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Orchestra of Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music from Singapore performs its debut concert at the City Hall Concert Hall under its principal conductor Jason Lai, a former Hong Kong conductor. Photo: Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music
Hong KongEducation

Orchestra delivers brilliant music befitting Singapore's 50th anniversary

Oliver Chou
Oliver Chou
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A vibrant orchestra of 80 young musicians from the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music was a showcase of Singapore's coming of age in the musical arts at its debut concert in Hong Kong.

Under the baton of Jason Lai, a former conductor in Hong Kong, the show opened a new chapter in the tale of the two cities. But lending an edge was the fine discipline the Singaporean band executed, which would call for some quality ensemble playing by local musicians to match.

Singapore pianist Li Churen performs Beethoven 2nd Piano Concerto with orchestra from her alma mater, Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, at its debut concert in Hong Kong. Photo: Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music
This being part of celebrations for the 50th anniversary of Singapore's independence, an official speech would have kicked off the concert, but in lieu of that, the orchestra played its historic first note in Hong Kong with by Ho Chee Kong, the school's head of composition. From the atmospheric opening on subtle cello notes, the audience was taken on a sentimental journey that, at the end, was reduced to solo trumpet calls the composer said "solemnly weave an epitaph in honour of a great statesman, Mr Lee Kuan Yew".

But the sobriety quickly dissipated when Li Churen, 20, delivered an energetic reading of Beethoven's . A conservatory alumni who is now a Yale postgraduate student, the young Singaporean showed extraordinary skill, displaying a sense of urgency in her playing that Lai had to stay vigilant to keep up with. Regrettably, the clapping was not sustained enough to get an encore from the brilliant pianist.

Composer Ho Chee Kong (left) and conductor Jason Lai.
Those who stayed for the second half were rewarded with the magnificence of Sibelius' second symphony, where the strings continued to shine as the forte of the band.

The passionate players brought the evening to a smiling close with a vivacious , performed in response to rapturous applause.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Music befitting Singapore's anniversary
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