Jazz music fans in Singapore donating up to  $20,000 for original songs to call their own

SINGAPORE – As a memento of her late husband, jazz fan and former paediatrician Mary Ann Tsao commissioned Jazz Association (Singapore) (Jass) to create an original song by Singaporean jazz maestro Jeremy Monteiro to the tune of $20,000.

“My late husband, who died in 2007, loved jazz, and having this song is a really nice way to remember him,” the chairman and founding director of charity Tsao Foundation says of the instrumental number titled Follow Your North Star.

Completed in 2023, it also serves to mark what would have been the couple’s 30th anniversary.

The title was inspired by his drive to always follow his convictions and Dr Tsao, 70, was really pleased when she heard the final result.

“It’s a piece that has a bit of a minor scale to it, and it really reflected my husband’s quirkiness and journey through life, which is definitely not a straight line. He’s had all kinds of ups and downs, but somehow, always came out on top,” she says of her late husband, American physicist Bennett Robinson.

Since 2022, home-grown jazz composers have come up with more than 20 bespoke songs through Jass’ Build Your Legacy Through Jazz series.

In the programme, donors support the creation of new works by dedicating songs to their loved ones or to mark special occasions.

These donations start at $2,500 for a song by a composer from the Jazz Association Singapore Youth Orchestra, who are aged 35 and below. An amount of $5,000 gets donors a song by a composer from the Jazz Association Singapore Orchestra (Jasso); while $7,500 is for a song by Jass’ more established composers such as senior associate music director Weixiang Tan, associate music director Chok Kerong and assistant music director Rit Xu.

Donors such as Dr Tsao contribute a minimum of $10,000 for a song by Monteiro, who is the association’s executive director and music director.

The donor typically has a discussion with the composer about preferred music style and titles, and will receive a recording of the song played by the composer on instruments such as the piano.

The series has raised around $200,000 in the past two years since it kicked off.

These donations are used to help fund Jass’ many initiatives, such as scholarships for young jazz talents, outreach performances and cultivating audience support for jazz in Singapore. The association is an Institution of a Public Character, which enables the charity to offer tax deductions for donations.

For the upcoming Jasso Pinnacle Concert 2025: The Legacy Series – Celebrating Singapore Jazz Compositions, 15 songs from Build Your Legacy Through Jazz will be performed live in a concert for the first time by the orchestra. It takes place at Capitol Theatre on Feb 21.

Monteiro, 64, says the series was inspired by practices in 18th- and 19th-century classical music patronage.

“It was done in the old days for composers like (Johann Sebastian) Bach or (Ludwig van) Beethoven, where the royal court or the aristocracy would commission pieces and pay the composer,” he tells The Straits Times. “In the case of Bach, he was looked after by the royal court, so his house, his family’s education and everything was taken care of.”

Build Your Legacy Through Jazz is the brainchild of lawyer Susan Peh, Jass’ vice-chairman.

An advocate for the growth of jazz music in the Republic, she says it encourages a deeper appreciation for the genre among Singaporeans.

“This is also our way to preserve the jazz ecosystem, because jazz is a unifying force. It’s so underrated, but it is really a way of life, it’s about resilience and overcoming adversity,” she says. “In America, it started from a cultural melting pot – migrants from all over making music together and uplifting one another. It’s exactly what we need in Singapore society. It’s very relevant, it’s not abstract.”

Ms Peh commissioned three songs from the series in 2022 and 2023, dedicated to her family, husband and parents.

Another donor is former minister Abdullah Tarmugi, 80, who commissioned a song composed by Jass scholarship recipient Lee Ann Gie.

The tune, titled Toby Boy, is dedicated to Mr Abdullah’s 10-year-old grandson, Tobias.

“My grandson’s a very cheerful boy, so he likes songs that are jumpy and jaunty, something cheerful. So, she went and wrote something that was quite uplifting.”

Mr Abdullah and his grandson share a love for music, and he hopes that having a jazz song specially made for him will inspire a love for different styles of music. “He is learning the cello, so his repertoire is mostly classical music, but being young, he can also appreciate contemporary music.”

Jass supporter and jazz music fan Renee Tan initially commissioned a song for her 12-year-old granddaughter Kara Tan in 2022.

She was so happy with the piece composed by Jass scholarship recipient Ernest Tan that she decided to make another donation in 2024 for Monteiro to compose a tune for her 50th wedding anniversary with retired businessman David Tan. The couple are in their 70s.

Mrs Tan recalls: “I thought that it would be a good idea to surprise my husband with a song composed by Jeremy Monteiro. But we were at a Jass event and when the series was brought up, and he asked me ‘Shall we donate?’, I told him I already did.”

For Monteiro, the Jasso Pinnacle Concert, where he is the music director, is one of two high-profile shows that he will be involved with in the coming months.

On March 14, he will celebrate his 65th birthday with a headlining show at Esplanade Concert Hall. Titled Jeremy Monteiro At 65 – The State Of My Art, it will also feature musicians such as local jazz pioneer Louis Soliano, rising Singaporean jazz saxophonist Sean Hong Wei and French jazz trumpeter Nicolas Folmer.

The show will explore the different musical phases Monteiro, who is married and has a 40-year-old son, went through in his 48-year career in music.

The set list includes a self-composed song, Carousel In A Child’s Mind, that holds special meaning.

“I wrote that for my son when he was a toddler, and for the first time, it will be performed in a big band format. But I will show videos of my childhood, not his, so I’m ‘borrowing’ the song from him,” says Monteiro with a laugh.

Book It/Jasso Pinnacle Concert 2025: The Legacy Series – Celebrating Singapore Jazz Compositions

Where: Capitol Theatre, 17 Stamford Road
When: Feb 21, 8pm
Admission: From $38 via BookMyShow Singapore (

str.sg/6Afn

)

Jeremy Monteiro At 65 – The State Of My Art

Where: Esplanade Concert Hall, 1 Esplanade Drive
When: March 14, 7.30pm
Admission: From $38 via Esplanade (

str.sg/7jVN

) or Sistic (go to

str.sg/rwNh

or call 6348-5555)