Mario graduated from SMU in 2019 with a Bachelor of Science in Information Systems and works as an Automation Engineer at Mapletree Investments. Being passionate about music during his time at SMU, he became the Vice-President and then President of SMU SoundFoundry (SF) student club, staging concerts, productions, and festivals both within and outside of SMU. In his free time, he enjoys reading, participating in competitive sports, and taking long walks on the beach.
Tell us more about your background and your undergraduate days at SMU.
I came from a very musical family, where there would be singing in the household every other day. My parents were also very supportive of me venturing into music, such that by the time I enrolled in SMU, I already had experience teaching music and gigging. My undergraduate days were not filled with a lot of studying. I had a close group of friends where, in between or after classes, all we did was just hang out in the SoundFoundry studio to relax or make music.
What is SMU SoundFoundry and what were your reasons for joining?
SMU SoundFoundry is SMU’s premier music club. The club organises concerts, curate productions, and is also a community where musicians and music lovers from every possible background come together to make music. Coming in as a clueless freshman in 2015, I knew I wanted to do something related to music but I just did not know what it was.
But after an afternoon of strolling at Vivace (SMU's annual CCA fair), I ended up signing up for SoundFoundry Camp, not knowing what to expect. Through SoundFoundry, I learned how productions and festivals work, how to deal with paperwork for safety precautions, licensing, and even maintaining programme schedules. It has taught me to be meticulous and detail-oriented and see things from a broader perspective. Now that I have been involved in 8 Starry Nite events (7 as a member of the organising committee, and 8 as a performer), I think it is fair to say I made the right decision.
Tell us more about your interest in electric guitars.
I think I had an interest in the guitar from an early age, when my parents enrolled me in the typical ABRSM (Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music) classical guitar lessons. However, my passion only took hold when I decided to try the electric guitar when I turned 17. The electric guitar opened my eyes to the wide plethora of colours, soundscapes, and textures that was Music. My obsession with the guitar grew as I listened to master guitarists such as Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, and Stevie Ray Vaughan, researching their gear, how they held the guitar pick, and how they created their style of music with the guitar.
As the current President of SMU SoundFoundryX, the alumni group of the student-club SMU SoundFoundry, what are your aspirations?
Firstly, it is a great honour to be entrusted with this position, and I hope my team and I can accomplish a great deal together. As a base goal, I aim for SoundFoundryX to be the common space for SF alumni of ages and all batches to come back and have a welcoming communal space to relive old memories and create new ones.
Were there any challenges that you encountered?
The first year I took office was the same time Singapore entered Circuit Breaker, which was not great. Fortunately, I had a great team, and we rolled with the punches. For instance, when COVID-19 restrictions on social gatherings started to ease and curbs on live entertainment were still in place, we pivoted and went online.
We collaborated with Anvril Music Productions and presented 'ALive', a curated showcase of live streams featuring SoundFoundry alumni musicians performing together. There was one caveat; these musicians had only a few months to prepare for a live stream.
‘ALive', which just concluded its 4th edition in August 2022, gave our SMU alumni musicians a platform to rekindle and deepen old friendships, an intangible benefit of what it means to be part of an alumni group.
We are privileged to have you as the Music Director for the evening concert at this year's SMU Alumni Homecoming 2022. How did you develop the concept, and what is your proudest achievement?
As the evening concert concludes this year's homecoming celebrations, I conceptualised it to evoke the nostalgic experience of SMU Starry Nite. In addition to bands from SoundFoundryX Alumni Group, SMU Eluminix, SMU City Samba, SMU Alumnos De Ardiente and SMU ReVOIX were engaged to perform.
It was an honour and achievement to bring back this group of alumni musicians and performers, all of whom are consummate musicians and performers, for this year's homecoming.
What do you hope to see at future HOCO?
I hope to see HOCO grow into one of SMU's marquee events that strengthen the SMU spirit and encourage alumni performers to return and take to the stage to entertain their peers and inspire their juniors.