Singapore, 17 March 2018 (Saturday) – Internationally-renowned conductor Shao En will debut his conducting with the Singapore Chinese Orchestra (SCO) with a programme of masterpieces, and joined by vocalist Cui Rui too in a one-night-only concert titled Shao En & SCO, on 7 April 2018 (Saturday), 8pm, at the refurbished SCO Concert Hall.
Shao En is the Chief Conductor of the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra and Principal Guest Conductor of the China National Symphony Orchestra. He is also an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Northern College of Music and Guest Professor of the Central Conservatory of Music. To date, he has conducted over 60 orchestras all over the world. For this concert, he will also be conducting his very own composition, Xiao Bai Cai Capriccioso. This piece originates from the composer’s Chinese Suite No. 1, which comprises of four movements – Sorrow, Joy, Separation and Reunion, and incorporated elements from familiar Hebei folk songs and shadow play. Xiao Bai Cai Capriccioso is the alternative title for the movement Sorrow, which commemorates events such as wars, natural disasters, political persecutions, terrorist activities and accidents involving the loss of lives of ordinary beings.
SCO erhu I principal, Zhao Jianhua, will perform Yang Liqing’s Song of Sadness which has been adapted by Shen Ye, and Zhao Jiping’s Third Movement: Love from Symphonic Suite: Qiao’s Grand Courtyard, orchestrated by Jing Jianshu. Zhao Jianhua is the disciple of renowned late-erhu master Min Hui Fen, and has multiple awards at multiple high-profile competitions such as the National Chinese Competition in Wuhan, and the Shanghai City Young Musician Association Competition in 1985. Love from Symphonic Suite: Qiao’s Grand Courtyard has a beautiful melody as the stem of the piece, with hints of bitterness and sorrow throughout the music. The orchestra and erhu solo’s question-and-answer style of performance leads audience into the protagonists’ sweet but rocky world of love.
SCO’s suona associate principal, Chang Le, was born in to a family of suona musicians, and began performing at the tender age of 8. Upon graduation in 2006, he commenced studies at the Singapore Raffles Conservatory of Music under the tutelage of SCO musician Liu Jiang, and also joined the Singapore National Youth Chinese Orchestra (SNYCO) (then-Singapore Youth Chinese Orchestra) as suona musician. He performed at the Istana for former Singapore President SR Nathan, and was featured as a key performer in the Youth Talent Concert organized by the Singapore Press Holdings’ Chinese Newspaper Division in the President’s Challenge annual charity drive in 2009. He was also awarded the LCM Performance Award in Chinese Music Diploma. He will be the suona soloist for Qin Wenchen’s The Summon of Phoenix. He successfully auditioned and joined SCO in 2013, and is one of the musicians who joined SCO from SNYCO.
Audience will be refreshed by the crisp and clean vocals of Chinese vocalist Cui Rui, who will be performing Guan Xia’s Farewell, My Concubine, adapted by Zhang Lie. Cui Rui has been invited to perform for multiple prestigious events, which include being the soloist for Farewell, My Concubine in China’s Music Festival organised by the China Broadcast Traditional Orchestra, and performed at the 50th Anniversary East is Red Concert held at the Great Hall of the People. Farewell, My Concubine is a famous work that depicts one’s wartime emotions and the feelings of loss from the sentimental parting of a love affair.
Concert Details:
Date: 7 April 2018 (Saturday)
Time: 8pm
Venue: SCO Concert Hall
Ticket prices (before SISTIC fees): $88, $68, $58, $38/$25*, $20**
*Concession price
**Restricted View Seats
For more information, photographs, and interviews, please contact the Media Officers below:
Media Contacts
Valesha Soon Weixuan
Senior Executive (Marketing Communications)
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
DID: 6557 4037 / 9187 3418
Koh Mui Leng
Assistant Director (Marketing Communications)
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
DID: 6557 4047 / 9833 0556