SUMI JO Interview (2004)

Here is the interview I did with the Korean soprano Sumi Jo before her first Esplanade concert appearance with the Singapore Symhpony Orchestra in April 2004. This was published in the April 2004 issue of BraviSSimO!, the newsletter of the SSO.

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LEONG YOON PIN (1931-2011) / Composer-in-Residence of Singapore Symphony Orchestra 2000-2001

As we remember and reflect on our friend Mr Leong, below is an interview I did with him in 2001, when he was the Composer-in-Residence of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, and published in the April 2001 issue of BraviSSimO!, SSO's newsletter. The article was written in conjuction with the World Premiere of his symphonic work Gegantala, first performed on 18 May 2001.

(Please click on image to enlarge)

What I remember most about Mr Leong was his kindness and humility. He was always friendly to me, even remembering my name years after the interview. Modest to a fault, he never sought self-promotion and was one never one to hog the limelight, even when his music was the centre of focus. He will always be remembered by music-loving Singaporeans for his kind and warm personality, and, of course, his music.

More about Mr Leong, his life and works may be found at this site by the National Library Board:

http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_1357_2008-12-30.html

Farewell to MARICAN, A Victoria Concert Hall legend

I earlier wrote about the enforced retirement of Ansari bin Hamid Marican, or MARICAN as everybody knows him, due to the closure of Victoria Concert Hall. For several decades, he was the stage manager of Singapore's friendliest concert venue, and true friend to everybody who performed there. Here is an interview I did with him way back in 2001, published in the October 2001 issue of BraviSSimO! With his retirement sees a farewell to one of Singapore's nicest iconic characters in its musical scene. He will truly be missed.

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BraviSSimO! July 2009 / Online

Just hot off the press, the July 2009 issue of BraviSSimO!, the newsletter of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra.

You can access the online edition here:

http://www.sso.org.sg/images/stories/whatson/bravijul09.pdf

Included in this issue:

SSO's trip to Beijing

Exclusive photos from Beijing

Interviews with Noriko Ogawa & Nicole Cabell

Laura Fygi helps raise funds for SSO

Exclusive photos from Singapore International Piano Festival 2009

Young Virtuoso Recital @ PianoFest

Win a $30 Kinokuniya Book Voucher

Win an SSO CD: Under The Sign Of The Sun

BraviSSimO! April 2009 / Online

BraviSSimO! (Newsletter of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra)

contents in the April 2009 edition:

Kent Nagano conducts SSO

Darrell Ang and his Bernstein moment

Interviews with Wang Jian & Boris Berezovsky

In Memoriam: Pavel Prantl, SSO's first concertmaster

Young Virtuoso Recital @ Singapore International Piano Festival 2009:

Introducing Yao Xiao Yun & Nicholas Loh

Win a Copy of SSO's Rachmaninov Second Symphony

Win a $30 Kinokuniya Book Voucher

The latest edition (April 2009):

http://www.sso.org.sg/pdf/braviapr09.pdf

and previous issues of BraviSSimO! are available online at:
http://www.sso.org.sg/bravissimo.html