The Philharmonic Wind Orchestra is a Singaporean semi-professional

wind orchestra A concert band, also called a wind band, wind ensemble, wind symphony, wind orchestra, symphonic band, the symphonic winds, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of members of the woodwind, brass, and percussion famil ...

. The orchestra was formed in 2000 with Robert Casteels as Music Director and currently has more than 70 members. It is currently under the artistic leadership of Music Director

Leonard Tan Leonard Tan is a trinational-based, Singaporean music director, conductor, tubist, violinist, and music educator at scholastic, collegiate, conservatory, and professional levels Tan was awarded the National Institute of Education-Nanyang Technol ...

. The Philharmonic Winds has performed a collection of landmark works of the wind band repertoire, ranging from the symphonies of

Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith ( ; ; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German and American composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advo ...

and James Barnes, to the well-known favourites of

Alfred Reed Alfred Reed (born as Alfred Friedman) (January 25, 1921 – September 17, 2005) was an American Neoclassicism (music), neoclassical composer, with more than two hundred published works for concert band, orchestra, choir, chorus, and chamber e ...

and Adam Gorb. The wind orchestra is also well-versed in a variety of musical styles, having explored the lush and humorous music of

Percy Grainger Percy Aldridge Grainger (born George Percy Grainger; 8 July 188220 February 1961) was an Australian-born composer, arranger and pianist who moved to the United States in 1914 and became an American citizen in 1918. In the course of a long and ...

, the genius of

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

and Varèse, jazz standards in "All That Jazz", authentic "Sounds of Japan", and an "Absoluut Dutch" affair with highly acclaimed composer,

Johan de Meij Johannes Abraham "Johan" de Meij (; born November 23, 1953 in Voorburg) is a Dutch conductor, trombonist, and composer, best known for his '' Symphony No. 1'' for wind ensemble, nicknamed ''The Lord of the Rings'' symphony. Biography Johan d ...

. The Philharmonic Winds has collaborated with renowned musicians from all over the world. Soloists featured include baritone Maarten Koningsberger, cellist Roeland Duijne and trombonist

Jörgen van Rijen Jörgen is a village in the municipality of Tieschen in the '' Bezirk'' of Südoststeiermark in the Federal State of Styria in Austria. Its population was 159 in 2016. Jörgen is known for its fine white wines. Next to the more common white w ...

from the Netherlands, saxophonist Vincent Gnojek, marimbist Kevin Bobo and brass quintet Boston Brass from USA, euphonium player Kevin Thompson from Canada, saxophonist Shin-ichiro Hikosaka from Japan, trumpeters Dai Zhonghui from China and Yeh Shu-Han from Taiwan, as well as pianist Hae-Jung Kim from Korea. The ensemble has also worked with locally based soloists such as clarinettist Tang Xiao Ping, yangqin player Qu Jian Qing, and saxophonist Fabian Lim. The ensemble has also performed under the baton of distinguished conductors, both local and international, such as

, John Boyd, Robert Casteels, Zechariah Goh Toh Chai, Principal Guest Conductor

Timothy Reynish Timothy John Reynish (born Axbridge, 1938) is a conductor of wind bands and wind ensembles, long associated with the Royal Northern College of Music. Through performances, commissions and editions he has significantly expanded the repertoire for en ...

, and Music Director Leonard Tan. The Philharmonic Winds staged two concerts dedicated to works of Singaporean and Singapore-based composers, such as Zechariah Goh Toh Chai, Leong Yoon Pin, Phoon Yew Tien and

Kelly Tang Kelly Tang (born 1961) is a Singaporean composer known internationally for his wind band, chamber and orchestral works. For his contributions to the local music scene, Tang was conferred the Cultural Medallion in 2011. Early life Tang's love fo ...

. The ensemble also regularly performs compositions and arrangements of established Singaporean musicians. The Philharmonic Winds has also worked with the Penang Arts Council and Singapore Lyric Opera as the accompanying orchestra in

Giacomo Puccini Giacomo Puccini (22 December 1858 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for List of compositions by Giacomo Puccini#Operas, his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he ...

's ''

Madama Butterfly ''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story " Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Lu ...

'' and

Kurt Weill Kurt Julian Weill (; ; March 2, 1900April 3, 1950) was a German-born American composer active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for hi ...

's '' Street Scenes''. In 2008, the ensemble collaborated with the

Esplanade An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cle ...

to present an all-pop concert, with tunes specially arranged for wind orchestra, featuring well-known vocal artists Sebastian Tan and

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. The Philharmonic Winds participates regularly in arts outreach programmes, with the intent to reach out to the masses and build new audiences for wind music. Working with the National Arts Council, the ensemble performed at several installments of the Concert in the Park series and the

Singapore Arts Festival Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA) is an annual arts festival held in Singapore. It is organised bArts House Limitedfor the National Arts Council Singapore, National Arts Council. The festival is usually held in mid-year for a stretch ...

outreach programme. Past engagements also include the Arts In The City series, Beautiful Sunday series at the Esplanade and the Arts For Health programme at the

Singapore General Hospital Singapore General Hospital (SGH) is an academic health science centre and tertiary referral hospital in Singapore. It is located next to the Bukit Merah and Chinatown districts of the Central Region, close to the Outram Community Hospital (O ...

. Since 2008, The Philharmonic Winds has been part of the SPH Gift of Music series by

Singapore Press Holdings Singapore Press Holdings Limited (SPH) was one of Singapore's two state media companies, which published ''The Straits Times'', numerous other newspapers and operated radio, television and digital media. In 2021, the media division was spun ...

, entertaining thousands at various locations with music scored by local composers such as Ong Jiin Joo and Tan Yan Zhang.

History

The Philharmonic Winds, also known as PhilWinds, was formed in 2000. In 2002, The Philharmonic Winds initiated the Philharmonic Youth Winds, providing an opportunity for young musicians under 25 to further their ensemble experience. In 2008, the young orchestra was named the top Division 1 band at the inaugural Singapore International Band Festival (SIBF), under the baton of its Resident Conductor Adrian Chiang and the guidance of musicians from The Philharmonic Winds. In SIBF 2018, they competed in the Concert Division and achieved the Gold award, once again under the baton of Adrian Chiang. In July 2005, The Philharmonic Winds participated in the

World Music Contest The world is the totality of entities, the whole of reality, or everything that exists. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the world as unique, while others talk of a "plu ...

held in

Kerkrade Kerkrade (; Kerkrade dialect, Ripuarian: ; ; or ''Kirchrath'') is a town and a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southeast of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg, the southernmost province of the Netherlands. It forms part of the P ...

, the Netherlands, and became the first wind orchestra from Singapore to be awarded a Gold Medal with Distinction in the First Division (Harmony Band). In 2006, The Philharmonic Winds was commissioned by the National Arts Council of Singapore to write a symphony, Second Symphony, for the

which The Philharmonic Winds also performed at. In 2007, The Philharmonic Winds was the orchestra-in-residence at Lasalle-SIA College of the Arts. In 2008, the Philharmonic Youth Winds performed its first installment of their Classiques! concert series - an annual concert showcasing the very best of youth wind music in Singapore. The concert series has featured major wind band repertoire and challenging new compositions such as

’s Extreme Makeover (Classiques! Extreme 2009, Classiques! Europa 2020), and symphony orchestra transcriptions such as

Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

’s Symphony no. 1 and

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popular ...

’s

1812 Overture ''The Year 1812, Solemn Overture'', Op. 49, popularly known as the ''1812 Overture'', is a concert overture in E major written in 1880 by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The piece commemorates Russia's successful defense against the ...

. In May 2009, the band was invited to perform at the 40th anniversary of the Japan Band Clinic held in

Hamamatsu is a Cities of Japan, city located in western Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. In September 2023, the city had an estimated population of 780,128 in 340,591 households, making it the prefecture's largest city, with a population density of over the t ...

, Japan. In 2022, The Philharmonic Winds and Philharmonic Youth Winds merged to become the Philharmonic Wind Orchestra.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Philharmonic Winds Singaporean concert bands