SSO Bravissimo! January 2018

BRAVISSIMO!

BABIES’ PROMS

with Jolly ol’ Uncle Peter at VCH

THE QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER OF THE SINGAPORE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

JAN 2018 VOL.19 / NO.1 MCI (P) 113/05/2017

INTERVIEW THE KING’S SINGERS DIANA DAMRAU A GALA NIGHT OF OPERA A CELEBRATION OF YOUTH ORCHESTRAS YOUNG MUSICIANS CHARM AUDIENCES

CONTENTS

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SSO News

Spotlight: The King’s Singers

CroSSwOrd

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SSO News

Symphony Society

Partrons & Partners

16 Backstage

Editorial Team: Cindy Lim, Leon Chia, Peggy Kek, Leong Wenshan, Jana Loh, Cheryl Pek Photography Chrisppics+, Jack Yam, Lertkiatography, Raymond Ng, Andy Staples On the cover Babies Proms BraviSSimO! is published by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra.

Printed by Naili Print Media Pte Ltd. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the publisher.

SSO NEWS 03

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BABIES’ PROMS 2017 STARTING THEM YOUNG Children and parents flocked to the Victoria Concert Hall once again for five sell-out shows of this year’s Babies’ Proms. Jolly ol’ Uncle Peter led the kids in a march through the hall, while the orchestra belted out a series of popular tunes ranging from Pirates of the Caribbean to the Theme from Mission: Impossible. The brass section even entertained the young audience with an excerpt from Joe Hisaishi’s Laputa: Castle in the Sky. 01. Conductor and host Peter Moore 02. Principal Percussion Jonathan Fox

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SSO NEWS

JANINE JANSEN SINGAPORE DEBUT

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World-renowned Dutch violinist Janine Jansen shared the stage with her husband, conductor Daniel Blendulf, in the Sibelius Violin Concerto in D minor on October 19. Blendulf also led the orchestra in The Swan of Tuonela by Sibelius, and Dvořák’s sunny Eighth Symphony.

STEVEN ISSERLIS’ ELGAR CELLO FANTASTIQUE British cellist Steven Isserlis returned with a deeply satisfying performance of Elgar’s Cello Concerto in E minor in the Esplanade Concert Hall on October 5. He received a standing ovation and rewarded the audience with two encores, including Pablo Casals’ arrangement of The Song of the Birds.

Singaporean conductor Darrell Ang opened the concert with the Singapore premiere of Suk’s Scherzo Fantastique, and conducted Glazunov’s Fifth Symphony in the second half.

SSO NEWS 05

STEPHEN HOUGH & HANNU LINTU WITH PASSION AND POWER Finnish maestro Hannu Lintu led the orchestra in the Singapore premiere of Lutosławski’s Symphony No. 4, and Shostakovich’s First Symphony. British pianist Stephen Hough was the formidable soloist in Rachmaninov’s First Piano Concerto, which was followed by two original Hough encores based on Asian favourites, Geteran Jiwa and Arirang.

VCH PRESENTS CELLISSO SUBLIME COLLABORATIONS Joined by soprano Jeong Ae Ree, the 10 cellists of the SSO joined hands to present a thrilling and diverse selection of works showcasing the versatility of the cello on October 22. Taking place at the Victoria Concert Hall, the concert featured Sollima’s Violoncelles, vibrez! and Villa-Lobos’ Bachianas Brasileiras.

SSO NEWS 06

A SCINTILLATING CHRISTMAS WITH THE SINGAPORE SYMPHONY SSO CHRISTMAS CONCERT With holiday spirit in the air, the Victoria Concert Hall was decked out in her Christmas best. Together with conductor Joshua Tan, the orchestra opened this year’s Christmas Concert with the most iconic of Christmas ballets, The Nutcracker, with principal harp Gulnara Mashurova gracing us in her beautiful solo from the Waltz of the Flowers.

This year’s programme featured all three of our choruses (Singapore Symphony Chorus, Singapore Symphony Youth Choir, Singapore Symphony Children’s Choir) in cheerful voices. The colourful programme catered to a diverse palette of works ranging from Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus to God Bless Us Everyone to Disney’s A Christmas Carol (featuring boy sopranos Bryan Carmichael and Michael Robinson) and a catchy new arrangement of O Come All Ye Faithful by David Bawiec and our Choral Director Eudenice Palaruan. All three concerts ended with an encore of Sleigh Ride, and a festive balloon drop over the delighted crowd.

SSO NEWS

DIANA DAMRAU A GALA NIGHT OF OPERA

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Opera lovers had a chance to watch star soprano Diana Damrau live in concert on November 1, as she partnered her husband, bass-baritone Nicolas Testé, and conductor Pavel Baleff for a programme featuring favourite duets and arias. In a fitting close to what was a truly splendid evening, Damrau gave a heartfelt encore of O mio babbino caro from the opera Gianni Schicchi by Puccini.

NATURE TALES A MUSICAL TREK WITH BEETHOVEN American puppeteers Victor Yerrid and Jess McKay put up a delightful show for families, featuring puppets Leopold the Leopard and a talking tree! Together with conductor Joshua Tan, the orchestra provided the music of Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony to set the tone of the puppets’ wonderful woodland adventure.

SPOTLIGHT 08

THE KING’S SINGERS BLENDING IN WITH COUNTERTENOR TIMOTHY WAYNE-WRIGHT

On 1 May 1968, The King’s Singers made their first official appearance at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. Since then, twenty-six King’s Singers have come and gone, but the group has always remained instantly recognisable for their immaculate intonation and vocal blend.

As declared by The Washington Post, “The King’s Singers have the same microscopic perfection one sometimes hears from purely instrumental chamber musicians.”

BraviSSimO! spoke to Timothy Wayne-Wright, countertenor of The King’s Singers since 2009, to find out more about the group’s upcoming trip to Singapore.

SPOTLIGHT In your own words, how would you describe the sound of The King’s Singers?

Our group sound is unique in the a cappella world. We have many different vocal ‘colours’ ranging from breathy, ‘transparent’ singing to a tone with much more ‘edge’ to the sound, and even sometimes using light vibrato. Our signature sound though is the breathy, blended and ‘straight’ tone – six voices sounding as one.

Do you know any local / folk tunes from Singapore?

Dayung Sampan, Chan Mali Chan and Di Tanjong Katong! We will surprise you as to which one we choose [to sing for our performance in Singapore] and hope you enjoy it!

Is this your first time in Singapore? If so, is there any food you’ll like to try, or any place you’ll like to see here?

We were last in Singapore back in December 2011. I have very fond memories of the food here – especially all the incredible noodle dishes! We also went up to the top of the Marina Bay Sands and enjoyed the amazing infinity pool overlooking your cityscape. What an amazing experience!

What can audiences expect from your Singapore programme?

We will be putting on two concerts in Singapore and both programmes are slightly different – but both give the audience a real musical journey across all the different genres in [The King’s Singers] library. We have some new and exciting 50th anniversary commissions to sing to our audience in Singapore, and we are sure that you’ll love them!

You will be singing alongside the SSCC on 24 Feb, what words of advice would you like to impart to the young choristers?

Photo Credit: Andy Staples

I would simply say – LISTEN to your fellow singers. We like to say that there is a ‘golden thread’ between the six of us, a listening thread that binds us together. I would urge the SSCC choristers to listen to their fellow choristers around them and try to blend with them in that way. It is then that the sound will be fantastic! .................................................................

Let this irresistibly charismatic ensemble take you on a musical adventure to celebrate their 50th birthday. This celebratory programme will feature especially commissioned anniversary pieces by some of the world’s greatest contemporary choral composers including Nico Muhly and Bob Chilcott. The second day of their Singapore visit also presents a very special collaboration with the Singapore Symphony Children’s Choir.

Jana Loh

23 February 2018 7:30pm, Victoria Concert Hall

GOLD 50 24 February 2018 7:30pm, Victoria Concert Hall

WITH THE SINGAPORE SYMPHONY CHILDREN’S CHOIR

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SSO NEWS

NATIONAL VIOLIN AND PIANO COMPETITION 2017 VIRTUOSIC YOUNG TALENTS

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Nine days of intense competition, 115 participants, 21 winners — the 11th edition of the National Piano and Violin Competition ended on a high note, culminating with the Prize Winners’ Concert & Prize Presentation Ceremony held at the Victoria Concert Hall on December 10. This also marked the first time the Singapore Symphony Group has solely organised the competition. The Guest-of-Honour was Associate Professor Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Social and Family Development. Heartiest congratulations to the winners of the Artist category Koh Serene (second prize, piano), Jeong Han Sol (third prize, piano), Ronan Lim Ziming (second prize, violin) and Tanaka Yuri (third prize, violin)!

01. Violinist Ronan Lim Ziming 02. Pianist Koh Serene

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SINGAPORE SYMPHONY GROUP MOVES TO BENCOOLEN TUTTI: ONE SSG FAMILY In late September 2017, the Singapore Symphony Group family moved to our new offices at Bencoolen Street, in the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts Campus One Tower Block building, right atop the new Bencoolen Station on the Downtown Line. With this, the administrative offices of the Orchestra, SNYO and the three choirs now work together under the same roof, with the ABRSM Representative Office completing the move in Dec 2017.

These offices reside on the 8th floor, while the SNYO rehearsal spaces occupy the 7th.

SSO NEWS 11

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01 01. Clarinettist Samuel Chan 02. Conductor Peter Stark 03. (Left to right) Guest-of-Honour Ms Tan Choo Leng, clarinettist Samuel Chan and conductor Peter Stark

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A CELEBRATION OF YOUTH ORCHESTRAS YOUNG MUSICIANS CHARM AUDIENCES AT THE ESPLANADE The talents of young musicians were on full display at the Esplanade Concert Hall on December 12 and 13.

Under the direction of British guest conductor Peter Stark, the Singapore National Youth Orchestra (SNYO) opened their concert with Gershwin’s upbeat Cuban Overture while Samuel Chan showcased his splendid technique and range of musical expression in Copland’s Clarinet Concerto. The first evening concluded with Vaughan William’s A London Symphony. The Guest-of-Honour was Ms Tan Choo Leng.

Musical talent from the Malaysian Philharmonic Youth Orchestra (MPYO) took the stage on the second night, featuring the eminent 19-year-old composer-conductor Tengku Irfan on the podium conducting the Singapore premiere of his new work What Does It Take to Dance? and Barber’s Second Essay for Orchestra. 13-year-old violin prodigy Low Zi Yang was the soloist for Ravel’s Tzigane. Maestro Naohisa Furusawa then conducted the MPYO in Dvořák’s ever-popular “New World Symphony”. To the delight of the enthusiastic audience, they were treated to an encore of John Williams’ Music from Star Wars, bringing the concert to a roaring close!

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01. Violinist Low Ziyang 02. Conductor Naohisa Furusawa 03. Conductor Tengku Irfan

SSO NEWS

A CELEBRATION OF FINNISH FREEDOM OKKO KAMU & ELINA VÄHÄLÄ

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The SSO hosted some 80 guests of the Embassy of Finland in Singapore, to mark the Nordic country’s 100th year of independence, while an all-Finnish programme lit the stage at the Esplanade Concert Hall. Our former Principal Guest Conductor Okko Kamu led the SSO in performances of Sibelius’ Fifth Symphony and Finland’s unofficial second national anthem, Finlandia. The highlight of the night was the Singapore premiere of Jaakko Kuusisto’s Violin Concerto, played by its dedicatee Elina Vähälä, in an impressive performance that won both many new fans.

01. Elina Vähälä at her autograph session

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CroSSwOrd

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What’s up in the first half of 2018?

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DOWN: 1. Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman summon the __________ !

4. Whose concerto our Principal Viola Zhang Manchin is playing on 26 Jan. 6. Mahler 6 8. Grains of __________, the special component of VCH Organ Series: Celestial Pipes.

ACROSS: 2. La Voix __________(March 12-13) 3. This year’s Piano Festival is its __________ – Fifth run!

5. Mysteries of the __________ (March 2) 7. By the Bay where SSO will perform for free on March 10.

9. String orchestral work by Wojciech Kilar.

10. MRT station beneath the new SSO office.

11. How many singers are The King’s Singers?

Answers on the back page.

SSO NEWS 13

AMBASSADOR TOMMY KOH SENDS OFF SSO TO MALAYSIA SONGS OF DESTINY On November 17, Professor Tommy Koh, Ambassador-atLarge at Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs met with SSO musicians and choral singers, two days before their concert in Kuala Lumpur at Dewan Filharmonik PETRONAS. Professor Koh, who is also an SSO Council Member, said: “I’m delighted that this year the SSO has been invited to perform in KL. Last year the Singapore National Youth Orchestra and the Singapore Symphony Children’s Choir both performed at the YouthFest in KL, with the national youth orchestra of Malaysia.

All these are examples of meaningful cultural diplomacy carried out by the SSO and its affiliated music groups.”

On November 19, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Lan Shui took the stage at the 920-seater Dewan Filharmonik PETRONAS in Kuala Lumpur, after an absence of 17 years.

Lan Shui opened the concert with 19-year-old Malaysian prodigy Tengku Irfan’s newly minted Meditation for orchestra, which premiered in Singapore two days earlier in another SSO concert featuring the same programme.

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Joined by a 100-strong combined chorus comprising the Singapore Symphony Chorus, Singapore Symphony Youth Choir and the Choir of the Transylvania State Philharmonic, Lan Shui directed the orchestra in three masterpieces by Brahms: Schicksalslied (“Song of Destiny”), Gesang der Parzen (“Song of the Fates”), as well as the sunny Symphony No. 2 in D major.

The concert was supported by the Singapore High Commission in Kuala Lumpur, which invited over a hundred guests to the concert and a reception.

01. SSO musicians with Ambassador-at-Large Prof Tommy Koh

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SSO Concertmaster Igor Yuzefovich, Principal Guest Conductor Andrew Litton and Principal Cello Ng Pei-Sian

A TRIPLE CONCERTO FOR CONRAD CLASSICS The annual Conrad Classics concert last November was conducted by SSO Principal Guest Conductor Andrew Litton and featured a programme that included the heroism and optimism of Copland’s Third, popularly known as “America’s Great Symphony” and the chamber-like Triple Concerto in C by Beethoven.

The concerto featured Litton on the piano, violinist Igor Yuzefovich, the SSO GK Goh Concertmaster Chair, and Principal Cello Ng Pei-Sian.

The Conrad Centennial Singapore is the Official Hotel of the SSO.

(Left to right) Mr & Mrs Liao Xu Dong, Ms Carol Loy of Conrad Centennial Singapore, and Mr Xu

(Left to right) Ms Katherine Panahon and Ms Carol Loy of Conrad; Ms Adriana Fabrini, wife of the Argentinian ambassador to Singapore; Mr Heinrich Grafe, General Manager of Conrad Centennial Singapore

Dr Geh Min (left) and Dr Tong Ming Chuan

Mrs Juliana Benelli

Mr and Mrs Benelli with SSO musicians Marietta Ku (far left), Kwok Hai Won (second from left), Karen Tan (second from right) and Song Woon Teng (far right).

SSO QUARTET SUPPORTS CHILDREN’S CAUSE On a Saturday evening last December, an SSO string quartet lit up a room at the Singapore Cricket Club with festive favourites.

The audience was gathered that evening to support a special cause, led by Mr and Mrs Clement and Juliana Benelli. The couple are passionate fundraisers for underprivileged children, including those assisted by AG Home, a local charity dedicated to helping girls and their families work through challenging situations.

Marietta, who led the quartet, quipped: “We are truly happy and honoured to play for such a meaningful occasion [and] we had a great time soaking in the joy of the season!”

In this season of giving, the SSO was pleased to be able to give a helping hand to Mr and Mrs Benelli, who had earlier this year co-organised with our Development team a golf tournament to raise funds for the orchestra.

The quartet comprised Kwok Hai Won (Fixed Chair Violin), Karen Tan (Violin), Marietta Ku (Viola), and Song Woon Teng (Cello). In addition to Christmas Memories, The First Noel and Winter Wonderland, they also performed Kelly Tang’s Three Folk Dances for String Quartet, to the delight of appreciative guests.

Leong Wenshan & Peggy Kek

Did you know...

The average SSO concert ticket is priced at less than 10% of its actual cost?

We keep ticket prices low so that we can share the love for music with everyone.

This means we have to actively raise funds to pay our musicians, commission music arrangements, and rent rehearsal and performance spaces.

As an arts charity, we need everyone’s support to create more memorable concerts.

Find out how you can support us at www.sso.org.sg/donate

PATRONS & PARTNERS

“A big ‘thank you’ to the fabulous SSO musicians for providing such lovely music.”

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Miao Shan Shan Currently section flute with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, one would never guess that Miao Shan Shan started out her music career with the accordion at age 4.

“The accordion started to get too heavy for me as a young child. We had a family friend who loved wind instruments, and he was so gracious to gift me with a flute when I was 8 years old. I had a great professor who made me fall in love with the instrument.

His impact on me was so strong that I decided to commit myself to be a professional musician at the age of 12.”

Following her aspirations to be a professional flutist, Shan Shan was offered a place at the prestigious Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. Her music adventures then took her to Mozart’s birthplace Salzburg, where she completed her Bachelor and Masters degrees at the Mozarteum University Salzburg.

Salzburg introduced Shan Shan to a whole new world of classical music. She found herself getting immersed in a large amount of church, chamber and orchestral music, and having easy access to many more resources such as concerts, CDs and music scores.

“Back then in Beijing, not only were classical music concerts a rare occurrence, but classical music CDs were very expensive as they had to be imported from overseas. You could not purchase albums off the rack, each album took months to arrive and each disc would cost close to SGD80-100!”

Since joining the Singapore Symphony Orchestra in March of 2014, Shan Shan has found joy in hiking along the many nature trails here. “I’ve always loved nature – Singapore has so many beautiful hiking trails and nature reserves. When I’m not rehearsing or practicing my flute, you can find me at MacRitchie Reservoir, Mount Faber and the Botanic Gardens.”

Other than her love for nature, she also adores attending art exhibits at the many galleries in Singapore. “It’s amazing how I can get transported from the world of Renaissance art to traditional Chinese paintings in a single day. I’m constantly getting inspired.”

“I’m so grateful to be able to live my life as a professional musician. Music has allowed me to explore the world – by travelling to different countries to study and perform, and learning about a country’s culture through their music.”

So, what’s Shan Shan’s favourite thing about Singapore?

“The vibrancy of the city…. And laksa!”

Jana Loh CroSSwOrd Answers: 1. Superheroes 2. Humaine 3. Twenty 4. Walton 5. Macabre 6. Tragic 7. Gardens 8. Sand 9. Orawa 10. Bencoolen 11. Six

BACKSTAGE

CLASSICAL MUSIC: FROM ACCORDION TO FLUTE

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