Monday, 28 September 2009

Mr Lim Swee Say, Minister, Prime Minister’s Office, had the honour of presenting LASALLE’s “Oscars” on 28 September at the Singapore EXPO Convention & Exhibition Centre. With 825 students in the Class of 2009 - 566 Diploma graduates, 230 Degree graduates and 29 Master graduates - this has been the highest number of graduates produced by LASALLE since 2005.

The majority of students who graduated this year were from the Faculty of Design (53%) which has traditionally been the largest faculty, that has produced award-winning designers like international fashion designers Sven Tan and Harry Halim, D&AD New Blood award-winners: Auston Cai, art collective Phunk Studio and, McCaan Erikson Senior Art Director Ang Sheng Jin, and recent Crowbar Award Best of Show winner Lim Si Ping.

McNally Award for Excellence in the Arts

This year’s McNally Award for Excellence in the Arts went to a musician - Mr Tan Tuan Hao who graduated with a Diploma in Music. A former student of Catholic Junior College, he achieved straights ‘A’s in his GCE A levels before enrolling into LASALLE to pursue his passion for music.

A composer, conductor and flautist, Tuan Hao possesses solid compositional technique, in-depth music theory knowledge, perfect pitch and excellent research skills. His investigations combine indigenous Southeast Asian sounds with modern western techniques, producing innovative music that is both deep and mature.

The McNally Award is awarded to LASALLE’s most outstanding student of the year. Named after LASALLE’s founder, Brother Joseph McNally, the award recognises the role of the artist in society through both academic excellence and outstanding artistic achievements and contributions to the creative profession.

When asked why Tuan Hao was selected for this prestigious award, Professor Alastair Pearce, President of LASALLE said: “We are not producing enough composers sensitive to the musical developments of this contemporary age. I believe Tuan Hao will be a dynamic pioneer among the new generation of composers in this region. He has surpassed his entire cohort in terms of artistic excellence by demonstrating an extremely high level of sophistication in his specialisation and continuously practising his craft in the industry”.

Not satisfied in merely excelling in his studies and flute playing, Tuan Hao is also active in the music industry as a musical director and conductor, having led the Kim Seng Wind Symphony through three successful annual concerts and other performances including Postcard from Singapore, part of the Esplanade Beautiful Sunday concert series. In addition to his work as a Teaching Associate at Verve Music School, he also gives lessons in theory and flute performance, and was also an instructor in music theory at the Temasek Wind Ensemble, as well as Assistant Choral Director at the Temasek Chorale.

Said the 23 year-old Tuan Hao, “It was while I was serving my National Service as a bandsman in the SAF Bands that I realised that I wanted to pursue music as a career. It was not a hard decision and since then, it's been a constant challenge to keep finding new ways to express myself and my music. However, these challenges are something that I relish, and that, to me, is the reward of choosing music”.

He is also the recipient of LASALLE’s Award for Academic Excellence conferred at faculty level, as well as the prize of a return air ticket to any destination by Singapore Airlines.

LASALLE Award for Academic Excellence

In addition, another 10 top students received the LASALLE Award for Academic Excellence were accorded the top Faculty students at Diploma, Degree and Master level. These awards are given to students who have maintained excellent First Class academic standing throughout their education at LASALLE. Five of these entered LASALLE after their GCE’ A’ Levels or BA studies.

Mr Venka Purushothaman, Vice President (Academic) & Provost of LASALLE commented that, “LASALLE is committed to talent development. It’s really heartening to see so many talents emerging as beacons of excellence and choosing at such a young age to pursue their dreams. In our recent new intake of students, we know that more and more young people are taking ownership of their career paths by choosing an arts education instead of traditional educational journeys.”

Said Arts Management (Diploma) graduate Desmond Chew, one of the award recipients, “Passion is the driving force that keeps me going on and improving myself. During my course of study, I did my very best in every module, projects and assignments because I really love what I’m studying.” A former Anderson Junior College student from the Science stream, his repertoire includes having represented Singapore in the renowned World Music Concert 2009 held in The Netherlands as a guest performer with Mus’Art Wind Orchestra.

• Back to 2009's News