GO LOCAL!
HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR CONCERT
Ding Yi Music Company
Chinese Cultural Centre Theatre
Friday (6 March 2026)
Chinese New Year has officially ended with Chap Goh Mei (night of the fifteenth moon) behind us, but that was no reason for Ding Yi Music Company not to celebrate the new spring season and the year of the horse. Its annual Chinese New Year concert, led by Resident Conductor Dedric Wong had that well-tried and tested formula of celebratory music, virtuosic concertante works and a sassy singer to spice things up.
The evening opened with Hong Kong composer Alfred Wong Hok-Yeung’s Music Roaming By The Bay, an overture that was upbeat and rhythmic. High spirits ruled in this jaunt, which depicted the dramatic scenery to be had at Shenzhen Bay (Deep Bay), presumably viewed from the New Territories side of the water.
Wang Rui’s Blooming Flower was a slow and meditative number, which showcased the lovely string tone of erhu soloist Ding Yi’s Chen Ning. More familiar was Lu Wenchen’s Autumn Moon Over a Calm Lake, a Cantonese melody where xiao soloist Ho Siu-cheong from Hong Kong’s Windpipe Chinese Ensemble held court. It was interesting to note that Yang Chun Lin’s arrangement had some decidedly Western harmonies.
The most spectacular concertante work was shared by three composers, with Yang Ming, Jiang Chun Yang and Jin Sha’s The Bamboo and the Pine. Not sure how composition by committee (such as the infamous Yellow River Concerto) actually worked but this symphonic poem with obbligato parts was legitimately brilliant and exciting. Wang Yan (erhu) and Xue Qing (daruan) from Sichuan’s Charisma Ensemble (the Chinese instrumental section of the Sichuan Symphony) did the honours, with no little panache and virtuosity.
Quite different from the works that preceded it was Malaysian composer Chow JunYi’s Contempo, which employed a modern drum-set manned by Low Yick Hang. This was a modern showpiece, updated to 21st century popular styles. Jazzy it was not, but bristling with virile energy it certainly was with George Lam’s Wong Fei Hung martial arts theme being quoted.
No Ding Yi CNY concert is complete without some young and good looking singer closing the show. That was the remit of Mediacorp radio station 933 deejay Gao Mei Gui, who was once a song competition participant and percussionist.
Her bantering with conductor Wong was a tad endearing, while her contributions of Jerry C’s Xiao Xing Yun (A Little Happiness), Tanya Chua’s Wo (I) and Joseph Khoo’s Zhu Fu Ni (Blessing You) added the light-hearted spark needed for an ebullient finish.
There was some half-hearted audience contribution to the singing and the final song closed with a lusty “huat ah!” by all in attendance. 2026 is already looking like a bleak year for world peace, but there is little harm in hoping for fortunes to turn the right way.
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| Huat ah!!! |
