THE ARTS AWARDS 2011 / Exclusive from The Istana

The annual Arts Awards ceremony took place at the Istana this evening, with two members of the musical fraternity being honoured. The 2011 Cultural Medallion in music went to composer, lecturer and administrator Kelly Tang Yap Ming, and the Young Artist Award in music was conferred on conductor Joshua Tan Kang Ming.

Joshua Tan, Kelly Tang and Singapore's No.1 jazzman Jeremy Monteiro.

Kelly Tang is the first composer of the newer generation (born in the 1960s) to win the Cultural Medallion. An extremely versatile composer and musician, he is at home with the serious classics, jazz, film, popular music besides being adept as a mridangam player. In 2010, he composed two piano concertos, one in the atonal idiom (premiered by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra) and the other a jazz concerto (premiered by Jeremy Monteiro and the Singapore Chinese Orchestra.) He is also the newly appointed Dean of Performing Arts of the School of the Arts.

Joshua Tan Kang Ming is presently the Resident Conductor of the Beijing National Centre for the Performing Arts. He has conducted the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (the 2011 President's Young Performers Concert) and the Singapore Lyric Opera's 2011 production of Bizet's Carmen. He is also winner of several international conducting competitions.

Joining the fray is the 2003 Young Artist Award recipient Zechariah Goh Toh Chai (extreme left) and a certain gatecrashing music reviewer.

Chinese orchestra conductor Major Tay Soon Huat, soprano Yee Ee Ping (left), and Tan Wie Pin of the Ministry of Education.

Dr Kelly Tang's family

Joshua Tan and his wife Yolanda.

2004 Young Artist Award winner violinist Chan Yoong Han with the Maestro.

We came here for the food too!

For the record, the other Cultural Medallion winners were: Yusnor Ef (Music), Atin Amat (Theatre) and Lim Yew Kuan (Visual Arts). The other Young Artist Award winners were: Troy Chin (Literary Arts), Lim Woan Wen (Theatre), Nawaz Mohammad Mirajkar (Music), Peter Sau (Theatre) and Ang Song Ming (Visual Arts).