SAF BAND STRIKES A CHORD WITH BRUNEIANS AT BIT 2011

Around 1,300 years ago, life sprung up everywhere near a flowing river lined with rows of wooden houses in various shapes and sizes.

Bringing this scene depicted in famous Bruneian folk song Kampong Ayer ("Water Village" in Malay) to life, the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Ceremonial Band gave a dazzling rendition of the tune at Brunei Darussalam International Tattoo 2011 (BIT 2011).

Held in conjunction with the Royal Brunei Armed Forces' (RBAF) Golden Jubilee celebration, the three-day tattoo saw military bands and artistes from 12 countries such as the United States, China, Australia, Oman and Indonesia coming together at Hassanal Bolkiah Sports Complex Indoor Stadium to showcase a myriad of musical, military and cultural acts.

It was graced by His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah (R), the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, Minister of Defence and Supreme Commander of RBAF and Her Majesty Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Hjh Saleha, members of the royal family and distinguished guests from participating countries.

At the debut show on 31 May, the stadium broke into rapturous cheers and applause when Lance Corporal (LCP) Sezairi Sezali and Ms Nurun Nuwwarah, dressed in bright green Malay costumes, started crooning Kampong Ayer to the live accompaniment of the 42-member SAF Ceremonial Band.

Further complementing the display were seven dancers from Music and Drama Company (MDC), whose graceful moves evoked the serenity of the water village portrayed in the song.

This is the first time the band has collaborated with vocalists from MDC.

Director of Music of the SAF Ceremonial Band Military Expert (ME) 4 Tan Aik Kee Steven, who came up with the idea of incorporating professional vocalists into a band display, said: "We enhanced our repertoire with a traditional Bruneian folk song to better connect with the local audience.

"Sezairi is a Singapore pop idol with laudable vocals, and he has fans in Brunei too, so we were confident that he and Warra would give the Malay tune a refreshing rendition that would touch the hearts of the community here."

Indeed, the audience chorused along with the vocalists as they enthusiastically waved their light sticks in the air.

LCP Sezairi told cyberpioneer that it had always been his dream to perform with a big band.

"In a normal pop band set-up, there are certain limitations in the variety of sounds and music we can produce. But a big band like this boasts a fuller sound, and it has been an incredible experience performing with them," he said.

Besides wowing the crowd with two other Bruneian marching songs, the band also performed popular local tunes such as Home, Singapore Town, Munneru Valiba and Brave Warriors while executing various display formations. These included an orchid flower and a ferris wheel, as well as "50" in Western and Arabic-Indic numerals to congratulate the RBAF's 50 years of establishment.

The Royal Brunei Navy Band's Director of Music, Lieutenant (L) Redzky Bin Mahmud, found the performance by the SAF band and MDC artistes impressive.

He said: "Not only has the band improved the music arrangement of Kampong Ayer, the performers have showcased Singapore's unique multicultural society with the audio and visual aspects integrating seamlessly."

The band and artistes also received a morale boost when the SAF's Chief of Staff, Joint Staff Brigadier-General (BG) Hoo Cher Mou made a trip to their holding area and spoke to them before and after the show.

Said BG Hoo: "I am very proud of the SAF band and the MDC artistes for their performance this evening. Once again, they have flown the flag high and done the SAF proud.

"Our participation in BIT 2011 reflects the close relationships between Singapore and Brunei and our armed forces. It is a privilege for our performance to be placed as the closing act in this event. "

For percussionist LCP Muhd Siraj, the opportunity to interact with foreign military musicians was one of his most meaningful takeaways from this overseas performing stint. After speaking with fellow music-makers from Brunei, the United States and United Kingdom, he found out that even though they picked up music with different motivations, it was ultimately the love for music that kept them on the same path.

"As musicians, we are more similar than different," he said.