Welcome to the April edition of Upbeat!Warmest wishes to all our readers across South East Asia in this new year of the Rabbit. Wehope it’s a lucky one for your music studies and exam results!

The month of January was a busyone and just before the ChineseNew Year we hosted an array ofABRSM High Scorers’ Concertsacross Malaysia and in Singapore.From Petaling Jaya for KualaLumpur to Selangor State,performers of all ages and a widevariety of instruments entertainedappreciative audiences. Highachievers were also recognised inMelaka for performers fromNegeri Sembilan and Johor States,in Kuching and Kota Kinabalu foryoung talents from Sarawak andSabah, while high scorers fromPerak, Kedah, Perlis and PenangState were recognised in Penang. I had the pleasure of attendingeach of the events and conveying

ABRSM’s congratulations to all the performers, teachers and parents. A record of these splendidevents features in this edition of Upbeat.

During January, I also had the opportunity to conduct meetings with teachers in Bangkok,Petaling Jaya, Melaka, Kuching, Kota Kinabalu, Penang, Singapore, Jakarta and Surabaya. Wespent this time discussing and demonstrating the changes to ABRSM’s aural syllabus as well asdiscovering how the new aural publications can be used in lessons. Almost 600 teachersattended these events, and I want to give a special thank you to all the teachers who helped byacting as mock candidates during the demonstrations.

We are currently in the process of inviting all thesuccessful diploma holders from 2010 to the South andEast Asia Diploma Awards ceremony which takes place on19 March in Singapore. Diploma holders from thePhilippines, Japan, Korea, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand,Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore will meet ABRSM’sChief Executive, Guy Perricone, and ProfessionalDevelopment Director, Richard Crozier, who will both beattending to offer their congratulations. CT ABRSM holderswho completed their studies in Singapore in September2010 will also be joining the celebrations for the first time.

I hope you enjoy browsing through this edition of Upbeat, and you may even find yourself featured somewhere inside!

Gong Xi Fa Cai

Bill ThomsonABRSM South East Asia Regional Coordinator

Contents

1Inside this edition

2Around the region

5Reflections onSouth East Asia

6Supportingteachers

7News from ABRSM

8Diary dates

Volume 22 • April 2011

No less than five cellists delighted the appreciative audience at theEquatorial Hotel, Penang, with their fine performances

Changes to exam centres in Malaysia and Singapore

In 2011 we will be improving facilities at exam centres in

Malaysia while also offering a wider range of ce

ntres in

Singapore. Malaysian teachers in particular sho

uld note:

- Kuala Lumpur: all Practical exams in 2011

will take place at the Prince Hotel, Jalan Conley

.

- Penang: April exams will take place at the Equatorial

Hotel, Bayan Baru.

Selangor: Klang exams will take place at the new

Premiere Hotel.

Sarawak: Kuching exams will take place at the

Riverside Majestic Hotel and in Sibu at the RH H

otel.

Sabah: Kota Kinabalu exams will take place

at the newly refurbished Hyatt Regency Hotel.

During the early weeks of this year we held a mixture of teacher seminars and High Scorers’ Concerts in Malaysiaand Singapore. These events highlight the tremendous enthusiasm of music teachers, the poise in the playing ofthe young performers and the great pride of their families and friends in the audiences.

Seminars also took place in Indonesia and Thailand and we wish them all success for the High Scorers’ Concertsin Bangkok, Jakarta and Medan in March.

The talented performers at the recent concerts, both singers anda wide range of instrumentalists, offered varied programmesacross all grades. We are very fortunate at ABRSM to havepractical local support for these events and would like to recordour gratitude to Maxwell Sim and David Liew in Melaka, Kathleen

and Kenny Chang inKuching and Mr and MrsPang in Kota Kinabalu.

Some performers appear frequently at these events and it is fascinatingfor members of the audience to witness their musical development.Johnny Chin has featured many times in Kuching concerts, both as aviolinist and as a classical guitarist. This year his playing of Monti’sCzardas, a Grade 8 piece, was polished and exciting. Yap Yi, a young cellistfrom Kota Kinabalu, is another regular performer and his Entr’acte fromBizet’s opera Carmen was charming.

In Kuala Lumpur, Melaka and Singapore an emerging instrument at theconcerts is the harp. This year three harpists played at the Kuala Lumpurevent with another three at the Singapore concert too. These were uniqueperformances ranging from Grade 1 to Grade 8.

You might imagine that adult high scorers could easily feel out of place ina concert with predominantly children, but not Maximilian Jackson fromSingapore. His French horn performance of ‘Send in the Clowns’ wassuperb and very much enjoyed by all!

Jazz piano playing in the Kuala Lumpur and Singapore concerts added adifferent dimension, with players demonstrating tremendous powers ofimprovisation and excellent communication with the audiences.

2 3

Around the region

Indonesian teachers travelled from across the country for the seminar in Jakarta.In this group, teachers came from as far away as Bali.

A group of CT ABRSMteachers assist Bill withaural matters in Singapore

Two cheerful teachersfrom Penang helped out asmock exam candidates

During the break time in Surabaya, teachers were eager tobuy the new ABRSM aural publications

Zachary Lim Hong Sern gave a fineperformance of Chopin’s Grand ValseBrillante on the violin at the KualaLumpur concert

At the Kuala Lumpur/Selangor concert, young classicalguitarists Alvin See Kok Shen (left) and Akmal Hariri bin AbdulRahman’s (right) nimble-fingered playing was much enjoyed

A feature at the Singapore, Malaka and Kuala Lumpur HighScorers’ Concerts was the appearance of several very fine harpists.Here, in Singapore, these musicians provided grace and elegance tothe concert.

Hilary Frances Samuels gave a poised and mature performance ofthe Andantino from Saint-Saens’ oboe sonata at the Singapore event

‘Sister Act’ duo: Carissa Sheila Damien gavean impressive performance of ‘My House’ fromPeter Pan, accompanied by sister Carmen

Johnny Chin has made many memorableappearances at the Kuching High Scorers’ Concert –both as a classical guitarist and violinist

Maximilian Jackson gave a deeply expressive performance of‘Send in the Clowns’ by Sondheim on his French horn in Singapore

4 5

For the past 12 years, I have lived in Kuala Lumpur to serve ABRSM asthe South East Asia Regional Coordinator. And now my time is up! Mywife and I are packing our bags to head to Hong Kong where I take upthe exciting new role of Hong Kong and Singapore DevelopmentExecutive.

It has been a delight to meet many hundreds of teachers across theSouth East Asian territories – from Vietnam and Thailand’s mostnortherly cities to the Indonesian and Philippine south and westterritories in Lombok and Cebu.

I have seen teacher-support develop and transform, from the CT ABRSM course in Singapore and Jakarta (now reshaped as the CT ABRSM Plus), to the recently introduced Teaching Music Effectivelycourse. An initiative to bring together teachers from neighbouringcountries led to the successful Professional Development Conferencesat which teachers from as far away as Hong Kong, Macau, Java andAustralia travelled to the beautiful island of Penang. And currently, theProfessional Development Programme tours the region along with manyone-day teaching workshops which form an essential part of teachers’calendars across Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore.

International schools frequently embrace ABRSM for its universal standard. It has been my pleasure to be a frequentvisitor to such schools, and I thank them for the lovely welcome that I always receive.

So, I am looking forward to a new chapter and to supporting teachers in Hong Kong with their ABRSM endeavours.Hong Kong is a city of unyielding energy and excitement and I will relish the professional satisfaction of working withall of our ABRSM stakeholders there whilst continuing my work in Singapore.

Gong Xi Fa Cai / Kung Hei Fatt Choi

Bill Thomson

Bill Thomson is leaving the role as ABRSM’s Regional Coordinator for South East Asia to take up the position of Hong Kong and Singapore Development Executive in April 2011

ABRSM welcomes Jamie SmithJamie Smith has been appointed as ABRSM’s Malaysia National Coordinator. Jamie isdelighted to be taking up this newly-created role in Malaysia and looks forward tomeeting teachers and students at forthcoming ABRSM events.

Currently a music lecturer at the Sultan Idris Education University in Perak, Malaysia,Jamie studied at Magdalen College in Oxford and the National Tchaikovsky Academyof Music in Russia, where he also worked as a teacher. He has taught pianoperformance in Guangdong, China, and worked for the British Council in Poland.

‘I am thrilled to be joining ABRSM,’ said Jamie. ‘I am greatly looking forward tocollaborating with musicians throughout Malaysia and hope to develop even strongerties with music teachers and dealers all over the country.'

Jamie Smith starts his new role at ABRSM as Malaysia National Coordinator in April 2011

Reflections on South East Asia Our popular teacher seminars presented ABRSM’s new Specimen Aural Tests focussing in particular on theexaminer rubrics which are now included in these publications. For some children in the region the use ofEnglish language during the aural tests can create some anxiety. These seminars and new publications haveempowered teachers by ensuring a complete understanding of all the wording used in exams, allowing them toimprove their students’ own comprehension.

International schools across South East Asia embrace ABRSMsyllabuses and exams and we have close ties with many schoolsthroughout the region. I was fortunate to spend a day in January withthe entire team of instrumental and singing teachers at Shrewsbury International School, hosted by theirDirector of Music, Jonathan Ling. ABRSM exam matters, including syllabuses, were discussed in depth andthree very brave students even took part in mock exam demonstrations. In Jakarta, the entire team ofinstrumental and vocal teachers at the British International School attended the teacher seminar on auraltraining supported by their Director of Music, Mr Michael Disney.

More ABRSM teachersupport events are plannedfor March and will includevisits to the BritishInternational School in HoChi Minh City and the UnitedNations International Schoolin Hanoi.

Bill relaxing with a group of Melaka teachers during arecent teacher seminar at the Makhota Hotel

Benjamin prepares for hisperformance of a Scarlatti sonataat the Penang concert. Benjaminreturned from the Menuhin schoolin London in December where hehad been selected as one of theMalaysian pianists to study withMalaysian concert pianist Bobby Chen.

Harps again! Ge WeiCherry (left) also played aGrade 8 Piano piece byPiazolla at the SingaporeHigh Scorers’ Concert

Flautist Calvin Chew Inn Khooi from KotaKinabalu in a dreamy imaginative performanceof ‘Seashore’ by Christoper Norton

Young cellist Yap Yi from Kota Kinabalu pictured in a familygroup with sister, mum and dad. Mum is his accompanist(Grace Lee) and dad is his teacher (conductor Yap Ling).

Everyone in Kota Kinabalutakes a final bow...

Congratulations to all theteachers, performers andaccompanists who took partin the various concerts!

Chua Ren Jie pictured in Melaka for his performance ofLord Cutt’s March. Those with eagle eyes will spot the Stateflags of Melaka, Negeri Sembilian and Penang.

6 7

Teaching Music EffectivelyABRSM is delighted to announce that we will be offering our popular Teaching Music Effectively course inMalaysia for the first time from July 2011.

Designed to help you develop your teaching skills and build confidence, Teaching Music Effectively comprises adistance learning module of six weeks followed by three intensive study days in early September. You’ll workclosely with a subject mentor and explore the issues specific to teaching your instrument. You’ll also discusscurrent trends in music education and look at how these can by applied to your lessons.

Join us for a free taster session on 14 June to learn more about this course. Further course information and thetaster details are available from our website at www.abrsm.org/MYTME.

Professional Development ProgrammeOnce again, our Professional Development Programme (PDP) will be returning to the region in August andSeptember. This year’s tour will focus on two major areas of exam preparation:

• Piano (Grades 6–8): An in-depth look at the ABRSM Piano syllabus giving insight into gaining the best marks at the upper grades and focussing on advanced techniques and exam preparation skills.

• Aural training: Developing preparation techniques for ABRSM aural tests and exploring how your students can gain valuable extra marks in their exams through improving aural skills.

Full details will be available soon from www.abrsm.org/pdp.

CT ABRSM PlusTeachers can look forward to this year’s CT ABRSM Plus course in Singapore commencing mid-March. Over thenext seven months, teachers from Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore will be joining together to share teachingideas and support each other through the mixture of study sessions and coursework. Combining our renownedCertificate of Teaching course with the Principles of Teaching diploma, the CT ABRSM Plus course now includesdedicated preparation for the DipABRSM exam.

Supporting teachersComing soon!

Aural Training in PracticeWe are delighted to announce thatthe first two volumes of our eagerlyanticipated Aural Training in Practicetitles will be released on 7 April 2011.These new titles provide additionalpractice material for students andteachers keen to develop aural skills.Each volume contains a wide rangeof tests at each grade, with answersas appropriate. The CD recordingscontained in these fully revisededitions are useful for non-pianist teachers or for studentstudy between lessons.

Syllabus update for stringsChanges to our Bowed Strings syllabus will be published in July 2011 for implementation in exams from January 2012. New scale and sight-reading requirements have been introduced for Violin, Viola, Cello and Double Bass and will be used in all exams from January 2012.

In addition to changes to the technical requirements, we will also be introducing refreshed repertoire selections for Violin. To supportteachers and students preparing for exams, the new books of ViolinExam Pieces 2012–2015 contain a selection of pieces from the newsyllabus, available for each grade from 1 to 7. The score and partedition will be available with or without CD recordings at Grades 1 to 7, and you will also be able to buy the violin part onlyedition at Grades 1 to 5. CD recordings of the complete Grade 8syllabus will also be available separately.

All publications are available to buy from retailers worldwide, or from our website at www.abrsm.org/shop

SpeedshifterSpeedshifter is a new practice tool from ABRSM that allows you to vary the speed of audio from a CD or MP3 without altering the pitch. Visit our website to download this free application and try it out while you practise. www.abrsm.org/speedshifter

Join us on Facebook and Twitter!Keep up-to-date with the latest news from ABRSM by joining our social networking communities. Please visitwww.twitter.com/abrsm or www.facebook.com/abrsm for regular updates on ABRSM exams, publications, events and courses.

News from ABRSM

Over 150 eager teachers travelled from various cities and islands to Jakartafor the aural training and diploma preparation seminar in January

8

Diary datesFurther information about all ABRSM events can be found on our website at www.abrsm.org.

Date: Saturday 19 March What: South and East Asia Diploma

Awards CeremonyWhere: Concorde Hotel, SingaporeContact: Li Yng at llai@abrsm.ac.uk

Date: Sunday 27 March What: High Scorers’ ConcertWhere: Hyatt Regency Yogyakarta, IndonesiaContact: Denis Umar at yasmi@indo.net.id

Date: Sunday 3 April What: 10th High Scorers’ ConcertWhere: InterContinental MidPlaza Hotel,

Jakarta, IndonesiaContact: Denis Umar at yasmi@indo.net.id

Date: Sunday 10 April What: High Scorers’ ConcertWhere: Bumi Surabaya Hotel, IndonesiaContact: Denis Umar at yasmi@indo.net.id

Date: Wednesday 24 AugustWhat: Professional Development ProgrammeWhere: Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaContact: Jo Wong at jwong@abrsm.ac.uk

Date: Thursday 25 AugustWhat: Professional Development ProgrammeWhere: Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaContact: Jo Wong at jwong@abrsm.ac.uk

Date: Friday 26 AugustWhat: Professional Development ProgrammeWhere: Penang, MalaysiaContact: Jo Wong at jwong@abrsm.ac.uk

Date: Sunday 28 AugustWhat: Professional Development ProgrammeWhere: Kota Kinabalu, MalaysiaContact: Jo Wong at jwong@abrsm.ac.uk

Date: Monday 29 AugustWhat: Professional Development ProgrammeWhere: Kuching, MalaysiaContact: Jo Wong at jwong@abrsm.ac.uk

Date: Wednesday 31 AugustWhat: Professional Development ProgrammeWhere: SingaporeContact: Agnes Lau at alau@abrsm.ac.uk

Date: Thursday 1 SeptemberWhat: Professional Development ProgrammeWhere: SingaporeContact: Agnes Lau at alau@abrsm.ac.uk

Date: Thursday 1 September – Saturday 3 September

What: Teaching Music EffectivelyWhere: Petaling Jaya Contact: Jo Wong at jwong@abrsm.ac.uk

Date: Monday 5 September – Thursday 8 September

What: CT ABRSM Plus study daysWhere: Singapore Contact: Agnes Lau at alau@abrsm.ac.uk