The Air Around You
(2023)
Text by Jollin Tan
Instrumentation:
SSAATTBB
Duration: ca. 5' 30"
THE AIR AROUND YOU is commissioned by Temasek Junior College Choir (TJC Choir), led by conductor Choy Siew Woon and teacher-in- charge Dr. Gary Laycock.
It is very meaningful composing for the alma mater, and even more so setting a poem by TJC alumna Jollin Tan. Jollin had written FAITH when she was 19, and a year later it was published in her poetry volume ‘Derivative Faith’ (2013). In 2023, the text resonates with the school as it is moving its grounds, albeit temporarily. Being in a state of flux, one is waiting for things to settle, and the motivation to move forward ‘in search of the next hurricane’ emerges. I find that it beautifully encapsulates the brave, adventurous spirit of ‘the crazy, passionate ones.’
- Chen Zhangyi, December 2023
FAITH
by Jollin Tan
The air around you suspends its gravity
so that everything rises
into chaos, and
this is what makes you the eye
of this storm,
waiting for it to pass; the leaves
to settle like grave markers rooted to your feet.
This is what makes you pick
yourself up and move,
impulsive like the crazy, passionate
ones, going in search of the next hurricane.