main board-listed Singapore Press Holdings Ltd (SPH) is Southeast Asia’s leading media organisation, engaging minds and enriching lives across multiple languages and platforms.
Newspapers, Magazines and Book Publishing
In Singapore, SPH publishes 18 newspaper titles in four languages. On an average day, 2.92 million individuals or 74 per cent of people above 15 years old, read one of SPH’s news publications. SPH also publishes and produces more than 100 magazine titles in Singapore and the region, covering a broad range of interests from lifestyle to information technology. SPH’s subsidiaries, Straits Times Press and Focus Publishing, produce quality books and periodicals in English and Chinese.
Internet and Mobile
Beyond print, the Internet editions of SPH newspapers enjoy over 270 million page views with 18 million unique visitors every month. Apart from AsiaOne, SPH’s online and new media initiatives include ST701, the leading online marketplace for jobs (STJobs), property (STProperty), cars (STCars) and general classifieds (STClassifieds); Stomp, omy.sg and The Straits Times RazorTV. SPH also launched The Straits Times’ iPad and enhanced iPhone applications, an Android smartphone application and The Business Times’ iPhone application. SPH’s Chinese flagship newspaper Lianhe Zaobao has also launched its digital editions which include a web application, as well as online and PDF versions.
Broadcasting
In the radio business, SPH has an 80 per cent stake in SPH UnionWorks Pte Ltd, which operates entertainment stations UFM 100.3 in Mandarin, as well as Kiss92 and HOT FM91.3 in English. SPH has a 20 per cent stake in MediaCorp TV Holdings Pte Ltd, which operates free-to-air channels 5, 8 and U, and a 40 per cent stake in MediaCorp Press Limited, which publishes the free newspaper, Today.
Events and Out-of-Home Advertising
SPH’s events arm Sphere Exhibits organises innovative consumer and trade events and exhibitions as well as large scale conferences in Singapore and the region. In addition, SPH has ventured into out-of-home (OOH) advertising through its digital out-of-home platform SPH MediaBoxOffice.
Properties
SPH owns and manages Paragon, the prime retail and office complex in the heart of Orchard Road, Singapore’s main shopping belt. Its second retail development, The Clementi Mall, started business operations in 2011. SPH’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Times Development Pte Ltd, has also developed a 43-storey upmarket residential condominium, Sky@eleven, at Thomson Road. SPH‘s latest retail development project, The Seletar Mall, is slated for completion by end 2014.
For more information, please visit www.sph.com.sg.