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Gazing into the Crystal Ball for Singapore’s Music Education

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I was recently invited to be one of the workshop panelists at a recent weeklong 2013 Kodály Course organised by Singapore Teachers’ Academy for the aRts (STAR). A ‘music commando’ team of clinicians gathered here, comprising of the Principal of the Kodály institute (KI), Dr. László Nemes, KI lecturer Szirányi Borbála (fondly known as ‘Bori’) as well as Lucinda Geoghegan who works with the Royal College of Scotland & the National Youth Choir of Scotland (NYCoS). Sheryl Sim, in her dual capacity as a fellow alumnus of KI and STAR staff was also on the panel as one of two Singaporeans offering training & local perspectives. In the course of the week, common singing (mass singing in the mornings and evenings), methodology (the science & art of teaching), musicianship (building of personal musical skills), singing games for children (experiencing and designing music games) were delivered by the panel. From the simplest activities to the most complex and demanding of tasks, careful preparation, sophisticated ideas and pedagogy underpins all these activities ensuring progress at all times. …

Hungry Ghost Festival in Singapore

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I gave my French housemate Gregory Hérail the very happening Singaporean movie titled 881. The movie is a musical-comedy drama based on the ‘Getai’ (literally ‘song stage’ in Chinese) scene in Singapore that occurs during the Hungry Ghost Festival. Decided to upload some pictures on what it is like during the month long Hungry Ghost Festival. The Hungry Ghost Festival involves lots of burning of joss sticks, paper maids, paper bungalows, paper clothes and offerings such as biscuits, fruits etc. to deities, wandering spirits & ancestors. It is believed that whatever we burn will reach our ancestors (if this is the case, I’m guessing it is a lot greener and foresty in the underworld considering how jungles are being burnt in Indonesia). It is a rather smokey, and at times, eerie scene. Paper ‘money’ are tossed in the air to pass money or other things to the wandering spirits. For some strange reason, some people are shouting ‘HUAT AH’ (get rich ah!) as they toss paper money in the air. I doubt the shouting of …

To-Do List for moving abroad to Kecskemét, Hungary for First-Time Parents Part 2

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I wrote both entries for “To-Do List for moving abroad to Kecskemét, Hungary for First-Time Parents” in September last year. This way overdue blog still seems relevant and Part 2 concludes this segment. Hope this helps! Accommodation If you’re travelling with wife and kids in tow, it might be better if you rent a house or apartment in town instead of trying for the institute’s hostels. This not only affords you and your significant other privacy (common baths in the basement of the institute with separation between the sexes of course) but also the necessary space when needing to discipline naughty, crying children. If you’re worried about getting lost, DON’T! Kecskemét is a very easy town to navigate compared with Beijing or New York. It would be wise to write in to the institute’s administrator Dr Laura Kéri (affectionately known as Zita) early, state clearly your needs and allow her at least a month or more to ask around and find suitable accommodations based on your requests. A lot of work is being covered at …

To-Do List for moving abroad to Kecskemét, Hungary for First-Time Parents Part 1

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Studying at the Zoltán Kodály Pedagogical Institute of Music is a beautiful dream come true. It can also potentially be a logistical and emotional nightmare for first-time parents like Annica and I who are chugging along our 14-month baby Athena along for the ride. Here are some quick ideas to help future students at the Institute who are coming with families feel more at ease. DISCLAIMER: Information in this blogpost are merely personal experiences and suggestions – governmental procedures & requirements can vary from place to place. ADMINISTRATION AT HOME RESIDENCE PERMITS The most painful process of all. Please do check the requirements of applying for residence permit for ‘studies’ (for yourself) and ‘family reunification’ (for accompanying families) with the Hungarian Consulate in or near your country. Note that the consulates may not necessarily operate by the standard office hours in your country and may have a very specific opening times for the public. Some generic advice: Email and CALL if you don’t receive a reply within corporation standards of 72hrs. Calling will save you …