Asia-Pacific Improvisers Symposium
Closing Concert
Ones to Watch: Sounds of the City
Saturday, 22 February 2025
YST Concert Hall
Saturday, 22 February 2025
YST Concert Hall
Asia-Pacific Improvisers Symposium Closing Concert
Ones to Watch: Sounds of the City
YST ORCHESTRAL INSTITUTE WITH JASON LAI, CONDUCTOR
ZHENG SHANXI (BMus4), CLARINET
AARON COPLAND
Clarinet Concerto*
*Concerto Prizewinner Showcase
YST ORCHESTRAL INSTITUTE
facilitated by KARST DE JONG and JONATHAN SHIN
Collaborative Creation: ‘We Build This City’
GEORGE GERSHWIN ed. MARK CLAGUE
An American in Paris
Supported by:
Overview
Just as cities are built on innovation, unity and change, music comes alive through the dynamic interplay of structure, collaboration and artistic expression. Each contribution, small and large, forms a building block to the growing complexity and vibrance of the whole.
From the poetic lyricism in hidden corners of Aaron Copland’s jazzinfused Clarinet Concerto (performed by YST Concerto Competition 2024 prizewinner Zheng Shanxi (BMus4)) to the pulse of city streets in George Gershwin’s An American in Paris (in Mark Clague’s new critical edition), each piece highlights the collisions of cultures and ideas that define both urbanity and musicality. Witness as well how our orchestral musicians create, curate, and improvise the sonic structure of this cityscape in ‘ We Build This City ’, a new collaborative creation that will form the central panel in this urban triptych.
Journey with us through these soundscapes of urban life, and experience the synergies of musical creativity in this closing concert for the Asia-Pacific Improvisers Symposium.
Supported by the Shaw Foundation Ones to Watch Series.
Programme Notes
WE BUILD THIS CITY
Facilitated by YST Professor of Improvisation Karst de Jong and Artist Faculty Jonathan Shin — witness how our orchestral musicians create, curate, and improvise the sonic structure of this cityscape in ‘We Build This City’, a new collaborative creation that will form the central panel in this evening’s programme.
An irruption of big band blues; woodwinds wailing above a piano not so much played but thumped into submission; the hot, sweaty roar of brass — We Build This City begins with musical universes colliding. From this an uncanny dreamscape by the strings and harp surfaces, joined later by counter-melodies from the horn and flute in a slow passacaglia.
City-building is a business of noise and arrhythmia: Bartok pizzicatos, overblown shrieks, and percussion batteries set the stage for a mad city intoxicated with new technologies and materials. A driving cello ostinato provokes solos from the horn, flute, and trombone. By the time the drums explode into chorus, the City is alive with dancing. The twelve-bar blues is in vogue. Things happen in fast motion here: a familiar song floats over the radio; the orchestra piles in with shouts from the impending symphonic poem. Chaos leads to collapse, and then a rocketing iris-in — a camera technique from the silent film era — brings us right into the eye of an American in Paris.
Jason Lai
CONDUCTOR
Jason Lai is the Principal Conductor at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory, Principal Guest Conductor at the Orchestra of the Swan, and former Associate Conductor of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and Hong Kong Sinfonietta.
He’s been a prominent figure in Singapore’s musical life since his arrival in 2010, but also active internationally giving masterclasses in Europe and China. He has also guest conducted the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, New Japan Philharmonic, Podlasie Opera Philharmonic in Poland, Macao Orchestra, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, and Hong Kong Philharmonic.
Intent on broadening the appeal of classical music to audiences who would not normally think of going into a concert hall, Jason has built a unique reputation as a communicator with mass appeal through his television appearances in both the UK and Asia. He has appeared on the BBC as a judge in both the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition and the classical talent show Classical Star. He was also a conducting mentor in the series Maestro and won the competition with his celebrity protégé.
Since settling in Singapore he has continued with his television work and was presenter and conductor for Project Symphony, an eight part series which followed him in his quest to set up a community orchestra. Other shows for BBC World News include Heart of Asia exploring the contemporary arts and culture scene in Thailand, Indonesia, Korea and the Philippines, and Tales from Modern China, a voyage through contemporary China. Most recently in Singing to Remember for Channel News Asia, Jason set out to test the theory that regular group singing in choirs helps slow down the damaging effects of dementia.
Zheng Shanxi SOLOIST
YST Concerto Competition 2024 prizewinner clarinetist, Zheng Shanxi (BMus4), performs Aaron Copland’s jazz-infused Clarinet Concerto with the YST Orchestral Institute.
Zheng Shanxi is a clarinetist currently pursuing a Bachelor of Music (Honours) at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music in Singapore, studying under Professor Ma Yue.
She is a freelancer with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and has served as guest principal clarinetist with the Jakarta Simfonia Orchestra. She has also held various roles within the YST Orchestra Institute and has participated in various chamber activities. In 2024, she was awarded First Prize in the YST Conservatory Concerto Competition. Her musical growth has been further enriched through masterclasses with renowned clarinetists such as Nicolas Baldeyrou and Florent Héau.
For this concert, she performs Aaron Copland’s Clarinet Concerto, a piece she deeply admires. She is especially drawn to its serene, expansive first movement, the jazz-infused energy of the second, and the virtuosic cadenza that seamlessly connects the two—elements that highlight the clarinet’s expressive and technical versatility.
Orchestral Institute
FIRST VIOLIN
Chen Shu-Yu, Concertmaster
Wu Tsai-Jou
Huang Chia-Ying
Bakhodir Rakhimov
Xu Zhuorui
Chen Yi-Tien
Lin Yi-Hsuan
Kong Xian Long^
Yeo See Kang
Zhang Hanzhi
Aureitsevich Natallia
Peng Yiyang
SECOND VIOLIN
Tsao Wei-Chun, Principal
Chien Hsin
Chen Yun-Li
Zhao Tongzhou
Gao Wei Tina
Sun Zhenyao
Andrea Lin^
Li Hao
Chen Hui^
VIOLA _______________________________
Pao Yu-Lin, Principal
Caitlin Chin Kai Li
Liu Wei-Jia
Kung Yu-Ning
Claudia Khang Loo An
Xiao Lei
Liu Xuanyu
Lu Mina
CELLO
Chang Jia-Yun, Principal
Chen Youjia
Liu Yubin
Zhu Ruoning
Sherzod Bakhtiyorov
Sun Xiaoran
Assenbay Alan
DOUBLE BASS
Ng Lai Ting, Principal
Cheng Hsu-You
Yuan Moer
Huang Yung-Ting
Julian Li^
Wang Mingyuan*
FLUTE & PICCOLO
Weng Yi-Chian, Principal
Qi Yufei
Lee Yu Xian Natasha
OBOE
Sho Yong Shuen, Principal
Valentino Gerry Febrian Banggul
Reynard Ardian Simanjuntak
CLARINET
Chua Jay Roon, Principal
Yang Jinliang
Dominic Koh
BASSOON _______________________________
Zhong Tianai, Principal
Choi Hong Wa
FRENCH HORN
Gao Xiaoxuan, Principal
Lin Shu-Yu
Yen Shih-Hsin
Harsharon Kaur
SAXOPHONE
Michellina Chan^
Samuel Phua^
Ang Yi Xiang^
TRUMPET _______________________________
Ravit Leelasiri, Principal
Chou Hsin-Yu
Chiu Fang-Meng
TROMBONE
Huang Shao-Wei, Principal
Toh Chang Hui
BASS TROMBONE
Low Kim Ven
TUBA
Tung Wei-Zhen
TIMPANI _______________________________
Cheng Yi-Chung
PERCUSSION _______________________________
Lai Jo-Wei
Jeremy Ng Chuan Kai
Hsu Zih-Ciao
Christian Daniel Ragay Borres
HARP
Vanessa Jazzy Wahyudy Irwanto
CELESTA/PIANO
Chakrit Khanonvej
^Alumni/Guest Musician
*Teaching Assistant
Administration
ORCHESTRAL INSTITUTE
Vice Dean of Ensembles
A/Prof Brett Stemple
Orchestra Manager
Yap Zi Qi
Teaching Assistant
Wang Mingyuan
Facilitators (for We Build This City)
Prof Karst de Jong
Jonathan Shin
PRODUCTIONS
Production Coordinators
Wan Zhong Hao
Benny Lim
Technical & Operations Manager
Mike Tan
DEAN’S OFFICE
Artistic Coordinator & Strategic Project Manager
Kenny Ooi
Communications Office
Ong Shu Chen Faezah Zulkifli
