TO RUSSIA WITH LOVE

Their performance was so impressive that the mayor of Khabarovsk, Mr Alexander Sokolov, invited them to perform the same song at the city's Founding Day annual address the next day.

The song was Lion City: A Journey Home, an original composition about the nation-building story of Singapore, and the SAF Central Band was performing at the opening concert of the 5th Amur Waves International Military Bands Festival on 26 May.

The 2,000-strong audience at the Platinum Arena in Khabarovsk, a city in the far east of Russia, were entertained by the SAF Central Band's repertoire of classical pieces, popular pop songs, as well as xinyao, a genre of Singapore folk songs.

The high point of the concert came when the 42 Singapore musicians started singing the lyrics of popular Russian folk song Oy, to ne vecher (The Cossack's Parable) while performing Lion City: A Journey Home. The audience erupted into applause and joined in the singing.

Besides incorporating Russian song elements, the song showcased the different cultures of Singapore with elements of Chinese, Malay and Indian folk songs. The audience also caught a glimpse of Singapore's past and present from a montage that was screened.

The atmosphere was emotional. When the song ended, they gave the SAF Cental Band a rousing applause, and cheers of "Bravo" and "Molodci" (which means "well done" in Russian) could be heard throughout the arena.

Rave reviews

Held from 26 to 31 May, the Amur Waves International Military Bands Festival aimed to promote cultural exchanges and international cooperation in the Pacific region. Fifteen military and brass bands from China, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia, and Singapore took part in the festival.

This was the SAF Central Band's maiden appearance in the festival, and they performed in three concerts, five tattoo displays, and a street parade over six days.

Ms Angelina Andrievskaya, who attended the opening concert, was deeply impressed by the SAF Central Band's performance. "They were excellent. All the musicians combined well; and their music was able to connect with the people," said the 19-year-old economics and law undergraduate.

Colonel Sergei Durygin, Director of Music of the Central Military Band of the Russian Ministry of Defence, applauded their performance, describing them as a "top-level, professional band".

Military Expert (ME) 1 Dax Liang first wrote Lion City: A Journey Home in 2014 for the SAF Central Band's performances at the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo in Scotland, and the Basel International Tattoo in Switzerland.

"But this latest version (that we customised for the Russian audience) was the best that the band has ever performed As we played, we just felt more and more emotive, and at the end when we sang the Russian folk song, I almost teared."

"The audience was so warm and supportive of us," added the 27-year-old horn player.

Staff Sergeant Mohan Krishnasamy, who led the Silent Precision Drill Squad (SPDS) that accompanied the SAF Central Band in this overseas performance, added: "The crowd reaction was amazing. The part where we sang the Russian folk song really took them by surprise."

Musical diplomacy

The SAF Central Band's performance was equally well-received at Khabarovsk's Founding Day annual address. Similar to Singapore's National Day Rally, it is an important event attended by government officials and dignitaries, and this year marked the city's 158th founding anniversary.

Senior Director of Music ME5 Philip Tng said that the SAF Central Band, as the diplomatic arm of the Singapore military, plays a key role in fostering friendships and goodwill with foreign countries.

"Music is a great medium to bring people of different nationalities together because it shares that common language of emotion and joy," he said, noting that the SAF Central Band's participation in the festival took place at a time when economic and cultural ties between Singapore and Russia were growing.

Building stronger ties

Just a week earlier, Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was in Russia for his first bilateral visit, and both nations will mark the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic relations in 2018.

Conductor and Director of Music, ME5 Steven Tan, who led the SAF Central Band for this overseas performance, hoped that their performances had helped the Russians in Khabarovsk to learn more about Singapore.

"Singapore is a small country; many people might not have travelled to Singapore or know about the Singapore culture.

"As military musicians, we always look forward to representing our country, showcasing our culture and telling the world what Singapore is all about, (such as) the peace that we enjoy although we are from different races and religions."

He added: "We certainly hope that the audience has caught a glimpse of what Singapore is about, and that after the festival, our relationship will continue to grow."

Street show

On 29 May, the SAF Central Band and SPDS marched 1.6km along Muravlieu-Amursky Street to the beat of their signature marching tunes in a street parade, held in conjunction with Khabarovsk's 158th founding anniversary celebrations.

The locals lined the street, clapping in unison to the beat of their music. Ms Daria Scherbakova, 27, an Air Traffic Controller, loved the SAF Central Band's performance: "I liked everything a lot because they played beautiful music, and their uniforms were very beautiful."

Singaporeans back home also applauded the SAF Central Band and SPDS, with about 100,000 viewers tuning in to the live stream on cyberpioneer Facebook (mindef.sg/safbandrussialive).

Star Musician

Drum Major ME2 Muhammad Hafis was voted by festival organisers as the Best Performer from Singapore. As the drum major, he was like a conductor on the move, providing the beat and tempo with his mace movements.

The 34-year-old's eye-catching mace display was a crowd favourite, with spectators breaking into awed applause each time he tossed his 0.9kg mace into the air -- as high as three storeys!