3 November 2008
NAFA School of Young Talents 10th Anniversary Celebration
A Two-Week Extravaganza of Art Exhibition and Dance, Music & Drama Performances in November
The NAFA School of Young Talents, incepted in January 1999, is the pioneer and remains as the one-of-its-kind arts school in Singapore that offers weekend courses in music, dance, arts and drama to children aged 4 to 18. The enrolment has since grown from 1,000 to 3,700 students. In conjunction with its 10th anniversary celebration themed “Carnival”, the School’s four departments, namely, Junior Art, Junior Music, Junior Dance and Junior Drama will consolidate their young talents and present a showcase comprising an art exhibition, two music concerts and two dance performances.
To kick off the extravaganza, the Junior Art department will be holding an exhibition titled "Encounter with Nanyang Artists” from 15 - 23 November at NAFA Gallery 3 (Campus 1, 80 Bencoolen Street). The exhibition will feature students’ artworks that are inspired by five pioneer artists including Chen Wen Hsi, Liu Kang, Georgette Chen, Chen Chong Swee and Cheong Soo Pieng. Admission is free. The students, aged 5 - 17, spent almost a year in preparation for this exhibition. They were introduced to the history of Nanyang art, the artists’ biographies and a further appreciation of their masterpieces, before finally using these masterpieces as a stimulus in linking their everyday life and imaginations back to their own creations. The event is part of NAFA’s 70th anniversary, paying tribute to the pioneer artists for their significant contributions. In addition, they were among the Academy’s pioneer lecturers.
The Junior Art department will also be holding a two-day seminar on 17 and 18 November where two experts from Taiwan will share with participants their views and experience on pedagogical processes of children art education. Vacancies for the seminar, which will be conducted in Mandarin, had been fully filled.
On 15 November, 208 students from the Junior Dance department will be presenting a show titled "Vivace" at 4pm and 7.30pm, respectively. The programme comprises of 11 western (ballet) and Chinese dance items. Tickets priced at $18 and $22 had all been sold-out. Please refer to Annex A for the detailed programme.
The Junior Music department will be taking on a completely new approach for its concerts on 22 Nov and 23 Nov, respectively at 7.30pm at the Lee Foundation Theatre (NAFA Campus 3). The first half of the SYT 10th Anniversary Concert on 22 November will be violin solo presenting the music of Bach, Fiocco, Popper, Severn, Beethoven, Williams and Mendelssohn, while the first half of the Concert on 23 November will be piano performances by award winners of the 2007 National Piano & Violin Competition including Goh Yu Xiang, Soh Ser Yee, Soh Kuan Wei, Tan Yu Jia and Ong Shi En and other gifted children. The piano repertoire comprises of compositions by Mozart, Shishido, Chopin, Bizet, Granados, Suppe, Weber and a Saint-Saens’ Concerto by solo, four and eight hands.
The second-half of the two concerts will be a presentation of “The Carnival of the Animals” by French composer, Saint-Saens. This is the first combined public performance that brings together the School’s two pianos, cellists, string ensemble and students from the Bilingual Compere Class. Tickets are priced at $15 and $20. For ticketing enquiries, please call: 6512 4168 (Junior Music department). For the concerts’ detailed programme, please refer to Annex B.
On the challenges that SYT had faced over the past 10 years, Mdm Fang Yuan, Principal, said: “The journey has been an arduous one, especially in Singapore. Firstly, the children have to manage a heavy load of school work and extracurricular activities, leaving them with very little time for their instruments. Secondly, the society, at large, does not deem arts education as being particularly important. Parents are concerned about their children’s future development opportunities if they tread on this path. Thirdly, substantial financial investment is needed to uncover and nurture arts talents. SYT does not receive any funding from the government. Lastly, there is no shortcut to arts craftsmanship, especially in the performing arts where the training is long and stringent.”
Mdm Fang was, however, elated to note the progress SYT had made: “The School has established a professional and effective curriculum that is tailor-made according to our local environment. In addition, we have a team of dedicated and experienced teachers who will persevere in the School’s mandate to raise future generations of outstanding artistic talents for Singapore.”
In the last decade, SYT has continually increased the quality of its curricula, as well as expanded and improved its part-time courses. SYT has established a reputable brand name locally and internationally and its gifted programmes have been accredited by the Ministry of Education’s Co-Curricular Activities Branch. A Junior Drama department was also added to the School's original staple of Junior Art, Music and Dance departments.
Within the Music department, a Gifted Young Pianists Course was started in 1999. The department subsequently introduced the Gifted Young Chinese Instrumentalists Course, Gifted Young Violinists Course and Gifted Young Cellists Course. The current total student population stands at 300.
The Junior Dance and Music departments are co-organisers of the annual Chinese Dance Graded Examination and Chinese Instruments Graded Examinaton with the Beijing Dance Academy (China) and the Central Conservatory of Music (China) respectively, which draws over 1,000 applicants. For the profiles of the respective SYT departments, please refer to Annex C.
In 2006, the NAFA Arts Kindergarden, which offers more than 260 pre-schoolers with elementary art lessons, came under the wings of SYT.
Media Contact
For media interviews or further information, please contact :
Ms Karen Loh
Manager (Media Relations)
Corporate Relations Department
Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts
DID: 6512 4017
Email: phhloh@nafa.edu.sg