Programme notes:

Merlion Retrospections is the final instalment of a triptych of works centred around my experiences on exchange in Singapore, an answer to Ottorino Respighi’s ‘Roman Trilogy’. While each tone poem of Respighi’s focuses on specific landmarks and occasions in Rome, Merlion Trilogy serves as a personal journal documenting my thoughts before, during, and after my time living there. The first piece, Merlion Premonitions, was composed for West Australian Symphony Orchestra (WASO) shortly before my departure. It is programmatic, reflecting my whimsical and naïve ideals of living alone in a foreign country. While living in Singapore, I wrote the second work, Merlion Revelations, for The Straits Ensemble. As Singapore was demystified by that point, the music is more grounded, non-programmatic, and actively incorporated Asian musical elements.

I have since moved back to Australia, and wrote Merlion Retrospections as a way oflooking back on my time abroad. Structurally, it is more conservative than the previous two entries, being a theme and variations. This is in contrast to its adventurous harmonic and timbral vocabulary. While this work lacks a programme, it contains references to my studies in Singapore – self-quotation, fugal passages, and even a quote from Bruckner’s 9th Symphony, a topic in music theory class. Interestingly, the main theme is directly extracted from the final section of Premonitions, which feels like a way to give this journey a fitting full stop.