Wind Ensemble

The Wind Ensemble is a musical band consisting of Year 5 and 6 students from the school. Besides producing music pleasant to the ears, we also aspire to build strong and everlasting bonds within the co-curricular activity (CCA) through having fun as one band.

The Wind Ensemble eagerly welcomes Year 5 students who are new to the school or the CCA, providing many sources for our beginning players to seek help from throughout the course of their Wind Ensemble journey with us. Hence, our new members will experience the joy in learning an instrument for the first time as they mingle with those who have already become seasoned players. In 2017, more than half of the recruited members in the ensemble were students with no prior experience. Under the guidance of our conductors, tutors and seniors we aim to ignite a passion in music so that our members may enjoy being part of the CCA. Furthermore, quality instruments and accessories are provided for by the school. Thus, members do not need to purchase their own instruments.

The Wind Ensemble members are the seniors in the student body. Hence, we believe in taking more ownership of our CCA and music. Our CCA gives members many opportunities to develop their own musical maturity. Rehearsals are largely student-led and members are encouraged to express their opinions on how to improve the quality of our music.

Every member is important in our CCA as producing quality band music is the collective effort of each member. All of our members are given an equal opportunity to build up their own personal musical talents and repertoire through our annual solo and ensemble recitals. We also organise and perform in minimally two concerts every year, such as the Performing Arts Night Festival and the end of year Thanksgiving Concert. These concerts feature a wide variety of music genres ranging from movie soundtracks, to classical compositions and even pop pieces.

While music may seem to be the only priority in our CCA, we also focus on instilling qualities such as leadership, creativity and confidence in our members. The Wind Ensemble gives back to the community regularly by volunteering at Community Outreach events. In 2016, we volunteered for a Christmas event at Pek Kio Community Centre. Besides providing music for the event, we also helped to decorate the place and we had the chance to interact with various members from the community centre. In 2017 we volunteered at Bethany Nursing Home and had the chance to perform for and play games with the elderly there. These experiences were truly enriching and it is always a joy to be able to contribute to the community. In 2018, we took part in the True Colours Festival and put up an item during the event. We performed in the Mass Dance and also helped out at the True Colours Festival Booth. We found it meaningful to witness the many artistic talents exhibited by the disabled members in our society. Apart from this wonderful opportunity to serve the community, we also collaborated with the Symphonic Band and performed at the Istana Open House during the Hari Raya Puasa celebrations in June. It was indeed an honour to perform before the President of the Republic of Singapore and fellow Singaporeans in the public.

Student initiative is crucial in our CCA, and we nurture this important quality in our members during rehearsals, organising concerts or when we are taking part in external activities. Creativity and innovation are also important skills that are greatly encouraged by our conductors and teachers. While we strive to better our musical talents, we often collaborate with the Symphonic Band and that gives us a more resonant, fuller and a more complete sound.

There are various members of the alumni who have been part of the ACS Band family. These include composer Dr Kelly Tang, as well as conductors Mr Darrell Ang and Mr Seow Yibin.

Last but not least, the ACS(I) Band (comprising Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble) was also awarded the Champion Band in the 2022 Singapore International Band Festival, Division 2A, and performed at the Esplanade Concert Hall for the SIBF Winners’ Concert on 31 July, 2022. The Wind Ensemble performed well at the 2023 Singapore Youth Festival Arts Presentation, receiving the Certificate of Accomplishment for its Brass Ensemble and the Certificate of Distinction for its Percussion Ensemble. In April 2024, the Wind Ensemble combined with the Symphonic Band again to perform in the Asia Pacific Band Festival, scoring 85.07%, the highest in Category 3, and emerging as the top band of that category and the Gold with Distinction Award!