NEW KIDS ON THE ROCK

This year, the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Central Band received the rock star treatment when it was invited to perform for the very first time at the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

Edinburgh Castle. The ancient stronghold of Scottish military might, and home to one of the world's biggest stages for military bands - the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo (REMT).

Each year, the finest military bands from across the globe are invited to perform at the castle esplanade, an outdoor stage set against the backdrop of this magnificent fortress atop Scotland's Castle Rock.

And making its way this year into this prestigious guest list is the SAF Central Band.

By invite only

The SAF Central Band has been a familiar face in the tattoo circuit for more than a decade, garnering fans in countries like Russia, Korea and Sweden. But its arrival at Edinburgh, the birthplace of military tattoos, happened almost serendipitously.

It was the year 2012. The SAF Central Band was playing at the International Military Music Festival in Moscow, unaware that they had caught the eye of then-REMT producer, Major-General Euan Loudon.

"The show (they had put together) was very precise and had a variety of representations (of Singapore culture)," explained Brigadier David Allfrey MBE, producer of the 2014 REMT, on why he was drawn to the Band's performance in Moscow.

The Tattoo decided to extend their invitation to the Band because "they are one of the great military bands in the world, and they bring an extraordinary quality, not just of precision, but also the flavour and mix of everybody who lives in Singapore".

With that affirmation, the 51 musicians, together with six SAF Music and Drama Company (MDC) dancers and 14 Military Policemen from the SAF Silent Precision Drill Squad (SPDS), were ready to put up the performance of their lives.

Making a grand entrance

The multicultural dimension of the SAF Central Band's shows has endeared audiences worldwide, and the Band has remained steadfast to its trademark. However, to mark its debut at the Tattoo, it decided to shake things up with elements that had never been done before in the Band's history.

One of these was to feature an original composition. Written by Military Expert (ME) 1-1 Dax Wilson Liang Qingxiang, who also arranged the music for the Band's set, Forest Dreams was specially composed for the Chinese folksong segment of the show.

"I wanted a folk song that's distinctly Chinese, particularly to the non-Singaporean and non-Chinese ear," explained instructor and horn player ME1-1 Liang of his decision to compose his own piece. He was hoping to find a strong counterpart to the popular Malay and Indian folksongs, which tended to have tunes that were easily identifiable to their respective cultures.

Played on the Chinese flute and drums and accompanied by the flowing costumes of the twirling MDC dancers, the song created a festive atmosphere. To complement the fluidity of the piece, the SPDS devised a new move as well, standing in a line to toss and catch their rifles before kneeling one after the other, creating a wave pattern.

Another first that the Band could boast of was being the first Singaporean band to use the tin whistle in a performance.

A small woodwind instrument resembling the humble recorder, the tin whistle has an echoey ring that is characteristic of traditional Celtic music. And it was the perfect accompaniment to the Band's tribute to their host, an acapella rendition of the popular Scottish folksong, Wild Mountain Thyme.

"The local songs we've performed so far have all been in foreign languages. Since this is an English song, we added the tin whistle to give it a Scottish flavour," explained ME2-1 Ang Yi Xiang, Associate Principal Player (Saxophone) and the show's choreographer.

"Hopefully, the audience will feel our sincerity and passion," he added.

til the band sings

The proof was in the piping. ME2-1 Ang's tin whistle solo pierced through the esplanade, and the audience fell silent. The Band started to sing, quietly and carefully at first, a single voice hanging in the air.

But by the time it reached the chorus, the voice was no longer alone: the audience was singing along, many swaying gently to the rhythm. As the Band marched out, the crowd erupted in applause and cheers, warming up the cold Scottish night.

Ms Margaret Baxter, who had travelled from England to see the Tattoo, was captivated. "Wild Mountain Thyme was excellent, I joined in as well!" she said excitedly.

"The show was very lively and colourful, and I loved the dancers too. I haven't stopped smiling."

And that was a send-off fit for a rock star.