Singapore, 4 July 2012 (Wednesday) – Singapore Chinese Orchestra (SCO)’s first Music Director and Principal Conductor Hu Bing Xu will return to the SCO to take centrestage over two nights of Capriccio concerts on 27 and 28 July at the SCO Concert Hall. This concert is also the finale concert in SCO’s 2011/12 concert season.
The concert kickstarts with Feng Xiao Quan’s The Music of Nation, which presents the virtuosity and union of traditional Chinese instruments as well as the immensity of Chinese history. Cantonese music With Blossoms and Moon, composed by Fang Xiao Min, utilizes music materials from the Cantonese music, Autumn Moon of the Han Palace, to illustrate the beauty of the morning floral blossoms and the serenity of the night moon. Chen Da Zhao’s dizi concerto Four Movements of Shanbei will feature SCO’s dizi soloist Lim Sin Yeo, as he plays the four movements of this piece – Songs of the Skies, Village Opera, The Past and Fiery Red Celebrations.
The concert continues with Malay folksong Suriram. This famous folksong describes a young man’s expression of his love for his lady, Suriram, by singing her this love song. SCO’s erhu II principal, Zhu Lin, will perform Wang Yue Ming’s alto erhu concerto Fantasia of the Western Regions. The alto erhu represents the storyteller who speaks in a low voice, narrating a story about life, death, love and hatred. Under the baton of Hu Bing Xu, esteemed composer Zhao Ji Ping’s masterpiece Ode of Peace will be the finale showcase of the concert. The third and fourth movements of Ode of Peace will be performed – Sorrows of the River and Fury of the River. The historical Nanjing massacre was the thematic material in this composition. In commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the China’s War of Resistance against the Japanese and the world’s Anti-Fascist War, Zhao Ji Ping spent three years to contrive this folk symphony.
Hu Bing Xu is one of the most outstanding conductors in the Chinese music fraternity. From April 1997 till April 2000, he was invited to be the first music director and resident conductor of the SCO. During his term of appointment, he led the orchestra to perform in various cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Xiamen and Taiwan, all of which were well acclaimed for. Hu Bing Xu has held the posts of resident conductor and artistic director for seven national performing art troupes in China, namely the Central Philharmonic Orchestra, Shanghai Peking Opera Theatre, Beijing Peking Opera Theatre, China National Opera House, Oriental Song and Dance Troupe, Central Corps de Ballet and Central Chinese Orchestra, and is currently the Music Director cum Principal Conductor of the Guangdong Chinese Orchestra. He was awarded the Outstanding Conductorship Award by The Ministry of Culture of the People’s Republic of China. Besides, he has also received the laurel of conducting for many major and important performances, such as the grand gala, Brilliant Stars of Tonight, which was held in conjunction with the closure of the 11th Asian Games. He is known for his ability to bring the expressiveness of Chinese instruments to a new realm, heightening the level of Chinese ethnic music conductorship, such that it is on par with the art of conductorship internationally. In early 1997, he led the Central Chinese Orchestra on a tour to 18 cities in the US, and collaborated with the internationally acclaimed cellist, Yo-Yo Ma.
Lim Sin Yeo is a versatile homegrown dizi performer. He joined the People’s Association Chinese Orchestra as a full-time musician in 1979 and is currently the dizi musician with the SCO. He is also an executive member of the Singapore Chinese Instrumental Music Association as well as the vice president of the Dizi Society. He has represented Singapore to perform as a soloist in China, Greece, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, West Malaysia and Egypt. In 1993, he was awarded the National Arts Council (NAC) Scholarship and gained entry into the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and studied under dizi master, Zhao Song Ting. He also attained Grade 8 in flute performance awarded by the Academic British Royal School of Music. He is currently an instructor of the National University of Singapore, Raffles Institution and Chung Cheng (Main) High School Chinese Orchestras.
SCO’s erhu II Principal, Zhu Lin, studied under renowned musicians including Xu Bu Gao, Li Da Zhong, Nie Jing Yu, Liu Zhang Fu, An Ru Li and Liu Ming Yuan. In 1991, he joined the China Central Chinese Orchestra and served as the orchestra’s deputy concertmaster. Zhu Lin has also received top honours at the National Competition and International Competition in 1993 and 1995 respectively. He has performed extensively throughout Asia, Europe and America, and has released many solo recordings. He has also given premiere performances of many erhu pieces such as Journey of the Wind, Fantasia of the Western Regions and Erhu Rhapsody No.1.
Concert Details
Capriccio
Date: 27 & 28 July 2012 (Friday & Saturday)
Time: 8pm
Venue: SCO Concert Hall
Ticket Prices: $55, $45, $35/$19*, $25/$14*
Tickets from SISTIC
*concession prices
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