Inspired by daybreak, Illuminating the skies reflects on the tremendous power of our sun — brightening up both our world every morning and distant worlds as a star. As such, the music takes on a cosmic journey and seeks to capture the beauty of the celestial realm, with textures of shimmering strings and percussion representing the starfield we traverse in. The melodic content is derived from the Hindustani Bhairav raga, a quintessential raga traditionally performed during daybreak.

 

Besides having a visual imagery, the title is a metaphor for the transformative power of music and our imagination. The plural form of ‘sky’ is used here since there is not only one sky, but multiple skies from each individual’s perspective. The music invites its audience to look upward to behold the vastness of our universe, and look forward to vast potential of our future that can only be illuminated with our imagination.

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Illuminating the skies was commissioned by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra for the National Day Concert 2024.