Multicultural celebration of being Singaporean

There are 10 programmes in the line-up, comprising eight performances and two exhibitions

- Chin Soo Fang

A bird dancing in the sky, soaring towards its passion and riding the wind on the wings of a dream.

This was the inspiration for 14-year-old Nathanael Koh when he composed Soaring, a work which fuses Western and Chinese influences.

Nathanael has a diploma in music theory from Trinity College, a bachelor's degree in music composition from the Australian Guild of Music Education, and a first-class honour in music composition from Australian National National University.

However, the song is not just about the determination and hard work he puts in to achieve his ambition.

"It represents the collective aspirations of Singaporeans to excel globally, transcending boundaries in various fields," he tells The Straits Times. "It captures the essence of climbing towards success, embodying the spirit of perseverance and dedication that Singaporeans embrace as they pursue their goals on the world stage." The song will be featured at The Singaporean Composers Series, a concert by The Teng Company for the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre's (SCCC) Cultural Extravaganza.

The annual festival returns from May 8 to June 30 with the theme (Re)presenting Our Singapo(ren) Treasures, "ren" being the Chinese character for "person".