Combined schools choir returns to this year’s National Day Parade

SINGAPORE: This year’s National Day Parade will see the return of the combined school choir after an absence in 2011.

The combined school choir, a 300—strong team of students from Victoria School and Cedar Girls secondary school, will be belting new songs in the four official languages this year.

For some, being in the choir means stepping out of their comfort zone.

Choir member Nur Jannah Mohd Kamaruddin said: "It is a real challenge for me, so usually when I’m at home, I’ll just watch TV and I’ll sing to get used to performing on stage."

Another choir member, Nicholas Tay, said: "Memorising the dance moves and coordinating singing and dancing together is quite hard."

Conductor Lim Hwee Sian admits it is a challenging repertoire this year, as the Malay, Mandarin and Tamil songs are not those commonly heard in past National Day Parades.

"Through learning the songs and getting their friend to teach them and they understand a little bit more about the language, about the pronunciation and the different culture of the different ethnic groups," she said.

"A lot of the audience loves to have the choir, because mass singing is something that we can connect with each other, so hopefully with this choir we are able to connect with them."

Also making an appearance is eight—year—old Natanya Tan, who says that perfecting the singing of this year’s theme song, Love at First Light, has been easy.

"It’s nice and also not too fast for me to sing, and not too long for me to memorise," she said.

"I feel blessed and honoured because this is my country and it’s my country’s birthday, so I just want to be part of it."

Natanya will be singing the song with home grown singer Olivia Ong.

— CNA/wm