THE THREE CHEF SOIREE @ YING'S

A German, an American and a Chinese enter a kitchen. No, this isn't the start of a joke. Neither is this the start of World War Three. Instead, it is a cook-out that all of us will remember for a long time to come. 

Held at the Joo Chiat residence of German culture chief Huang Ying, the leader is food scientist Stefan Klade who had put in years as a top chef in Bavarian hotels. Assisting him was food / flute professor Eric Lamb of the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory and music / culture journalist Zhang Heyang from Lianhe Zaobao, and the results were enjoyed by a hungry and appreciative audience from Singapore, Germany and Lithuania. 

Ying, ever the great host,
made sure all were plied with wine.

You can call this a Three Chef Soiree and United Nations of foodies, and what a wonderful time we had. The evidence is in the photos. 

Here are the starters.

With lots of vegetables,
it was a very healthy meal. 

Deborah and Andrius

Eric and Stefan do the serving.

What tucking in looks like.

Here is the meat!

You cannot have a more healthy
or delicious meal as this!

Let's not forget the tiramisu.

After a hearty meal, here comes the music. The subject was springtime, and the pieces - picked on the spot - were an expression of renewal and making of new friends.

Gluck's Melodie from Orpheus
followed by the slow movement
from Mozart's Flute Concerto No.2

Francis Poulenc's Flute Sonata
with the first two movements.

The slow movement is one of
Poulenc's best-ever melodies.

At least the third movement 
of the Poulenc began and ended together!

Beethoven's Spring Sonata,
just the first movement.
We'll learn the rest later!

Vielen dank, Ying,
for having all of us over.
We'll never forget this!

CROSS-CURRENTS / Yong Siew Toh Orchestral Institute

CROSS CURRENTS

Yong Siew Toh Orchestral Institute

Conservatory Concert Hall

Saturday (14 February 2026), 7.30 pm

It seems that the Yong Siew Toh Orchestral Institute led by Jason Lai has perfected the art of crafting the short concert, one that tells a story by uniting the themes into a complete and coherent whole. All within the space of an hour, music is delivered in digestible doses, fulfilling the credo of quality not quantity.

The evening opened with the haunting sound of the solo flute, Debussy's Syrinx (1913) heard from high up in the dress circle by the Conservatory's new head of winds, brass and percussion, Eric Lamb. Its ambiguous and fluid tonality makes it sound mysterious, and the purity of the sonority a close to unforgettable impression.

Lasting all but three minutes, it segued into the third movement of Mahler's Fourth Symphony, an ode to nature. Opening quietly, the strings crafted an oasis of inner peace, living up to its direction of Ruhevoll (calm, literally full of rest), which gently rose in temperature and volume in a most subtle of crescendos as the other instruments joined in. A passionate climax later, it returned to the solace it opened with.

Night turned to day with strokes of a tam tam leading to the opening pages of Debussy's La mer (The Sea), in a most riveting performance yet to be heard from these young players. From Dawn to Noon on the Sea, the balance of sound came close to perfect, particularly vivid were the low strings whipping up the tension of undercurrents, and it was easy to be swept away by the fantastical musical imagery conjured. To quote another composer (was it Stravinsky?), I particularly liked the part at about quarter-to-ten. Or was it quarter-past-ten?

The Play of the Waves intrigued and titillated the senses, while the final Dialogue of the Wind and the Sea whipped up a storm which seemed perilous at the time. Sureness and safety were key as the voyagers securely navigated the squall as the work blew to a frenzied but impressive close. I can conclude that this young orchestra is already playing at a higher level than the nation's first professional orchestra during its early years, and that cannot be a bad thing.

Jason Lai has every reason to feel proud.

Eric Lamb and his flute get the applause,
and so does the orchestra.