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Singapore, 25 July 2008 - For the first time ever, Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH), in collaboration with acclaimed artistes the T'ang Quartet, Phoon Yew Tien and Katryna Tan, will be launching a classical music CD on its 164th birthday.
The idea of producing a classical CD was conceived as part of TTSH's commitment to holistic healing. Aptly titled The True Sound of Healing (T.T.S.H.), this CD features the title song written by prolific classical composer, Phoon Yew Tien. Performed by T?fang Quartet and harpist Katryna Tan, the song captures the very essence of the Art of Healing. The CD also includes the quartet's interpretation of famous classical pieces by composers such as Haydn, Mozart, Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky.
"Classical music is able to stimulate the soul and sustain it. It is an ethereal form of art which somehow understands the human condition very well. TTSH understood this very well, and that was why we jumped at the chance to collaborate with the hospital," says Leslie Tan, Cellist, T'ang Quartet.
?gI have been following the Art of Healing programme since its inauguration in 2006 and have always supported this effort of bringing the arts and music to the patients. I believe it is medicine for the soul and am ecstatic that TTSH has embarked on this project,?h beams Katryna Tan, who is also artistic director for Harpfest 2008.
The CD will also be played in the TTSH Operating Theatres during pre-operative and operative procedures, another first in Singapore hospitals. Associate Professor Chia Sing Joo, Head of General Surgery Department, TTSH says, "It is very important for surgeons to be calm and composed before and during surgery. The music in this CD certainly adds a sense of tranquility during our operating procedures."
Chief collaborator, T'ang Quartet will also be conferred ambassadors of the Art of Healing programme. "When TTSH approached us for this project, we thought it was a worthwhile partnership. It is our absolute honour to be conferred ambassadors of their Art of Healing programme," Leslie adds.
Olivia Branson, Corporate Communications Director, TTSH & NHG, says, "The elegant melodies and timelessness of classical music endear to people in varied ways. It can be calming, soothing, joyous and even jubilant. We are very excited to share this distinctive compilation with our staff and patients, marking another significant milestone in our heritage."
Composer Phoon Yew Tien says it is the first time he has composed for a hospital. "I think this is a meaningful and original project! I wish to congratulate TTSH for coming up with this idea and see it come to fruition."
TTSH Founder's Day will be held at the hospital's atrium, where patients, visitors and staff will gather to watch a 30-minute performance by the quartet and Katryna Tan. Special guests from Kopitiam Investment Pte Ltd, Hong Leong Foundation and many of Tan Tock Seng?fs descendants will grace this event. All three have generously sponsored this CD.
Infused with sounds from the cello, violin and harp, "The True Sound of Healing" expresses in music what words cannot describe. With this CD, TTSH seeks to heal and inspire through the powerful and enduring genre of classical music and is a humble dedication to all our patients and staff.
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We would like to invite you and your photographer/camera crew to cover this event. The event will be held at Atrium of Tan Tock Seng Hospital on Friday, 25 July at 4pm, followed by a tea reception. Programme details:
Issued by the Corporate Communications Department, Tan Tock Seng Hospital. For more information or to request for interviews, please call Juliet Tseng at tel: 6357 8050 / e-mail: Juliet_Tseng@ttsh.com.sg,
Mahinder Singh at tel: 6357 8054 / e-mail: Mahinder_Singh@ttsh.com.sg, Jarrod Fernandez at tel: 6357 8419 / e-mail: Jarrod_Mark_Fernandez@ttsh.com.sg or Farren Fernandez at tel: 6357 8415 / e-mail: Farren_Fernandez@ttsh.com.sg.
About Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH)
We are an acute general hospital equipped with world-class medical facilities and an established reputation in the field of providing healthcare for the community. Centrally located at the heart of Singapore, TTSH has built on a tradition of compassion set by its founder, Mr Tan Tock Seng, to provide seamless and holistic healthcare services. Our founder?fs legacy to provide quality and affordable medical care for the people remains the cornerstone of our hospital.
TTSH has been in operation since 1844, making 2008 its 164th year since its founding. This legacy of healthcare has seen numerous milestones achieved in the long and purposeful journey that paves the way towards future medical advances. TTSH was restructured in ?P99?Q and became part of the National Healthcare Group (NHG) ?Q000?@that umbrellas 14 other medical institutions.
About the National Healthcare Group:
The National Healthcare Group (NHG) manages:
Four hospitals - Alexandra Hospital, National University Hospital, Tan Tock Seng Hospital and the Institute of Mental Health/Woodbridge Hospital;
The Johns Hopkins-NUH International Medical Centre; one National Centre ?| National Skin Centre;
The NHGP chain of nine polyclinics - Ang Mo Kio, Bukit Batok, Choa Chu Kang, Clementi, Hougang, Jurong, Toa Payoh, Woodlands, Yishun;
Three speciality institutes - The Cancer Institute, The Eye Institute and The Heart Institute; and
Five Business Divisions - NHG College, NHG Diagnostics, NHG Gulf, NHG Pharmacy and NetCare Internet Services.
Our vision is "Adding years of healthy life to the people of Singapore".
About TTSH's Art of Healing Programme
TTSH launched the Art of Healing programme(C) on 6 February 2006. Minister of Health, Mr Khaw Boon Wan was the Guest of Honour for the launch. This is an initiative that aims to use the arts as a form of therapy to soothe patients?f mind and body and help them on their path to recovery. Through the arts, the hospital will be transformed to a warm, welcoming and enriching environment for patients, families, staff and visitors.
Our objectives are to promote TTSH as a centre of holistic healing of mind and body, and transform the hospital environment from a traditionally sterile, cold and fearful environment to one of warmth, non-threatening and welcoming place of healing. Using the arts as a platform for its intrinsic value (art as a healing property and as objects of beauty) and its extrinsic values (symbolic of the TTSH art of healing honed over the past 164 years), the programme will look towards the holistic healing of patients on all levels. The programmes will provide an enriching multi-cultural experience for patients and staff and welcomes artists of all art forms to be a part of these performances.
Through the use of art to promote healing of patients, the programme's vision of adding years of healthy life to the community is further strengthened.
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