- Orchestra category is now cancelled
- E-copy Score Book launch of 6 winning works from the 2006 Singapore International Composition for Chinese Orchestra Competition (SICCOC) on SCO website
- Story #1: 4 siblings takes part in SCMC for the 2nd time together this year, where they grow and learn together as teammates and competitors
Singapore, 18 November 2020 (Wednesday) – Singapore Chinese Music Competition 2020 will continue preparations, to be held from 23 November to 12 December 2020. The Solo (Junior, Intermediate, Senior and Grand) and Ensemble categories will proceed as planned. Also, in view of the current situation, organiser Singapore Chinese Orchestra (SCO) took precautionary measures and announced that the Orchestra category is now cancelled. Affected orchestras have already been informed of this decision.
The Singapore Chinese Music Competition 2020 received overwhelming responses, attracted participants from all walks of life, aged between 7 to 34 years old. They include: Doctor, Engineers, Executives, Teachers and students, to name a few. To highlight, the Solo category attracted 274 participants, and 8 Ensembles will compete for the title.
SCO Executive Director Terence Ho said: “Singapore Chinese Music Competition has always been the cradle to local musicians, grooming Chinese orchestra talents and performers. We continue to persist; engage and inspire more individuals to achieve artistic excellence, and to groom the next generation of musicians. We aspire to build, grow the Chinese music eco system in Singapore.”
Do join us in witnessing the first Solo Grand Category winner on 12 Dec 2020 "Finals for Grand Category & Prize Presentation Ceremony"! Cast your vote for your favorite finalists of the Grand Category for the “Audience Choice Award”. Results will be announced in the same evening after the vote.
In addition, this will also be the first time whereby the competition will have local adjudicators present on site and overseas adjudicators tuning in via livestream. There are a total of 27 adjudicators, comprising of 18 local and 9 overseas adjudicators, judging for different categories and sections.
Follow Singapore Chinese Music Competition Facebook page to check out daily updates, and catch the competition streamed LIVE on Youtube page, from 23 November to 12 December 2020. More updates will be shared at a later date, on the various social media platforms.
Charms of Nanyang Score Book
In addition, Charms of Nanyang, the e-copy Score Book of 6 winning works from the 2006 Singapore International Composition for Chinese Orchestra Competition (SICCOC) will also be officially launched on the SCO website, during this competition period. The winning pieces included the works composed by SCO’s past Composer-in-Residence Law Wai Lun and Eric Watson, as well as Yii Kah Hoe, Simon Kong, Tang Lok Yin, and current SCO Composer-in-Residence Wang Chenwei. One of the excerpts from the score book was also originally intended to be the set piece for the orchestra category.
Cover page of the Charms of Nanyang Score Book. (Photo provided by Singapore Chinese Orchestra)
The first SCO International Competition for Chinese Orchestral Compositions was held in 2006. It was an effort to “seek direction by throwing stones” and attract talented composers to create “Chinese orchestral works with strong Nanyang flavour”. To date, we have a good number of these works in our repertoire collected over the years from the competition.
Limited copies of the score book are available for collection at Singapore Conference Hall for conductors, composing students and educators. They are required to fill up the online form on https://bit.ly/CharmsOfNanyang_Request in order for SCO to contact them for collection. Alternatively, the e-book is also available online for one year, for users to download.
The Singapore Chinese Music Competition (SCMC) 2020, previously known as National Chinese Music Competition, seeks to provide an excellent platform to develop the performing skills of young musicians, raise musical standards, discover new talents, and to connect our people by supporting their lifelong interest in pursuit of Chinese music in Singapore. There is a total of S$147,700 worth of prizes to be won.
The Singapore Chinese Music Competition is supported by Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, National Arts Council, Tote Board, Temasek Foundation, and in partnership with People’s Association, Singapore Chinese Music Federation, Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations (SFCCA) and Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre.
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Annex A
Story #1: 4 siblings takes part in SCMC for the 2nd time this year, grow and learn together as team mates and competitors
Caption: The Li siblings take part in the Singapore Chinese Music Competition 2020. (From left) Li Yi Xian, Li Yi Le, Li Yi Ran Levana and Li Yi Ming. (Photo: Li Family)
Li Yi Ran Levana (12 years old) has been learning the pipa for 4 years. Multi-talented Levana learned many instruments since young, including the piano, violin, pipa and guzheng. Eventually, she chose the pipa. She said, “pipa is an elegant instrument which has a long and rich history. It is also one of the more challenging plucked-strings instruments to master. I love Chinese culture and history, especially the Tang Dynasty. Playing the pipa brings me back in time – feels like time travel through time and space. Teacher Liu Yan performed this piece Recalling the South of the Yangtze 《忆江南》and I indulged in the beauty of scenic Jiangnan. Teacher Zhao Cong’s Apsaras on the Silk Road was mesmerizing, brought me back to Silk Road, and the pipa took me on many journeys.
Li Yi Ming (11 years old) loves to take on challenges, thus he chose the erhu. He said, “I love music and I love to take on challenges. Erhu is a two-stringed bowed musical instrument, also known as a Chinese fiddle, which is difficult to learn and play it well, thus I chose the erhu. When I was young, I heard my grandfather listen to Reflections of the Moon on Erquan 《二泉映月》and I fell in love with this instrument. I like how this instrument is able to express deep and rich emotions, and also demonstrate a happy and lively mood. My next goal is to make the erhu like me!”
Li Yi Xian (10 years old) plays the pipa, just like his older sister Levana. He shared, “When I was young, my parents took me to a concert. I heard Teacher Zhao Cong played Ambush from Ten Sides 《十面埋伏》and I fell in love with this instrument."
Li Yi Le (10 years old) has been learning the suona for 3 years. He said, “At the beginning when I first started, I especially enjoyed Teacher Jin Shiyi’s suona performance. I also loved how Teacher Jin demonstrated his skills through different forms of expression and performed the instrument guan. I hope to master the suona and then teacher will teach me more skills and the guan.”
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How do the four siblings feel taking part in the same competition together? Do they practise together and give each other tips?
The siblings shared that this will be their second time taking part in the Singapore Chinese Music Competition. They previously took part in the competition together (then known as National Chinese Music Competition) in 2018.
Li Yi Ran Levana managed to get into the finals in 2018. She said, “We practice together every day and we share tips with other. For instance, how to keep chill and stay calm on stage and how to work on our musicality while performing the pieces. The four of us have a very loving relationship as brothers and sister. We are team mates, yet we are also competitors. We grow up together, learn and share together.”
Li Yi Ming shared candidly, “To me, taking part in a competition feels like a more rigorous examination. It allows me to review some problems which arise during my daily practices. It allows me to become better. The competition is like a mirror. It reflects my shortcomings, and I will correct it to achieve my goal: let the erhu like me, haha!"
Li Yi Xian said, “We do share some tips and competition experiences. I am very excited to participate in this competition. I can learn from other pipa players, and strive to surpass them.”
Li Yi Le shared similar sentiments with his brother Yi Ming, as he mentioned, “When I see classmates with higher scores than me, I should not be jealous. I should learn from them and remind myself to work even harder."
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About Singapore Chinese Orchestra
Singapore Chinese Orchestra (SCO) is Singapore’s only professional Chinese orchestra. Inaugurated in 1997, the orchestra made up of more than 80 musicians took on the twin role of preserving traditional arts and culture and establishing new frontiers through the incorporation of Nanyang music elements in its repertoire. SCO has impressed a broadening audience with its blockbuster presentations and is fast establishing itself among its counterparts around the world. Known for its high performance standards and versatility, the SCO is recognized through invitations to perform at numerous prestigious events locally and internationally. In line with its vision to be a world-renowned people’s orchestra, SCO continues to inspire, educate and communicate through its music.
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