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City Chinese Orchestra

 

City Chinese Orchestra (formerly the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation Chinese Orchestra) was formed 47 years ago in 1974. Since then, the Orchestra has continuously expanded and raised the level of its music. Over the years, we have built a strong sense of community and technical proficiency unmatched even in some career musical organisations. The Orchestra now has a repertoire of more than 1000 compositions and is highly regarded in Singapore and the region, and is known for regularly presenting world premieres, commissioned pieces, and bringing new genres of traditional Chinese music to Singapore.

 

A non-profit entity, City Chinese Orchestra presently comprises 150 members across five musical sections and is made up entirely of volunteers. Our members are either students and undergraduates in reputable educational institutions, or professionals in industries such as law, finance, banking, accountancy, government service, teaching, heritage, and academia. Many have won prizes in Chinese traditional music competitions in Singapore and overseas. From the nurturing grounds of the Orchestra, several have gone on to become influential figures in the Singapore traditional Chinese music scene and have contributed greatly to the development of Chinese traditional music in Singapore.

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The Orchestra's founding music director is Dr Tay Teow Kiat. For his leadership of the Orchestra and his musical attainments, Dr Tay was the first Chinese music practitioner to be awarded the Cultural Medallion in 1993. In 2014, he was elected as the founding President of the Singapore Chinese Music Federation. Dr Tay led City Chinese Orchestra to great critical acclaim in Beijing and Tianjin in 1996, Zhengzhou in 2002, Changchun and Beijing in 2007, and Taiwan in 2013.

 

Since its early years, City Chinese Orchestra has been a forerunner in collaborating with established and emerging names in the traditional Chinese music world. The Orchestra currently has as its resident composers Mr Li Chong Wang, Mr Wang Cheng Quan, and Mr Lin Wei Hua. Over the years, CCO has collaborated with numerous other Chinese music luminaries, often performing world premieres and commissioned pieces. These include: Hu Tian Quan, Lu Chun Ling, Liu De Hai, Li Min Xiong, Zhao Song Ting, Min Hui Fen, Zhu Feng Bo, Zheng Xu Lan, Li Guang Zu, Chen An Hua, Wang Zhong Shan, Liu Chang Fu, Jiao Jin Hai, Zhu Chang Yao, Wu Bi Xia, Zhang Xiao Feng, Wang Li Ping and An Zhi Shun.

 

Programming firsts include the Singapore premiere of popular Chinese musical Xiao Er Hei’s Marriage in 2012, a concert introducing the Pingtan genre from Suzhou in 2012, a Manhan Opera feature in collaboration with Esplanade–Theatres on the Bay as part of Moonfest 2010, a concert of theme songs from China’s Four Literary Classics in 2009, as well as the world premiere of the concert format of the Dream of the Red Chamber suite in 1999.

 

In the last 47 years, with the support of the public and the National Arts Council, City Chinese Orchestra has contributed significantly to the development and popularity of Chinese traditional music in Singapore. CCO will continue to present the many facets of Chinese traditional music to audiences in Singapore and to raise the level of such music in the country and the region.

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Dizi: Tay Soon Dee, Ng How Yong

Suona: Ng Yee Po

Sheng: Ang Hao Yuan, Ding Huai Cheng,

Erhu: Wang Gui Ying, Zhang Qi Qian, Tan Yee Wee, Benson Soh Min Soon, Yeo Jian Wei Benedict, Lee Ming-yen

Liuqin: Zhang Tian Yun

Pipa: Chan Choon Seng

Zhongruan/Sanxian: Mu Qing

Daruan/Zhongruan: Ko Jia Yi

Yangqin: Zhang Yi Bo

Guzheng Yin Qun

Percussion: Png Wei Ting Denise, Chong Hon Chung, Jerryl Lim En De

Cello: Tay Hong Yap, Chan Jia Ying

Double Bass: Tan Ke Yang

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Dr Tay Teow Kiat, Music Director/Conductor 

 

Dr Tay Teow Kiat is Music Director of City Chinese Orchestra, Dunman High School Performing Arts Centre and President of the Singapore Chinese Music Federation. He is also the Music Director of the Reverberance Winds and Percussion Ensemble and Emeritus Music Director of Ding Yi Music Company, as well as Trustee of the Academy for International Communication Chinese Culture in Beijing Normal University. He holds a PhD from Beijing Normal University, where he has conducted research on the art and ethos of conducting traditional Chinese music.  
 
For his contributions to Chinese music in Singapore, Dr Tay was awarded the National Efficiency Medal in 1989, the Commendation Plaque (by the Ministry of Education’s Co-Curricular Activities Centre) for music and dance activities in 1991. He was also awarded the Long Term Contribution to Education Award in 1997 by the Ministry of Education. In 2017, Dr Tay also received the Composers and Authors Society of Singapore Limited (COMPASS) Meritorious Award. Dr Tay was the first practitioner of traditional Chinese music to be awarded the country’s highest award in the arts, the Cultural Medallion, in 1993.  
 
Since 1985, he has accepted numerous invitations to guest conduct professional Chinese orchestras in Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Shanxi, Shandong, Baotou, Nanjing, Fujian, Hainan Singapore and Malaysia. He is also frequently invited to speak or adjudicate at international Chinese music conferences and competitions.

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Yin Qun, Guzheng

 

Yin Qun is the chairperson of Singapore Qinzheng Association and trustee of the Singapore Chinese Music Federation and Xi’an Qinzheng Association. She graduated from Xi’an Conservatory of Music and remained at the conservatory upon graduation as an instructor. She has studied under the Zheng maestro Gao Zicheng and Professor Zhou Yanjia. She also studied under Guo Ying, He Baoquan, Sun Wenyan and Chen Anhua. In the 1980s and 1990s, Yin Qun won numerous awards for her performances on the Guzheng.

 

In 1998, Yin Qun held her first solo concert in Singapore, premiering such pieces as Village Tunes, The Sons and Daughters of Mountains, and The Huangling Capriccio. She has also published many Guzheng solo CDs. In 2006, Yin Qun collaborated with National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra to perform at the Taipei Festival. In 2008, she collaborated with Singapore Chinese Orchestra for its very own Guzheng concert.

 

Yin Qun moved to Singapore in 1996, and became a consultant at Shangyin Music School, as well as the Guzheng sectional instructor at City Chinese Orchestra. Her students have attained numerous prizes at local and overseas competitions. She is currently a lecturer at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, and also teaches at schools such as Dunman High School and Tao Nan School.

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Wang Gui Ying, Erhu

 

Wang Gui Ying graduated from the Tianjin Conservatory of Music, majoring in erhu performance. She has studied under eminent erhu performers and educators such as Ju Wenyu, Zhao Yanchen, Song Guozheng, Zhang Zengliang, Yang Jian, Liu Changfu, Liu Mingyuan and Min Huifen. After graduation, she became a professional musician with the Tianjin Song and Dance Theatre before joining City Chinese Orchestra in 1993 as the sectional principal for erhu and chief instructor of the strings section. In 2011, she obtained a Master of Arts degree from Beijing Normal University, and is currently learning the art of Chinese music conducting with Dr Tay Teow Kiat.

 

Wang is currently the strings instructor at Shangyin Music School. She is also the conductor and strings instructor of the Dunman High School Chinese Orchestra. She is a diligent and meticulous teacher, having nurtured many cohorts of talented students who have garnered admirable results in national music competitions. She has held numerous solo concerts in Singapore and has been invited as a guest performer and soloist for many orchestras in Singapore and the region. Her repertoire consists of numerous works for the erhu and orchestra of which many she premiered.

 

Wang Gui Ying’s playing has been commended by famous Chinese music critic Liu Zai Sheng as “full of passion, and yet elegantly measured, reflecting a thorough grasp of the music.”

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