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A NUSSU Publication
ArtsFest kicks off this Friday, 15 Feb at the University Cultural Centre with Love is in the Air, a musical performance by iconic singers Jacintha Abhisheganaden, Jeremy Monteiro, Rani Signam, Iskandar Ismail and Singapore Idol 2 runner-up Jonathan Leong.
In an email interview, Leong states that this will be the first time the former Political Science major will be returning to perform in NUS since graduating last year.
Confessing the fact that he was like any other NUS student, Leong declares that the things he hates most about university life were the exams and like any student worth his/her salt, he kept late nights – till 4am on some days.
Picture credit: http://www.flickr.com
“Life as a student in NUS was full of sound and fury,” mused Leong, 25. “More than half the time I was rushing to and from school, spending nights in the canteen or benches to rush my assignments on nights when I did not have to work. I did not get to make many friends in school either so I do regret that.”
Currently, however, Leong is living his passion for singing and is working hard on his debut album with fame at his heels. He promises that the album “will establish what kind of direction I will be going into… and done in a style that is in line with my character.” Says Leong, “Of course, I also hope that it will do well commercially and dare I say it, win some awards and stay on the charts. We’ll see.”
Looking forward to the performance happening this Friday, Leong says that he is eager to perform for Love is in the Air “because, first of all, I like jazz music, and I was looking forward to work with Iskandar Ismail.”
Singing alongside veterans like Idol judge Jacintha Abhisheganaden is also no mean feat but Leong is confident yet humble: “I have always thought Jacintha had a beautiful, smoky voice and I really enjoy listening to her sing so it’s great that I get to sing with her too!”
The former Singapore Idol is especially glad that he has gotten to be a part of the same musical scene that he just recently left. As Leong states, “I used to watch a lot of the hall productions, the dance nights and generally anywhere I hear performances, I make my way there, be it the Forum or wherever on campus.”
Aside from Leong’s return to his alma mater, the NUS Arts & Entertainment festival will also showcase the talent present within the campus from several student groups including the NUS Jazz Symphony, the NUS Dance Ensemble and Hall production groups, just to name a few. Complementing these, professional artists and pioneers from outside the campus will also make their way here with some arriving from the other side of the globe.
From poetry workshops to hip hop dance workouts, live concerts to movie screenings, ArtsFest promises a plethora of artistic endeavour. Programmes offered are priced affordably to cater to the average NUS student with free admission for several exhibitions and performances.
ArtsFest, on the whole, has chosen to focus on a medicinal theme, wherein many of the programmes have, from the start, set out to show viewers/listeners/participants the relation between creativity and healing.
But ultimately, ArtsFest will be, as CFA Director Christine Khor summed up, a project “partner[ing] NUS faculties and professionals, to showcase [the] arts in novel ways and encourage imagination and artistic expression via different channels.”
Let the show begin.
Tickets to NUS Arts Fest 2008 can be purchased through the Gatecrash Hotline 6222 5595. For more information, visit http://www.gatecrash.com.sg/ and http://www.nus.edu.sg/cfa
Tickets are on sale now.
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