From Jazz Enthusiast to Professional Artiste

By Sarah Cheng-De Winne

Fourth-year student, University Scholars Programme


MULTI-HYPHENATE: Sarah Cheng, final year Psychology and Theatre Studies major
Photo courtesy of Alvin Yeo

I have had the privilege of being in the University Scholars Programme, NUS Jazz Band, and been able to pursue two majors in my time at NUS. This semester, being my last in completing the requirements for my Psychology (Hons) and Theatre Studies majors, I reflected upon what it was that I treasured most about my time here at NUS, and realised that apart from the friendships formed, I greatly appreciated the opportunities that NUS provided me to pursue my love for performance and songwriting in and out of the classroom.

Being elected as the Special Projects Director of the University Scholars Club (the position has since been converted into a co-opted one), I pursued an important musical endeavour when I wrote and composed seven out of 10 original songs for Saving Grace: A Musical for the Mind, which aimed to raise awareness of bipolar disorder and was produced in conjunction with the Institute of Mental Health's 80th Anniversary.

It was in that project that I first found myself taking my songwriting skills seriously. There was a great deal of positive feedback on the show, and particularly my songs. I carried on writing and in that year, I also got to perform for It's My Life, a teen musical produced by well-known Singapore actress Ms Tan Kheng Hua and directed by her husband, Mr Lim Yu-Beng. Chosen as one of 10 youths out of more than 300 hopefuls to star in the show, I was also selected to sing a solo written for my character by popular artiste Ms Corrinne May. The musical was held at NUS' University Cultural Centre Theatre.

It was after doing the recordings for It's My Life that Bang Wenfu, the musical director, starting discussing with me the possibility of an album collaboration of my original songs, the result of which was my recently released debut EP, Let's Pretend, which features six of my self-written and composed jazz-soul song and a bonus remix that has just hit the local airwaves on LUSH99.5.

I also cherished the lessons learnt in the playwriting classes (EN2271 and EN3271) I took under acclaimed dramatist Mr Huzir Sulaiman. I love writing and making music and somehow ended up working for a musical for EN3271. I was grateful for the opportunity to hone my songwriting skills and gain academic credits in the course of it too!

The NUS Jazz Band also played an integral part in deepening my interest in jazz, and allowed me to get to know two important mentors, Mr Iskandar Ismail and Mr John Lee. Most of all, being part of the band was a truly communal experience, and a number of musicians who were fellow collaborators have since become most wonderful friends of mine.

22 October 2010