THE MOST PERFORMED 21ST CENTURY SINGAPOREAN ORCHESTRAL WORK

We're giving away the answer,
but what the heck.

Do you know what is the most performed Singaporean orchestral work of the 21st century? This is not a trick question. 

The answer: The Sisters' Islands by Wang Chenwei

It just received its 80th performance by the Philharmonic Wind Orchestra led by Leonard Tan in its wind orchestra transcription, which was also a world premiere. This version will also be performed in South Korea for the World Association of Symphonic Bands & Ensembles (WASBE) conference in July.

Wang Chenwei is presently the
Composer-in-Residence of the 
Singapore Chinese Orchestra,
the youngest person to hold this accolade.

Wang Chenwei, who was conferred the Young Artist Award in 2023, was just 17 years old and student of Raffles Junior College when he composed The Sisters' Island. The original score was for Chinese traditional instruments, which won the Singapore Composers Award at the inaugural Singapore International Competition for Chinese Orchestral Competition in 2006.

There have since been arrangements for two zhongruans with piano, Western symphony orchestra, and now wind orchestra. 

Let's have a listen to the different versions of this symphonic poem, based on a Malay legend, and enjoy. A detailed description of the work and its movements may be found in the description of each video.

Original Chinese orchestra version, 

performed by Singapore Chinese Orchestra:

Version for two zhongruans and piano:

Version for Western symphony orchestra, 

performed by Singapore Symphony Orchestra:

Want to hear more? 

Here's a performance by the 

Asian Cultural Symphony Orchestra:

Kaohsiung City Chinese Orchestra (Taiwan):

Now let us await 

the wind orchestra version!