THE KINDER STRINGS
Kinder Strings is a systematic enrichment programmes which introduce preschoolers the joy of violin and cello playing in an ensemble setting. In these programmes, children learn how to play the instrument from the beginner level. All our programmes take place at kindergartens, and we provide teachers, syllabus, and teaching materials at your door step. In Kinder Strings, all our teachers are trained and certified by us. Kinder Strings is endorsed by Trinity College London, which offers certifications for students who follow our pathway.
OUR PROGRAMMES
INTRODUCTORY PROGRAMME
The Introductory Programme of Kinder Strings is a perfect opportunity for beginners aged 5 & 6 to get a "taste" of the violin and cello. With no musical background and playing experience needed, children will be able to perform in an ensemble setting in just 6 classes. Programme topics include introductory on orchestral instruments, basic playing techniques, ensemble playing skills, listening skills, stage presentation, musical movement, and other fun and holistic activities. Musical instruments will be provided in this programme.
INDIVIDUAL LESSONS
We offer individual lessons at your kindergarten for any student who wishes to get more in-depth one-on-one learning from our experienced and dedicated teacher.
WEEKLY ORCHESTRA
There are 3 levels of weekly programmes of Kinder Strings: the Foundation Level, Intermediate Level, and Advanced Level. These programmes are designed for those who have already attended our Introductory Programme and would like to continue their musical path on a weekly basis.
HOW IT WORKS?
Our syllabus is customised with renowned early years methods and concept, blending with rich resources from musical experts from around the world. All our music is beautifully arranged by experienced music arrangers. We look into details and make every moment count for children. We focus on delivering engaging and effective teaching methods, giving our children all the benefits that learning music provides in developing their brains and minds. The Kinder Strings endorsed by Trinity College London which offers certificates for children who participate in all our programmes.
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COMPETITION REPERTOIREPreliminary Round repertoire (for all instruments) Total 2 pieces:1 unaccompanied etude or studies composed on/before 1900 AND 1 movement of a sonata, concerto, or solo work with accompaniment* by any works composed on/before 1820. The total duration of the chosen pieces shall not exceed 15 minutes. Should the performance exceed 15 mins, the jury members will not adjudicate the remainder of the performance. * For the accompaniment work, contestants may choose to record with or without accompaniment. Final Round repertoire (for all instruments) 1 piece only: Applicants must prepare 1 movement of a major concerto OR solo work with orchestral accompaniment from the standard repertoire by any works composed on/before 1820. The chosen piece for the Final Round needs to be different from the piece submitted for the Preliminary Round. The total duration of the chosen piece shall not exceed 15 minutes. Should the performance exceed 15 mins, the jury members will not adjudicate the remainder of the performance. *Contestants may choose to record with or without accompaniment for the Final Round.
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OVERVIEWELEGIBILITY Open to young Malaysians ages 18 and below, nationwide. PRIZES Up to 6 winners will be selected to perform as soloists with the SSO, plus the following prizes: Offered SSO Fellowship residency for up to 2 years; 1 sponsored private lesson with SSO concertmaster or a key player; 1 sponsored voucher for any online 6-session music course of the SEA Music Academy Online. APPLICATION DEADLINE On/by 1 November 2021, 5pm, with the submission of Preliminary round video and RM220 Application Fee. Pay RM150 if registered on/by 15 October 2021, 5pm. AGE CATEGORIES Young Artistes Junior: ages 12 and below. Young Artistes Senior: ages 13 to 18. INSTRUMENT CATEGORIES Piano Strings (violin, viola, cello, harp) Winds (flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, French horn, trumpet, and trombone).
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JURY PANELKevin Field Director of Bentley Music Academy Ergys Koni Co-Concertmaster of SSO Gerard Salonga Resident Conductor of MPO Loo Bang Hean Concert Pianist & International Adjudicator Eugene Pook Music Director & Conductor of SSO
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COMPETITION SCHEDULEApplication deadline with Preliminary round video submission: on/by 1 November 2021 (Monday) 5pm. Result of Preliminary round: on 7 November 2021, this will be announced on the SSO social media channel. Final round video submission: on/by 9 January 2022, 8pm (with photo and short biography). Virtual Final round: 16 January 2022 (Sunday) at 10am, streamed on our social media channel. Result of Final round: 16 January 2022 (Sunday), announced at 9pm on our website and social media channel. Concert: 2022/2023 Season Concert, dates to be arranged with First Place winners.
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INFO, RULES & REGULATIONSELIGIBILITY Open to young Malaysians, nationwide (see age restrictions under" Age Categories" below). Open to current residents of Malaysia, with valid student identification. AGE CATEGORIES Young Artiste Junior, ages 12 and below, born in or after 2009 Young Artiste Senior, ages 13 to 18, born in or between 2003 and 2008. INSTRUMENT CATEGORIES Piano Strings (violin, viola, cello, harp) Winds (flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, French horn, trumpet, and trombone). PRIZES FOR THE FIRST PLACE WINNERS Up to total of six First Place winners from each Age and Instrument Category will be chosen and invited to perform as soloists with the SSO in its 2022/2023 season. Will be offered SSO Fellowship residency for up to 2 years. 1 sponsored private lesson with SSO concertmaster or a key player, as relevant to the instrument. 1 sponsored voucher for any online 6-session music course of the SEA Music Academy Online. PRIZES FOR RUNNERS-UP(Second and Third Place winners) Will be offered SSO Fellowship residency up to 2 years. At least one opportunity to perform chamber music with Principal players of the SSO. APPLICATION FEE RM220/entry (if submitted on/by 1 November 2021, 5pm). RM150/entry (if submitted on/by 15 October 2021, 5pm). REGISTRATION DEADLINE On/by 1 November 2021 (Monday), 5pm ONLINE APPLICATION PROCEDURES Before submitting the online application form, it is important to take note of the following: Fill in all information in the Online Application Form Provide YouTube video URL link of your recorded performance in the online application form Submit the application fee (bank details below) and include the proof of transfer receipt in the online application form When submitting the online application, review and agree to the Information, Rules & Regulations. Bank details: Bank Account Name: Selangor Symphony Society Bank Name: RHB Bank Bank Account: 2145.2100.0126.90 GENERAL COMPETITION PROCEDURE I. Application The application fee is non-refundable. The participant’s age group is determined by the year of birth, regardless of month. The participant’s age group is determined by the year of application submission which is 2021. Applicant is welcome to participate in more than one instrument, however he/she will need to submit an additional application form with the application fee. II. Judging Contacting Jury members before or during the competition is not permitted. The decisions of the adjudicators are final. Please note that deliberations between adjudicators are entirely internal, and comments will not be disclosed to contestants for both Preliminary and Final rounds. This will ensure a robust discussion within the panel, where all aspects can be freely deliberated. The Jury reserves the right to withhold awarding a First Place designation in any age group/instrumental category if they decide the submissions have not reached that level. Contestants will be judged on musicianship, technical proficiency, intonation, teamwork with accompanist (where applicable), poise, and overall presentation skills. It is highly recommended that applicants choose repertoire that allows them to perform at their best, rather than choosing repertoire of a high difficulty level that has yet to demonstrate mastery of the instrument. III. Selection In the Preliminary Round, up to four finalists from each age group/instrument category will advance to the Final round. Therefore, up to 24 finalists will be chosen for the Final round. In the Final Round, there will be one First Place winner and two runners up chosen from each age group/instrument category. The First Place winner will be provided the sole invitation to perform with the SSO in 2022/2023 Concert Season. Should the First Place winner be unable to perform for the concert, the SSO may invite a runner-up of its choice to take up this opportunity. IV. Additional Conditions All candidates should continue to be enrolled in private lessons, to ensure their progress leading up to the final concert. Changes to the repertoire will not be permitted after submitting the online application form. Please check all application and submission details. Incomplete applications or video submissions that do not comply with these rules may result in the participant’s disqualification without refund. We welcome questions, which can be emailed to competition@sso.org.my prior to submitting an application. REPERTOIRE & SHEET MUSIC Please note the requirement for repertoire for both Preliminary and Final Rounds, under the webpage of Competition Repertoire For the winners concert, soloists will be invited to perform the piece chosen for their Final round submission. Selections of music in Final round must have a published orchestral score and parts that are readily available on public domain, whether on IMSLP or through another source. If the score of a First Place winner’s selection is not readily available for the concert, the winner may be asked to prepare a different selection for performance with the SSO. No repeats are needed for both the Preliminary round and Final Round. For the Preliminary round, no submission copy of music to the Jury is required. For the Final round, provide the solo parts (in PDF format) be provided to the Jury rather than the full or piano score, and contestants need to ensure that bar numbers are noted at the start of each line/system. VIDEO SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS Submissions of both the Preliminary and Final rounds are to be in the form of online videos. Contestants may choose to record with or without collaborative pianist (accompanist) for both the Preliminary and Final round. If choose to record without a collaborative pianist, playing with a backing track is not necessary. In the Preliminary round, applicants will upload their recorded performance in the form of a YouTube video (or equivalent, like Vimeo) and provide the link to the performance on the online application form. You may choose to have this as an Unlisted video for purposes of privacy, but please do not designate it as a Private video for ease of accessibility. In the submitted recording, the following Information needs to be clearly stated in the text of the video description: - Full name of contestant (as appears in one’s IC or passport) - Age category and instrument (i.e. Young Artiste Junior Division, violin) - Repertoire: composers' names and title of piece (i.e. Etude Op.10 no.1 by Chopin,1st movement Piano Sonata No. 16 in C major, K. 545, by Mozart) Applicants are advised to ensure that the audio and video of the recording are of high quality. The video recording shall not be edited or enhanced. The video recording must be recorded and displayed in Landscape Mode. Audio and video shall be recorded simultaneously. For the two pieces in the Preliminary round, the video recording shall be made in one continuous recording from a single fixed camera location. The performer should be placed in the frame so that the instrument and the performer’s face and hands are clearly visible without obstruction. It is not necessary to include the entire participant within the frame. MEMORIZATION Performance from memory for both Preliminary and Final round is encouraged but not mandatory with the exception of pianists. All pianists will need to perform by memory for both Preliminary and Final rounds. COLLABORATIVE PIANIST (ACCOMPANIST) Contestants may choose to record their competition pieces with or without accompaniment for both the Preliminary and Final round. Contestants who wish to include accompaniment need to provide their own accompanists in both the Preliminary and Final Round. Teachers may accompany their students. Collaborative pianists should take appropriate cuts in tutti sections. TRAVELLING & ACCOMODATION First Place winners are responsible for their own expenses of traveling and accommodation for the rehearsals and concert with the SSO. The organiser will not be held responsible for any costs incurred related to interruptions due to governmental restrictions, such as current movement control orders. DRESS CODE FOR BOTH PRELIMINARY AND FINAL ROUND Proper attire is part of any performance. Participants are advised against jeans, sneakers, flip flops, shorts, tank tops and t-shirts. However, participants are welcome to record without footwear in consideration of home recordings (in any case, the entire performer need not be in the frame). Up to total of six First Place winners from each Age and Instrument Category will be chosen and invited to perform as soloists with the SSO in its 2022/2023 season. First Place winners will need to be prepared to rehearse with the SSO and be available for 2 rehearsals on 2 consecutive days with the SSO in the concert week. PHOTOGRAPHY/AUDIO & VIDEO RECORDING The organiser reserves the right to use all the photos, recording and videos recording which are taken during the Final Round and concert, and to release any these materials for future publicity or/and commercial purposes without seeking further approval from the contestants. All contestants agree that all copyrights of the photos and video recordings belong to the organiser. DISQUALIFICATION Disqualification is at the discretion of the organiser, for contravention of any of these regulations. To avoid disqualification, feel free to message the organiser should there be any queries. ADDITIONAL CONDITIONS The organiser may opt to cancel any competition category, should the total participants be fewer than appropriate for competition purposes. If this occurs, the entry fee will be refunded. Situations not covered by these rules shall be left to the discretion of the organiser. The organiser reserves the right to make changes to the rules and regulations, and all supporting materials relating to the competition at any time without further notice.
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THE MANAGEMENT TEAMJonah Chong Business Development Manager Matthew Lau Business Development Manager
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ARTISTIC ADVISORSDr. Taichi Akutsu (Japan) Violinist, Educator, Researcher, Seisa University, Japan Shujitsu University, Japan Min Yen Chien (Taiwan) Professor of Violin, Taipei National University of the Arts, Taiwan Charlotte Leng (UK/Malaysia) Violist & Early Childhood Music Specialist, British International School Kuala Lumpur
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OUR TEACHERSShirley Lee Penang & Butterworth region, Malaysia Kerwa Lim Kuala Lumpur & Selangor region, Malaysia Calvin Tang Kuala Lumpur & Selangor region, Malaysia Cecilia Tsang Ipoh region, Malaysia Tan Poh Kim Singapore region
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Our CollaboratorsPeter & Jane Kindergarden Mindspace Sdn Bhd Little Mandarin House Tadika Precious Steps Olimpic Kids Club Tadika Pintar Ria Estee Pook Academy
WATCH OUR RESULT
Click below to watch our live performances in which these children learnt their instruments in just several sessions and be able to perform 3 songs. Best of all, they have cultivated the love of the instrument and orchestra activities.
Kinder Strings class
Kinder Strings class
Kinder Strings class
Kinder Strings class
Kinder Orchestra
TESTIMONIALS
Let's hear what parents say about us!
Su-Ann (parent),
Tadika Little Mandarin House
"My child joined the Kinder Strings led by their teacher during a holiday programme. Just 5 days under the teacher's teaching sparked a deep interest in the violin and music in him. He has since started the full Kinder Strings programme and individual lessons and we are tremendously pleased at how he has bloomed and grown under their teaching. Kinder Strings and its team are deeply passionate and that has shown in the way the children effortlessly learn the violin and play together in their own orchestra. It's been a wonderful journey and my child looks forward to making more wonderful music with his friends and the great teachers. Thank you!"
Lisa Chisholm (parent),
Tadika Little Mandarin House
"The Kinder Strings has been brilliant to raise the confidence and competency of my little girl. Isobel has loved the safe and creative space to learn violin and reading music, she has made great friends and always comes home full of smiles and wanting to get her violin out and show me what she's learnt. I would highly recommend the Kinder Orchestra to anyone wanting to give their child a start in learning an instrument or even to pregress their skills. I feel very lucky we found it!"
Crystal Wong (parent),
Taska Precious Steps
"It has been a year and my children still remember the teachers and experience in Kinder Strings. We were amazed at the poise and discipline the young kindergarten children displayed, as they listened attentively and observed the conductor's gestures and played together as a team, just after 4 days of training without any prior knowledge of the violin! Thank you!