Orchestral institute's young musicians offer invigorating read of Sibelius

The turn of the 20th century saw Finland flexing its own nationalist muscles as it slowly but surely found its independence from the faltering Russian Czarist empire.

- Chang Tou Liang

This concert by the Yong Siew Toh Orchestral Institute focused wholly on two major works by Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) which encapsulated that yearning for freedom.

Led by guest conductor Ken Lam, director of orchestral studies at the Tianjin Juilliard School and resident conductor of the Tianjin Juilliard Orchestra, it opened with the imposing but popular tone poem Finlandia (Op. 26) of 1899.

Choruses of stirring brass are pivotal for this masterpiece, and from the outset, the young musicians boldly proved themselves with a lack of timidity.

Intonation was spot on for most part, paving the way for the familiar Finlandia Hymn, known to most churchgoers here as Be Still, My Soul. Woodwinds followed by strings laid on the self-belief with shovel-loads of fervour.