Introduction
The Hwa Chong Institution Band in its present state is a concert band, yet run in a military style. Thus, while we focus on the “Indoor” aspect, we still maintain our “Outdoor” skills. As a military band, The Hwa Chong Institution Band not only plays concert music, but also does drills and marches. Thus, our band members are fed a balanced diet of both physical, intellectual, and musical training.
As a concert band, we do not just practice music and perform concerts. Life in the band is interesting, to put it simply, as the band takes part in a wide variety of activities. Our band has put up numerous concerts over the years, some at Suntec City, some in the Botanic Gardens, and some in our own school, attracting a wide range of audiences. But that’s not all.
We have also performed in the Istana for President Nathan, taken part in the National Day Parade 2001, together with Commonwealth Secondary School Band, for the entire population of Singapore to view. We have marched around in Marina Square playing Christmas songs, and although it does sound like a very silly thing to do, it was a very enriching and fun experience for us all. We have organised many workshops with professionals, and exchange programmes with other school bands, not only improving our musical ability, but also giving us a change to interact and widen our social circle. Our Band has even gone to Perth in 1999, and Hawaii in 2000, for a 2 week course of musical fun and tutoring, which ended with a performance / competition where we got a gold medal. Lastly, we participate in the bi-annual SYF Central Band Judging, where we got a gold in 1999 and a silver in 2001. We used to take part in the Outdoor Display competition, but we stopped in 2000, to focus on the Indoor competition. It is evident that life in the band is not only fun, but interesting as well.
