Westlake International School

Overview

Weekly Tutti Rehearsal: Wednesday 3.15pm -5.15pm

Sectional practice: Monday/Tuesday/Thursday: 3.15pm-4.15pm

During this period of online learning, WOW will be assigned a song to practise every week. Each member will practise his/her part, & upload the video of their playing in ‘WOW Virtual Stage’ Google Classroom. All videos will be viewed & assessed by the band master. New members will have online class with the band master.

Wind Orchestra Westlake (WOW) began with a dream to provide a platform for students to create music together as a band while fostering a lifelong appreciation for music. It was founded in January 2016 with 24 members and has since increased to 45 members. Although WOW is still a young orchestra, we have organized and experienced various events such as music camps, competition and performances, both in school and in public.

In August 2016, under the invitation of WOW, the Havixbeck Youth Symphonic Band (HYSB) from Germany came to WIS to run a music workshop. It was well attended by various school bands in the Perak vicinity. The participants learned a lot from this well-acclaimed orchestra. In the evening, the HYSB performed at the Dewan Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik, UTAR to a packed audience from all over the State. The following year, it was WOW’s turn to shine. We were invited to perform at the Lantern Festival Celebration organized by Community 1 Malaysia DUN Keranji in September. Members were thrilled that they got to demonstrate their musical abilities to the public for the first time as well as contribute back to their community.

To date, WOW has organized three music camps at WIS. Our first joint camp was with the Boy’s Brigade 8th PJ Company Wind Orchestra in March 2017. In March 2018 & 2019 we had our 2nd and 3rd joint camp respectively with Shen Jai Wind Band. At these camps, members participated in instrument workshops, sectionals & tutti rehearsals, team building activities, and outdoor sports. These camps culminated with public performances at Grand Kampar Hotel and in WIS respectively. WOW’s most recent achievement was being awarded the Silver Medal at the “National Music Festival Competition 2019”, organized by the Sport, Art & Co-Curricular Division of the Ministry of Education. This was WOW’s first time competing at national level and this success has spurred us on to target higher goals. We have more in store for WOW with various activities and events in the pipeline. Under the helm of band master Mr Foo Cheong Lin, we are confident that WOW will progress to greater heights and achievements.

Highlights of WOW

Silver Award In The National Schools Music Festival Competition, Penang

It was the afternoon of 23 June. Nervousness hung in the air as we waited at the entrance door to the stage of a large auditorium. This was the first ever competition for WOW, so none of us really knew what to expect. When it was finally our turn, we walked in with hearts beating fast. Slightly startled by the thundering applause, we tried to remain calm by remembering our band master’s words of advice. We played two repertoires: Treasure and Future of Tomorrow, conducted by our student conductor, Gen Yokoyama. After the competition, we relaxed at a shopping mall in Penang, before heading back to Kampar. En route home, we received news from the organizers that we had won the Silver Award! We were all dumbfounded by the amazing news. The atmosphere in the bus changed to a celebratory one, with cheers and hurrahs! All the hours of practice had finally paid off.

June 2020
WOW Adventure Camp

WOW organized an adventure camp for its members on 14- 15 February 2020 at Ulu Village Resort, Kg Jahang, Gopeng. The aim of the camp was to develop responsibility, mental discipline, self- esteem and teamwork. This camp was also a good opportunity to foster friendships and unity among the members. The camp was organized by ‘Outdoor Geeks’, a reputable company that runs outdoor and adventure based programmes. The activities for the camp included jungle trekking, Adventure Caving at Gua Tempurong and team building games.

February 2020
WOW Annual Concert Potpourri

Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic typesetting, remaining essentially unchanged.

2019
WOW Music Camp

We were joined by the Shen Jai and Yuk Choy school bands on 29 -31 March for our 3rd WOW Music Camp. We spent three full days together, participating in activities such as tutti and sectional rehearsals, icebreakers, outdoor sports, movie night, and an Amazing Race. On the second day, which was also a WIS Open Day, we performed a surprise flash mob.

March 2019
Carnival Day

The sounds of beating drums, synchronized clapping, and lower brass instruments got the immediate attention of the crowd. WOW’s flash mob totally surprised everyone at WIS Carnival Day on 16 March. Dressed in carnival costumes, the band played and jived to the beat of All About That Bass. Adding music to this fun and exciting event definitely made it more special.

March 2019
WOW Annual Concert

On 23 August 2018, in collaboration with the Shen Zai Wind Band, WOW held its annual concert at WIS. Entitled “Rewind”, we entertained the crowd with classic hits from the 80’s, such as Heal the World, You Raise Me Up, Studio Ghibli’s Anime March Medley, and many more. We had the special guess performance by the Banana Brass Quintet. Our band master, Mr Foo, also serenaded the audience with a saxophone solo, playing the timeless song The Way We Were.Truly, it was a succesful and entertaining night.

August 2018