On 9 August 2021, young musicians from LVL Music Academy took part in the Gardens by the Bay and Mediacorp National Day Concert 2021, performing as the string quartet accompanying Rebecca Lim for Song for Singapore.
Celebrating Singapore’s 56th birthday, the National Day concert brought together Singapore performers, personalities and community stories in a programme filmed across Gardens by the Bay and broadcast to audiences around the country.
Performing at the National Day Concert
The 2021 concert was staged against the distinctive surroundings of Gardens by the Bay, creating a recognisably Singaporean setting for the National Day celebrations.
For the young LVL musicians involved, the performance offered an experience very different from a conventional student recital. They were taking part in a professionally produced national programme alongside established Singapore performers and personalities.
The quartet featured violin and cello, with the young musicians performing together as part of Rebecca Lim’s rendition of Song for Singapore.
Rebecca Lim Performs Song for Singapore with the LVL String Quartet
One of the featured moments of the concert was Mediacorp actress Rebecca Lim’s performance of Corrinne May’s Song for Singapore, accompanied by the young string quartet from LVL Music Academy.
The official broadcast credits identify the string quartet as:
- Donya Senejani
- Qaveri An Suneja
- Elijah Phua Sheng Xi
- Lauren-Mae Phan
The performance formed part of the wider National Day programme at Gardens by the Bay, with President Halimah Yacob attending the concert as Guest of Honour together with her husband, Mr Mohamed Abdullah Alhabshee.
Watch the LVL String Quartet Perform with Rebecca Lim
Watch the performance of Song for Singapore featuring Rebecca Lim and the LVL string quartet at the Gardens by the Bay and Mediacorp National Day Concert 2021.
LVL Music Academy Recognised in the Concert Credits
The official broadcast credits also include LVL Music Academy in the programme’s Special Thanks section.
Together with the individual credits given to the four string musicians, this provides an important record of LVL’s involvement in the 2021 National Day production.
A Different Kind of Performance Experience
Musical development does not happen only inside the lesson room.
Performing for a professionally produced programme requires musicians to prepare differently from a normal weekly lesson or informal recital. They must work as an ensemble, remain focused during filming and rehearsals, and adapt to the requirements of a larger production.
At LVL, providing students with opportunities to experience music beyond regular lessons has long been an important part of their development as performers.
The National Day Concert offered these young musicians the opportunity to contribute their playing to an event reaching audiences across Singapore.
Looking Back at NDP Concert 2021
The Gardens by the Bay and Mediacorp National Day Concert 2021 took place during an unusual period in Singapore’s history, when large-scale live performances were still affected by COVID-19 restrictions.
Through performances filmed around one of Singapore’s most recognisable landmarks, the programme created a way for musicians and audiences to come together for National Day despite those circumstances.
For LVL, the concert remains a memorable part of our performance history: four young musicians representing the academy as a string quartet, performing with Rebecca Lim for Song for Singapore as part of a national celebration.
