STRAITS MELODIES: DUOS VS TRIOS / Society of Composers (Singapore) / Review

 

STRAITS MELODIES: DUOS VS TRIOS

Association of Composers (Singapore)

Esplanade Recital Studio

Wednesday (17 September 2025)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 20 September 2025 with the title "Association of Composers spotlights Singapore and Malaysia works in programme of art songs and piano trios".

The latest concert by the Association of Composers (Singapore) was held in collaboration with its counterpart from across the Causeway, Chin Yong Music Society Malaysia. Showcasing 17 works by eleven Singapore-based and six Malaysian composers, its theme was the genre of art songs (solos and duets) and piano trios.

Stella Zhou and Lim Soon Gui

Even the art songs, all sung in Mandarin, had a specific pastoral theme inspired by nature and the countryside. All the vocal duets were by Malaysian composers, opening with Tee Xiao Xi’s Traveler which saw soprano Stella Zhou partnered by baritone Lim Soon Gui, followed by Sebastian Ooi’s Little Sailboat, with Zhou and tenor Timothy Huang.

Stella Zhou and Timothy Huang

These songs were Romantic in character, melodious, and possessing the amiable quality of folksongs. The well-matched singers blended well. Jellal Koay’s atmospheric Forget was as beautiful as harmonies could get while Wong Chee Wei’s Lingering in the Song of That Night was a portrait of serenity and contentment. Zhou was joined by baritone Ralph Ong for Lim Yu Yao’s Fossil at Port Dickson Beach and Chow Jun Yan’s The Birth of Morning, both were short but filled with reassuring tones.

Stella Zhou and Ralph Ong

The solo songs were mastered by soprano He Miya, whose sense of theatricality and diva-like big gestures were well suited to Quek Yong Siu’s Flow, Brook! and Lee Yuk Chuan’s Rainbow. She also emoted and projected to the max for Liu Bin’s The Shepherd’s Sad Story and Wu Jie’s Odes of Qin: No Garments.

He Miya and Soh Wei Qi

All singers were partnered by excellent pianist Soh Wei Qi, no mere accompanist but one ever-sensitive to myriad nuances presented in the songs. The intimate nature of the evening, attended by a small audience of relatives, friends and associates, resembled a Schubertiade, those homely Viennese soirees where Franz Schubert’s Lieder were famously premiered.

Exhibiting even further range and variety were the piano trios performed by Kuala Lumpur-based musicians Chang Yi Li (violin), Tay Yi How (cello) and Iau Jo Yee (piano). Ng Eng Thong’s Joyous Gathering began seriously but gradually transitioned to happiness. Daniel Kom’s Variations of When We Get Together, based on the Austrian children’s tune O Du Lieber Augustin, was enjoyable as it was inventive, contrasted with a scherzo-like movement from Gan Yunzhuo’s Exploration In The Dark, barbed with Bartok-like spiky dissonances, a study of anxiety in extremis.

From Xiao Chunyuan’s Piano Trio No.1, its first movement titled Of Sharps and Flats started with plain vanilla C major but ventured into distant keys and pitches, creating a sense of disorientation. Zhao Lingyan’s Capriccio mirrored Koay’s earlier duet with lush Impressionist sonorities, taking the form of a dreamy and wistful elegy.

The well-conceived concert closed with two trios displaying emotions abashedly worn on the sleeve. Chiew Keng Hoon’s Love was tinged with melancholy and filled with tension, suggesting this was a grandfather’s tough love for his grandson. Cao Ying’s Regret was similarly doleful, its cello solo brooding giving way to an angst-ridden finale. In reciprocation, a repeat of this concert takes place in Kuala Lumpur in late October.

All the composers and performers.
Onward to Kuala Lumpur!

COMPOSITIONS EXCHANGE 2025: SOLO & CHORAL / Association of Composers (Singapore) / Review

 

COMPOSITIONS EXCHANGE 2025: 

SOLO & CHORAL 

Association of Composers (Singapore) 

Esplanade Recital Studio 

Wednesday (23 April 2025)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 25 April 2025 with the title "Home-grown composers in the spotlight at Association of Composers concert" (online edition) and "Good music from home-grown composers bringing people together" (print edition).

There are probably more musical composers in Singapore than one suspects. Many do not get commissions from major national arts organisations or get performed by high profile musicians, but they persevere nonetheless. 

Association of Composers (Singapore) is one of several composer collectives that exist here, and regularly showcases its members’ works in annual concerts. This evening’s concert was a showcase of music for choir and solo keyboard, with twelve works being heard. 

The first segment saw 17 singers of EVOKX Choir conducted by Keane Ong in a variety of choral music. Xiao Chunyuan’s Shiva, based on the mantra Om Nama Shivaya with words by local poet Edwin Thumboo, had an a cappella refrain on a D minor bass imbued with a spirit of contemplation. 

Soh Kay Cheng and Mary Soh’s Welcoming Autumn accompanied by pianist Dale Huang offered recitatives in Chinese, and evoked serenity with New Age harmonies. 

Quite different was Daniel Kom’s Burning Flames, a salute to the heroism following the September 11 catastrophe. Part inspired by the drama of Mozart’s Requiem, the narrative of saving lives turned tragedy into something positive. Wang Xin’s I Sing For You, Singapore was an ode to the nation turning 60, and had the feel-good vibes of National Day Parade songs. 

The keyboard solo segment was helmed by organist Emma Jiang Wan and pianist Clarence Lee, exhibiting no little virtuosity. Refreshingly left of field was Jiang playing her original composition Fast Track on a Yamaha Electone. This was a most exuberant and entertaining work with jazzy riffs and ostinatos riding over pre-programmed beats. 

Lee’s first two piano solos relived the violence in contemporary idioms. Cao Ying’s Conspiracy was built up to Sergei Prokofiev levels of dissonance and percussiveness. Zhao Lingyan’s The Loulan City in the Wind, while more descriptive in nature, was an excellent tone poem more aligned with the aggressiveness of Dmitri Shostakovich despite its Debussyan Impressionist title. 

By contrast, Ng Eng Thong’s Awake was lyrical and dreamlike. Calmness was maintained on high registers, its gradual crescendo concluding abruptly with repeated high Cs. 

The 90-minute concert closed with the 25-member One Chamber Choir conducted by Dawn Yin performing four works. Compared with the earlier choral segment, this one had an overall more cheerful feel. 

Quek Yong Siu’s Dandelion and the Tree was clothed with beautiful harmonies, reflecting the love between mother and child. Chiew Keng Hoon’s Moon had wider dynamics while exhibiting the same degree of a cappella warmth. 

Accompanied by Huang’s piano, Liu Bin’s Tao was sung by eleven men, a surprisingly light-hearted look at Laozi’s Tao Te Ching with an emphasis on the words “dao” (the way) and “ming” (clarity and brightness). 

Finally Lee Yuk Chuan’s Star, Friends for mixed choir was both congenial and affable in spirit, a loving tribute directed at the 92-year-old composer-conductor who was seated behind the audience. Good music brings people together, and this concert was a testimony to that indefatigable credo.

Lee Yuk Chuan acknowledges
One Chamber Choir's splendid work.

Pioneering composer and choral conductor
Lee Yuk Chuan, a star meets with his friends.

COMPOSITIONS EXCHANGE 2024 / Association of Composers (Singapore) / Review

 

COMPOSITIONS EXCHANGE 2024 

Association of Composers (Singapore) 

Esplanade Recital Studio 

Wednesday (19 June 2024)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 21 June 2024 with the title "Singapore composers showcase works".

For a composer in Singapore, the most important thing is to have your work performed. First impressions matter, so having best possible performers for the premiere is a priority. The annual concert of the Association of Composers (Singapore), which showcased 12 works by 12 composers, was fortunate in having some of most accomplished locally-based professional musicians involved. 

Subtitled “Capriccio In The Style Of Folk Melodies”, most of the works were based on earlier music and crafted in the form of variations, fantasies and rhapsodies. The Chinese artsongs and instrumental works were sensitively accompanied by pianists Clarence Lee and Andren Koh respectively. 

Soprano He Miya sang two songs, opening the concert with Lee Yuk Chuan’s Yinghua Village Scenery Is Wonderful, extolling the land’s pristine beauty. Her expressive quality and ability to reach high notes effortlessly also touched in Quek Yong Siu’s Mother’s Smile, a song possessed with tenderness and nostalgia. 

Tenor Zhuang Jie had three songs, exhibiting exemplary vocal control in Liu Bin’s Homesickness, another mother-centred work more than tinged with melancholy. Quite different was Xiao Chunyuan’s An Auspicious Place, its rhythmic accompaniment supporting a more emphatic stance, further contrasted with a feel-good, pop-inspired sentimentality of Gan Yun Zhuo’s Everlasting Love. 

Of the instrumental works, Red Peach Blossom & White Apricot Blossom as arranged by Cao Ying was dressed with French impressionist colours. Sin Jin How’s flute ably provided virtuosic turns and nuances, transforming this Shanxi folksong into an almost improvisatory fantasy. 

Violinist Siew Yi Li was the busiest instrumentalist after pianist Koh, having performed no less than five showpieces. Chiew Keng Hoon’s arrangement of Xinjiang folksong Swallow Capriccio had a typically Central Asian flavour, and closed in soulful repose. Daniel Kom’s Variations On The More We Get Together, after the Austrian children’s song O Du Lieber Augustin, included a waltz, rhumba, romance in minor key and a variation a la Johann Pachelbel for good measure. 

Lee Ngoh Wah’s Galloping Horses was a variation of the popular erhu melody Sai Ma (Horse-racing). Its familiarity was topped by Lian Sek Lin’s Kaka Dan Mama, which merged the Indonesian folksongs Burung Kakak Tua and Aiyo Mama into a melange which the audience simply loved. 

Just as recognisable was the melody of Di Tanjung Katong Rhapsody, as crafted by Frederick Ng Eng Thong. The music played with polytonality and obliged the violinist to jump through several Paganinian hoops of string calisthenics before its grandstanding close. 

Pride of place, however, went to Lisa Zhao Lingyan’s Variations Of Yi Folk Dance, which transformed Wang Huiran’s simple Yunnan theme into something truly special. Its reimagination as a riveting rhapsody from Roarin’ Twenties Paris saw cellist Olivia Chuang and pianist Koh playing like people possessed. Its fanciful flight of ostinatos chanelled the spirits of Darius Milhaud, Bohuslav Martinu, Igor Stravinsky and hot jazz without imitating them. Hearing this work was alone worth the price of entry.

Here are the composers and performers:
He Miya, Lisa Zhao Lingyan, Clarence Lee,
Zhuang Jie, Quek Yong Siu, Xiao Chunyuan,
Lee Yuk Chuan, Chiew Keng Hoon, Lian Sek Lin,
Cao Ying, Frederick Ng Eng Thong, Daniel Kom,
Liu Bin, Andren Koh & MC (from L)

INSTRUMENTAL CONCERT 2018 / Association of Composers (Singapore) / Review

INSTRUMENTAL CONCERT 2018

Association of Composers (Singapore)

Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre 
Recital Hall

Saturday (8 September 2018)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 10 September 2018 with the title "12 composers, a myriad of styles".

Exactly how many composers are there in Singapore? The true figure will perhaps never be known. This chamber concert by the Association of Composers (Singapore) featured 12 of them, with none of the usual suspects patronised by the national orchestras. All belong to the Chinese-speaking community and many hail from the pioneer generation of citizens.

All the composers were seated in the
front row of the recital hall.

The works heard may be grouped as pieces for piano solo, erhu or violin accompanied by piano, and string quartet. These displayed a broad spectrum of influences, inspirations and styles, and one may surmise that there is no singular Singaporean way of composition. At least, not yet.

The concert opened and closed with works for erhu and piano, performed by Ng Rui Jun and Irene Law respectively. The huqin’s voice ensured a Chinese feel about them, while the accompanying piano sounded somewhat incongruent with Western harmonies and timbres. A guzheng or yangqin might have made more sense.

Lee Ngoh Wah’s My True Love was a short lyrical romance while Lee Chee Kung’s Erhu Capriccio was the most authentically Chinese-sounding work of the evening. Quek Yong Siu’s Garden Under The Morning Sun was an extended fantasy with the mimicry of birdsong, providing the original meaning to tweeting or twittering. The 3^rd movement of Toh Heng Guan’s First Erhu Concerto luxuriated in unusual harmonies and a virtuosic cadenza.

For violin and piano, violinist Siew Yi Li performed his brother Xiao Chun Yuan’s Homeland, which alternated between major and minor keys while engendering a sense of patriotism and nostalgia. Chiew Keng Hoon’s Little Creature delighted in dissonances and jagged rhythms, simulating some flitting stinging insect, while his Fantasy was a true study in the atonal idiom of  the Second Viennese School.

Lian Sek Lin’s Moonlight Song had the hint of bel canto but with offbeat harmonies to unsettle and create tension. Lin Ah Leck’s A Wandering Life was a rhapsodic fantasy in the Chinese idiom culminating in a striding march. Tan Chan Boon’s Ostinatissimo was surprisingly gentle as he employed a slow chordal bass over which the violin fashioned a masterly passacaglia.

Pianist Nicholas Loh, who accompanied Siew, went solo in Xiao’s Tensions, built on an obstinate idee fixe, and hammered out Lian’s Hibiscus Variations, based ironically on a march theme, played fortissimo throughout with a Satiesque sense of irony.

The violin and piano duo of Mac Chang and Elaine Xu contributed Lee Yuk Chuan’s Remembrance and Rondo, contrasting sentimental lyricism with vigorous dance rhythms. Both works conjured the aroma of Central Asia, and the violinist was commended for spicing up the Rondo with Paganinian touches.

The cellist's score of
Frederick Ng's Dance In Harmony.

Two works played by the Melody String Quartet completed the programme. Lee Khiok Hua’s Autumn Scene was a Chinese-styled dance with alternating fast and slow sections, while Frederick Ng Eng Thong’s Dance In Harmony a heady mix of Malay motifs, minimalism, syncopation and counterpoint. Reliving a rowdy Chingay procession, this was arguably the most interesting work, a veritable rojak one might consider quintessentially Singaporean. 

All the composers
and some of the performers.

Composer Tan Chan Boon with his students,
the next generation of Singaporean composers?

A TRIBUTE TO SINGAPORE / Association of Composers (Singapore) / Review

A TRIBUTE TO SINGAPORE

Association of Composers (Singapore)

Lee Foundation Theatre

Sunday (12 July 2015)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 14 July 2015 with the title "Diverse influences at Singapore tribute concert".

If a Martian happened to arrive here in time for this concert, the extra-terrestrial would be hard-pressed to place Singapore on the globe. Presented by the Association of Composers (Singapore) and lasting nearly three hours, the programme featured 14 works by 13 locally-based ethnic Chinese composers, the majority of whom are members of the pioneer generation.

Eclecticism triumphed over uniformity, but judging by the concert's first part with the Braddell Heights Chinese Orchestra conducted by Lin Ah Leck, Singapore's geographical location would be somewhere in the Middle Kingdom. The first work My Beloved Country, Singapore jointly composed by Sin Kwek Toong and Lin was all about nostalgia, from wistful dizi solos, bookending a faster central section made busier with a percussive beat.

The melodies and idioms were predominantly Chinese, as with Lin's Praise For My Homeland, which had festive gestures from woodwinds and suona that either evoked Chingay or some Socialist workers' parade. Liu Bin's Moonlight On My Hometown did attempt infusing Nanyang themes into this rhapsody-concerto that showcased the nimble skills of excellent dizi soloist Len Ming Hui, but one was also reminded of the Silk Road.

There was a segment that featured chamber works by Xiao Chunyuan (violin & piano), Chew Chin Sik (solo harmonica), Wu Qiren and Toh Heng Guan (erhu & piano). Wu's Long For My Country had an Oriental erhu part from Han Yong May accompanied by incongruously Western harmonies from pianist Wang Shu Yang. This dichotomy was most probably an expression of homesickness and yearning.

Toh's Erhu Concerto in Zhi Mode went for modernity with emphasis on dissonance and virtuosity. The first two movements played by Wong Qin Kai (erhu) and Tan Yu Mu (piano) provided a dazzling display including the former's bow accidentally striking a microphone with a violent thud. A complete performance of this daring showpiece with orchestra will be most welcome.

The concert's second half was performed by the Association of Composers Symphony Orchestra also led by Lin. Lee Yuk Chuan's Singapore Fantasy, Lian Sek Lin's A Garden City and Ng Eng Thong's Dance In Harmony, were for strings only. These drew inspirations from string works by Elgar and Britten, but one wished for more rehearsal time, as the string players struggled with tricky rhythms and myriad intricacies.

A full orchestra featured in the second movement of Yan Ying Wing's First Symphony, entitled Harmony, which quoted the Chinese song Orchid. Tang Yuen Wai's Oh, My Dearest Mom was a set of variations on the very popular Hong Kong song, with Cheng Jang Ming's harmonica solo pretty much stealing the show.

Tan Chan Boon's SG50 – Celebration Of A Rising Sun was premiered just a week ago by alumni of the Singapore Youth Orchestra conducted by Vivien Goh. Based on a rising 4-note motif first heard on the French horn, his style is Central European which meant a development of the motif to a big climax, culminating with the obligatory fugue before closing with an emphatic orchestral bang.

The final work was Lin's Singapore River, which combined both Chinese and Western instruments to seamless effect. Its scenario was a grandfather walking hand-in-hand with his grandson while regaling him with tales of Singapore's inexorable development. The main theme was the carillons of Victoria Memorial Hall's clock tower, which could plausibly place the work in London's Westminster by the Thames. However the harmonic and instrumental language used and its self-effacingly quiet ending made it undeniably Singaporean.     

All the performers and composers gather
to take a group photograph, clan association style.