MARCHING TO THE BEAT OF THE SAF HEART

It s been a busy year for the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF). And what better way to round up a memorable year than with a concert that's dedicated to the men and women who give strength to the nation wholeheartedly?

Members of the SAF family came together to for an evening of music and fun at the SAF
Family Concert on 2 Dec at the Esplanade Concert Hall. The annual concert, presented by the SAF Band, was organised to thank servicemen and women for their hard work and dedication over the year.

"It's a good way to end our year of celebrations," said Brigadier-General (BG) Terry Siow, Commander of the 2nd People's Defence Force (2 PDF). "This year, the concert is held at the Esplanade to allow more SAF personnel and their families to come and spend time together and appreciate the talent that we have in the SAF Band."

The theme of this year's concert, Heartbeat of the SAF, was specially chosen for the soldiers who are the life-force behind the nation's military defence.

"SAF50 is about giving strength to the nation, so we wanted to look inward and thank the people of the SAF for everything they have done," said the concert's producer Military Expert 1 (ME1) Lewis Lim. The Principal Player (Horn) in the SAF Band had jumped at the chance to be a part of this year s concert, and worked with the SAF Film Unit to create two videos for the event.

Something for everyone

The audience was treated to a mix of classical and contemporary music, including favourites from Disney and Michael Jackson. In addition, Drum Major ME1 Muhd Hafis wowed the crowd with his mace-tossing skills.

The concert also featured the premier of an original piece - The SAF Dream. The song was written in the style of a Basic Military Training (BMT) song, where soldiers would echo lines sung by a leader. The performance was a sight to behold, as soldiers dressed in No. 4 uniforms filed into the concert hall singing and marching through the audience and up onstage.

Composer ME1 Dax Wilson Liang had a touching reason for writing the piece: "I wrote it as an SAF50 gift for the SAF from the Band. Our BMT songs are mostly adapted from overseas, so I thought it would be good for the SAF to have a song of its own. I thought the concert would be a good place to premier the song and hopefully, it will catch on." As Creative Director and Chief Composer, the SAF Band Instructor also wrote several of the songs performed that night.

The SAF Dream may be a new song, but it had already garnered itself some fans. "The marching band is my favourite, because I want to be a soldier when I grow up!" said seven-year-old Jaden Ming excitedly.

As for his father, Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Ming Fook Kuen, Commander of the Division Engineer Training Centre, Engineering Training Institute, it was ME1 Muhd Hafis' performance that left him breathless: "The Drum Major's item was interesting; we were worried that he would drop the mace!"

A very special guest

However, the highlight of the night was certainly the finale, when Guest of Honour Chief of Defence Force (CDF) Major-General (MG) Perry Lim took to the stage to perform the encore song with the band.

Despite not having had any rehearsals, MG Lim held his own on the bass drum, keeping the band in time as they played the Standard Two parade march. Without a doubt, his performance brought the loudest cheers of the night.

And if you were wondering who came up with the idea, it was the Chief of Defence Force himself!

"During the 2 PDF Golden Jubilee parade (in July), MG Lim heard about the concert, and asked to participate in it," ME1 Lim revealed.

"It's good to have our very own CDF join in the performance, to lead by example in a way, and to represent the fact that he is indeed the heartbeat of the whole SAF. I thought it was a very nice gesture by him," BG Siow said, smiling.