In life, autistic people have difficulty expressing themselves in ways that most people can understand. Chee Jun Hong, the String Instructor of The Purple Symphony which is Singapore’s first inclusive orchestra, established The Joy Ensemble to enable non-disabled individuals to hear what autistic people have to say. Alongside other art educators, we find out more about the learning landscape for those on the spectrum.

On the evening of 15 March, model airplanes, ballet shoes and plush toys were placed on the left side of the stage in the music room of the Esplanade. The projection screen displayed crayon-painted cats, dogs, violins and pianos. Accompanied by the cello solo Swan, which though was not perfect in tune but played earnestly, an innocent voice said via a video on the projected screen: "My name is Royce. The airport is my favourite place as I would like to fly far. I like playing the cello on stage.”

Royce Tan (22 years old) has autism and speaking is not his strongest suit. On the stage with him were Ng Tung Hei, Luo Man, Joseph Tan and Zachary Tan whom like him are also on the autism spectrum and love music. Under the guidance of five other professional musicians, they formed The Joy Ensemble to present What I Want To Say, a concert with tenor Jeremy Koh and sopranos Evelyn Ang and Charmaine Tan.

Chee Jun Hong, who is the Music Director for The Joy Ensemble and String Instructor of The Purple Symphony, is also the mentor of these five string musicians. “Through chamber music, I would like to help them enhance their ability to listen and communicate with others. At the same time, this is also an opportunity for the audience to hear their voice,” he said. Building the ability to listen

Autism Spectrum Disorder is a developmental disability. Autistic individuals behave, communicate and interact in ways that are different from individuals without autism. This thus makes it a challenge for both to understand one another. More often than not, children on the spectrum are gifted in the arts and literature, and are just slightly more clumsy in everyday life. In fact, like everyone else, autistic individuals have their own ideas, hobbies and temperaments. However, their inability to express themselves in a language that most can understand makes it difficult to grasp what they would like to communicate.

Chee Jun Hong is a tall, strong man who smiles easily. In the five years mentoring at The Purple Symphony, he was always patient and attentive with the children. To get along with them, he will start with simple questions such as ‘what is your favourite colour’ before prodding them on their interests and dreams. For instance, Luo Man likes to dance, Joseph loves to play basketball, Zachary likes puppies, Royce wants to travel in a plane and Tung Hei adores plush toys.

Based on these interests, Chee Jun Hong commissioned two composers to use folk songs as material to arrange music for The Joy Ensemble. He believes chamber music is very good practice for these young musicians because it requires them to listen to one another and adapt their playing accordingly.

“It's hard for autistic people to perceive others in the world. But through these rehearsals, they learn to listen to others via a medium they love – music,” he shared. “For instance, the viola is an accompaniment instrument with difficult parts to master. At the beginning, Tung Hei played her viola segments very loud. Through rehearsals, she gradually understood the need to play softly and that’s a big improvement on her part to come to that realisation.”

Royce’s mother further added: “He has learnt to be more patient after listening to others.”

Gain confidence and friendship

Because he has mild autism, Zachary attended mainstream schools as a child. He was, nevertheless, different in the eyes of his classmates and they gave him strange looks; some even bullied him. Such experiences made him even more timid and reluctant to talk. When he first joined The Purple Symphony, Chee Jun Hong noticed that Zachary played the violin very softly, as if he was afraid to make a sound. To remedy this, Chee Jun Hong made him the Principal Violinist and encouraged him to be confident. Of the videos played during What I Want To Say, Zachary’s voice was the loudest as he recounted his story. He hopes to continue studying the violin at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. “Zachary even self-taught himself to edit videos and post them onto Instagram!" Chee Jun Hong added with a smile. The Joy Ensemble was a rare moment for this group of five friends to get together. However because of the pandemic, The Purple Symphony ceased rehearsals last year. Royce kept asking his mother when he would be able to meet his friends. Tung Hei is a good friend of Royce and often sits beside him during rehearsals. Her mother shared: “They have their own way of communicating and we can't understand it. Sometimes, it's through the eyes, other times it's an action or sound."

Tung Hei and Luo Man also studied the piano, but they learnt strings in order to join The Purple Symphony and play music with their friends. While the reporter was chatting with her mother, Tung Hei kept typing on her mobile phone. “Is instant messaging a way for autistic people to communicate effectively?” the journalist asked. Chee Jun Hong replied: “She's chatting with me! She’s telling me how the class went just now. I also asked what she was going to do at night and what she’ll like to eat for dinner." Tung Hei’s mother shared that the children trusts Chee Jun Hong a lot and treats him like a big, older brother. Luo Man's mother added: "These children closed their hearts and lost the keys. It was music that opened the lock in their hearts and made them lively again. Luo Man now even has the confidence to talk with others.”

Learning music is expensive

Music education isn’t cheap. Be it the instruments or lessons, learning music is a luxury for most families. How do parents of an autistic child afford a music education then? At The Purple Symphony, participation is free. Not only so, there are even subsidies worth up to $5,000 to cover a musician’s musical instruments or lessons. But to join the symphony, one has to reach a certain level and pass the entrance exam.

Music education for children with disabilities also varies in the market. Some charities provide free courses, while some private teachers come with a higher price tag as they have qualifications in teaching persons with disabilities. Previously, Tung Hei attended free lessons at a center but her mother later realised that the ‘teaching’ focused on staging two performances a year and was not based on a curriculum. Hence when conditions permit, most parents would still choose to hire a professional teacher for lessons. For them, the most expensive output isn’t monetary, but the perseverance and love to see a child’s training through.

Alexavier Ang (19 years old) has autism and he has been taking classes at ARTDIS (Singapore) Ltd, an art charity for persons with disabilities, since he was 11 years old. Starting with cajon and gradually adding piano, choir, pottery and puppetry to his schedule, he now attends four to five classes a week. According to his teachers, he is always the first to arrive and the last to leave. He also has a great sense of responsibility and would always assist with arranging the classroom and keeping the instruments or materials after class. "The most important thing is to give these children the right to choose. By choosing what it is that interests them, they can then grow in their own studies,” said Peter Sau, Head of Artistic Development and Performing Arts at ART:DIS. “Some parents come to us with a vision that their child would study the piano. In truth, this is their choice, not the child’s. So at ART:DIS, we spend an hour to let the child explore and try different things, including visual, auditory and tactile mediums. For the parents, we give them at most 15 minutes to speak.”

The Vocal Music class is one of the most popular programmes at ART:DIS. Choir teacher Fran Ho said: “Singing starts with pronunciation and articulation. This thus provides critical training for children with communication or speech difficulties." For autistic children, this class is a way for them to learn important knowledge and skills outside of the protective bubble their parents have cocooned them in.

Peter Sau explained: “Like any other children who are undergoing puberty, autistic children are embarrassed and awkward with their bodies. They do not understand the changes to their bodies. As they have been sheltered and doted upon by parents, they do not know the boundaries of physical acts such as hugging and kissing. Therefore when placed in our choir, they begin to learn the etiquettes of life.”

At ART:DIS, Alexavier attends the vocal music class for free. His other classes amount to $840 but thanks to subsidies, his mother only has to pay $250 for the other 4 classes.

Special needs art education is short of money and people

"ART:DIS can subsidise up to 75% of lesson fees but this is dependent on the current financial situation,” Peter Sau said. He shared that the bulk of the charity’s funding comes from the government, donations and grants. For instance the Cultural Matching Fund, administered by the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, provides dollar-to-dollar reimbursement for private cash donations. Hence donations are important. “However in the past two years, fundraising has shrunk significantly for all sectors,” Peter Sau added. The lack of teachers who are willing and able to teach children with disabilities is also another source of headaches. Peter Sau shared: “As a non-profit organisation, we are unable to pay our teachers the market price. Their work is also even more challenging hence I am especially grateful to Fran for staying and working with us even through the pandemic. She even insisted on teaching the students through video so that they can continue their choir classes.”

Some may think that teaching children with disabilities is a career that requires special qualifications. But in fact, Fran Ho and Levine Sow both learned on the job.

Levine Sow is currently a student at Singapore Raffles Music College and conducts piano classes for Alexavier. He wanted to join ART:DIS to try something new and during the interview with Peter, he passed with flying colours despite not having a diploma. “I asked him how he would deal with a student emergency and from his answer, I knew right away that he was competent, had patience and was flexible,” said Peter Sau. Royce’s current cello teacher is the famous cellist Leslie Tan. When asked if he had any special teaching methods, he shared: "I don’t treat him as a special person. In my eyes, he is just like any other child so I will squat down to be on the same level as him and use simple words so that he can understand.”

This teaching approach is also one that Peter Sau firmly believes in. "Autistic people need neither pity nor our worship. They need patience and understanding, just like any of us,” he added.

Peter Sau was originally an actor and director active in the local theatre scene and is a recipient of the Young Artist Award. He is also a disciple of Kuo Pao Kun, Singapore’s most influential dramatist. What brought him to ART:DIS? “I grew up in a low-income single-parent family. After a small success in my career, I began to think about how art can be more meaningful," Peter Sau shared. "The words of my mentor Kuo Pao Kun deeply influenced me – Art is not just art, but art is also life.”

Being self-sufficient via social enterprises

As a parent, there is nothing more gratifying than seeing one’s child grow up to be healthy and is living a happy, fulfilled and financially independent life. For autistic persons, is this possible? Will these children continue learning music indefinitely? Of the children interviewed in this article, most received vocational training in schools run by the Association for Persons with Special Needs (APSN), including skills such as cooking and crafting. Their parents are happy to let them enjoy the joys of art as much as possible before they need to face society independently.

Peter Sau said: "Like most people, the purpose of learning music is to be happy physically and mentally. Not everyone learns to become a professional musician. But of course, it would be great if students can become artists and earn more income from their hobbies."

At ART:DIS, all programmes are divided into four levels: Foundation, Artist-In- Training, Emerging Artist and Professional Artist. At the Emerging Artist level, students are required to complete a performance independently, while Professional Artists must plan their own activities and promotions. Peter Sau shared that some of ART:DIS’s Fine Arts students have received a lot of commissions to generate income for themselves. In such instances, ART:DIS acts as an intermediary to protect the interests of the students and ensure the price of their artwork isn’t diminished just because they have a disability.

Tung Hei’s mother hopes that her daughter will become a professional musician who is able to support herself.

This is much in line with Chee Jun Hong’s vision. He hopes to register The Joy Ensemble as a social enterprise where the musicians will spend half the day doing their usual job of gardening, packing and cooking, and the other remaining hours rehearsing to chamber music. If there are opportunities for them to perform, that would be an added surprise! If you would like to watch What I Want To Say, please visit https://youtu.be/MdACjIVZepc

originally published in Chinese at zaobao.sg. Translated at the courtesy of ART:DIS