Singapore composers every wind band should programme
BY ADRIAN CHIANG · 7 OCTOBER 2026
Singapore now has a real library of wind band music written by our own composers, and most of it is still played far less than it deserves. I have spent over twenty years training school and community bands here, and these are the pieces I keep coming back to.
When students play music about the places and stories they know, something changes in the room. They listen harder, they ask questions, and the audience leans in. If you run a school band, a community band or a university group, here is where I would start.
The composers and the pieces
Wang Chenwei: The Sisters' Islands
Wang Chenwei wrote this symphonic poem at 17, and it won the Singapore Composer Award at the 2006 Singapore International Competition for Chinese Orchestral Composition. It retells the local legend behind the two islands, and the wind band version has travelled widely. VENTUS played it in 2025. The solos are demanding, so plan who carries them well before the concert.
Terrence Wong: Battle of the Houses and Singapura
Terrence writes music that bands enjoy from the first rehearsal. Battle of the Houses has the energy of a school sports day, which students get straight away. Singapura is a good choice when you want something that sounds unmistakably local without being a medley.
Benjamin Yeo: City of Dreams
Benjamin is one of the few Singapore band composers published overseas, with works out through C.L. Barnhouse and others. City of Dreams is a strong concert opener for intermediate bands. If your band is ready for more, try Redhill, which uses the pelog scale to evoke Malay music in the legend of the swordfish attack.
Dax Wilson Liang: Of Orchids and Crimson Sunbirds
Dax is Chief Composer and Arranger of the Singapore Armed Forces Band, and his Lion City series has been played at the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo and elsewhere. Of Orchids and Crimson Sunbirds was written for SG60 and premiered in September 2025. It is new enough that your audience will probably be hearing it for the first time.
Lee Jin Jun: Variations on Chan Mali Chan
Jin Jun's variations on the Malay folk song give a trumpet or euphonium player a proper feature, with the band supporting. It is a lovely way to put a strong student soloist in front of the band. His arrangement of Sing! works well for younger groups.
Kelly Tang: Overture No. 1
Kelly Tang's Overture No. 1 (2009) has been an SYF set piece, so many band directors already know it. It rewards clean ensemble playing and careful balance. When your band is ready for something bigger, look at his Three Portraits for Symphonic Band.
Wong Kah Chun: Sunny Island
Before he became known as a conductor in Europe, Kah Chun wrote for wind band here. Sunny Island is a warm, approachable piece that suits a concert of Singapore music. His Pecos Pueblo is also published, through Tierolff in the Netherlands.
Mohd Rasull: May You Achieve Happiness
May You Achieve Happiness is Rasull's fantasy on Semoga Bahagia, the Zubir Said song that every Singapore child learns for Children's Day. The Singapore Wind Symphony commissioned it in 2015 under Adrian Tan, and Rasull dedicated it "to all the band geeks of the world".
The piece moves through four scenes: a cheerful Celebration, a slow and gentle Prayer, a quick Festival, and then the Theme and Finale, where the whole band sings the Malay words. I grew up singing Semoga Bahagia as a child, and that moment tugs at my heartstrings every time I perform it. It is scored for full symphonic band, and there is a shorter version from 2017 if your concert is tight on time. You can hear it in my performance with SMU Symphonia at the APBDA conference in Hamamatsu, Japan: watch it on YouTube.
If you also want a Tamil melody on the same programme, Rasull's arrangement of Munnaeru Vaaliba sits nicely beside it.
The arrangers worth knowing
A lot of what Singapore bands actually play comes from local arrangers who turn our songs into music bands can perform: xinyao, National Day songs, getai favourites and school songs. Three names to look for:
Ong Jiin Joo
Yap Sin Yee
Ralph Lim
All three have arranged far too much to list here. If you need a Singapore song set for your band, start with their catalogues.
Bring this music to your band
Programming Singapore music is one of the things I enjoy most, with VENTUS, with the Asian Cultural Symphony Orchestra and with the school bands I train. If you would like help choosing repertoire, or would like me to work with your band on one of these pieces in a masterclass, get in touch.