The Guitar Ensemble of NUS (GENUS) was founded in 1981 by Singapore Cultural Medallion recipient and local music doyen, Mr Alex Abisheganaden. Under the baton of its conductor, Dr Robert Casteels, the 50-member strong ensemble has a wide repertoire ranging from major classical works to jazz and traditional folk music.
The region's first Niibori guitar orchestra - GENUS reveals its uniqueness in its exploration of varying shades and tonalities through a special set of Niibori guitars with varying pitch.
In addition to its annual concert which is always performed to a full-house, some other previous engagements include a concert tour to Penang, the Singapore Arts Festival, FM 92.4's 10th Anniversary Celebration, the ASEAN University Games, the Charity Gala Ball, ASEAN Serenade, as well as lunchtime concerts held on campus. Not merely a stage performer, GENUS also endeavours to share its joy of music with the sick and disabled by performing at Singapore General Hospital as part of the Arts For the Hearts series, and inviting children from MINDS to its 2009 annual concert, Guitar Harmonie.
GENUS has bagged awards in local guitar competitions namely the 2nd prize for Ensemble section at the 5th Annual Guitar Competition (1989) of the Singapore Classical Guitar Society and the 1st Distinguished Award for Ensemble Section at the 1990 Singapore Guitar Festival.
The Ensemble has also been able to improve itself musically and technically through a number of masterclasses conducted by renowned guitarists such as Professor Kiyoshi Koyama (Japan) and Professor József Eötvös (Hungary). Prior to its recent annual concert, GENUS had also hosted a workshop by Dr Kazuhiro Komatsuzaki and Dr Yoshinori Takeuchi from the Niibori Academy in April 2009.
In 2006 and 2007, GENUS also embarked on historic firsts by venturing overseas to Japan and Germany respectively. In its 2006 cross-country trip to Japan, GENUS members were given the honour of performing to Niibori-method and school founder, Dr Hiroki Niibori at the Niibori School Festival in Fujisawa. Members also participated in a music exchange programme with the Tsu Guitar Ensemble and Mie University and performed in a joint concert with the Tsu Guitar Ensemble.
In 2007, GENUS visited Germany to compete in the 2nd International Guitarfestival & Guitarorchestra-Competition held in the small town of Rheine. Holding their own against the stronger and highly impressive guitar ensembles hailing from various parts of Europe, GENUS was still able to bag the 4th Prize at the festival. Members who participated in the competition were also able to immerse themselves in special guitar master-classes and workshops held in conjunction with the festival.
Subsequently in June 2009, GENUS hosted and collaborated with Jugendmusikschule Pforzheim Guitar-Ensemble from Germany (JMSPGE) for its annual concert, Guitar Harmonie. Both ensembles had met when they participated in the 2nd International Guitarfestival & Guitarorchestra-Competition, where JMSPGE had achieved 1st place.
