Musica Intimae – The Anatomy of Goodbye
A semi-staged choral and spoken-word performance that invites audiences into a contemplative encounter with grief, memory, and farewell. Rather than treating loss as a private or isolated experience, the project frames it as something deeply human and socially shared, something that can be explored through music, reflection, and participation.
The work brings together Vox Camerata Chamber Singers and a community choir in a performance setting that is intimate rather than grand, reflective rather than theatrical, and designed to feel personally meaningful to a broad audience. The project combines existing repertoire with a newly devised participatory segment, creating a structure that is both musically grounded and responsive to the people in the room.
At the heart of the work is a simple but powerful question: “If you had another chance to say good-bye, what would you choose to say?” That question becomes the emotional entry point for the performance, guiding the audience into a space where choral sound, spoken word, and live interaction can help open up conversations about grief, cultural ritual, and the ways people care for one another across differences.
Music Director Dr Mohamed Shahril bin Mohamed Salleh
Performed by Vox Camerata Chamber Singers and Vox Camerata Community Choir
Mohamed Shahril Bin Mohamed Salleh (Dr.) is a social scientist who researches the cultural formation in Singapore with a focus on how agency is imagined and enacted within the confines of the state. He is passionate about advocating for cultural workers in their artistic practice and their personal and professional development. As an inter-cultural and inter-faith advocate, much of his work concerns itself with finding ways to use the performing arts as a means to create spaces for communities to come together to better understand religious and cultural differences in Singapore. Shahril is the founder and Artistic Director of Vox Camerata, as well as an honorary lecturer at the University of Queensland, Australia.
Vox Camerata Ltd is a Singapore-based arts non-profit that designs and delivers community-centred programmes through the performing arts and community engagement. Our work brings people together across cultural, social, and faith boundaries, creating spaces for dialogue, learning, and collaboration.
Founded in 2005 and incorporated as a Company Limited by Guarantee in 2022, Vox Camerata operates across four core pillars: Advocacy, Research, Learning, and Practice. Together, these pillars guide how we design programmes that are both artistically meaningful and socially grounded. Our previous works include the Sojourners Festival (2022, 2024) and the Musica Intimae: Intersections Festival (2025), which have been supported by the Ministry of Culture, Community and the Youth through the Harmony Fund.
The organisation will lead the Grief Stewardship Workshop and facilitate cross-cultural dialogue throughout the festival programme, as well as the showcase of Musica Intimae: The Anatomy of Good-bye in the Rites of Us Festival.