It is always good and heartwarming to have passionate alumni return to the service of our alma maters and contribute where they can.
It gets even better when in doing so, they rally the support of the Victorian family. This is one such effort.
Please see below for a fund-raising initiative from alumni Sim Tee Yang.
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Letter from Mr Sim Tee Yang
Dear Victorians,
My name is Tee Yang, pioneer batch 1984-5 band leader of the VJC Symphonic Band. Last December the teacher-in-charge Mr Wong Shiong Wei has brought to my attention on the need of the college to raise fund for
1. Replacement of old band instruments and
2. Maintenance of the VJC Performance Theatre.
Please see the attached letter from Mr Wong (ed: letter is reproduced below Tee Yang’s message).
Together with Stephen Ng Soon Wei (1986 band leader) and his wife Chang Siok Eng (who was also in the band from the same batch), we have discussed on this fund raising matter and felt that one of the best way to do it is through the annual band concert.
For the last 2 years, the VJC Symphonic Band has been invited by the Esplanade to perform in their series of concerts for top school bands called Limelight. It is the interest of the Esplanade to give opportunity to students to perform in a world class concert hall and display their high level of musical proficiency. The band will also have a chance to keep 40% of the ticket sales after cost.
This year our band is again being invited to perform for this programme. With this opportunity, we have pre-booked and paid for in advance, 200 tickets (total of 1600 seats) for the 28th May 2013 concert in which the VJC Symphonic Band will perform.
We would like to invite you and partners to this concert. All you need to do is to reply with your name and contact number to tyangsim@gmail.com, to confirm the number of tickets and you will only need to pay on day itself at the entrance to the concert hall. There will be a registration table for the collection of tickets.
As for the amount to pay, each ticket is $21 and you may pay any amount on top of this as you wish. The excess collected after cost will be donated to the college for the fund required as mentioned above.
Due to the difficulty to identify the seatings for concession tickets as required by the Esplanade, we do not book for these tickets. As such, we apologize in advance that we do not have the $10 tickets if your partners qualify for the concession.
For more details of the concert, please click through this link.
The standard of the VJC Symphonic Band today has reached near professional level. I have been to numerous of their concerts under different batches and instructors. Each and every of these wonderful evening had left me feeling proud of where I came from. I sincerely hope you can join us this coming concert and share the same joy together as a big family.
Below is one of the enjoyable piece performed at last year concert in Esplanade, called Japanese Graffiti XIV
Look forward to your reply and see you on 28th May 2013 7pm at the Esplanade.
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Letter from Mr Wong Shiong Wei
Dear VJC Band Alumni,
Season’s greetings to you and your families.
The students of VJC Symphonic Band have benefited greatly in the past years. Thanks to the strong support of alumni and other generous donors, we have brought our students overseas to USA and Japan to perform at music festivals and to enrich their learning experiences. We have also enabled our students to stage their annual concerts at the VJC Performance Theatre and the Esplanade Concert Hall. To enable us to maintain the quality of our band programme, we are considering to raise funds for the following two areas. When we have received MOE’s approval to proceed, we would like to appeal for your support.
(1) Replacement of old band instruments
A few years ago, MOE recognised the achievements of our band and awarded us an Augmentation Grant and a Replacement Grant. The grants have been used to replace some very old instruments, such as a timpani set, a set of chimes, a vibraphone, a glockenspiel, a drum set, xylophone, an euphonium, a bass trombone, 2 trombones, 3 trumpets, 2 tubas, 2 flutes. We have also acquired additional instruments to enrich the sound of the band, such as a soprano saxophone, 3 cornets, a set of toms-toms.
In the years ahead, we will need to replace other old instruments, such as the marimba, French horns, saxophones, oboes, bassoons, a double-bass. The estimated cost is between $20,000 to $30,000. However, our grants are almost used up and the balance will not be sufficient to pay for most of these subsequent replacements. Moreover, we are not eligible to apply for another Replacement Grant until 2019.
(2) Maintenance of VJC Performance Theatre
The VJC Performance Theatre (PT) is the home of the various VJC performing arts groups. The band has staged numerous concerts in the PT over the years, and our students have benefited enormously from their performances there. However, the PT is aging and its maintenance is very costly. We are exploring ways to contribute to the maintenance and refurbishment of the PT, so that our future band members can continue to benefit from this important facility.
Once we have received MOE’s approval to raise funds, we would like to appeal for your support and ideas, so that we can continue to give our students an enriching and educational band experience.
Thank you very much for your attention. Here’s wishing you and your families a joyous festive season and a happy new year!
Yours sincerely,
Mr Wong Shiong Wei
on behalf of VJC Band Teachers
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