Narratives: Notes On A Cultural Journey PDF

## Narratives: Notes On A Cultural Journey **Editor** Venka Purushothaman **Writers** * Dance: Christine Khor, Jamaludin Jalil, Sonny Lim * Literature: Kirpal Singh, Colin Cheong * Music: Bernard Tan, Phan Ming Yen * Chinese Opera: Chua Soo Pong, Joyce Teo * Photography: Venka Purushothaman, Mary...

## Narratives: Notes On A Cultural Journey **Editor** Venka Purushothaman **Writers** * Dance: Christine Khor, Jamaludin Jalil, Sonny Lim * Literature: Kirpal Singh, Colin Cheong * Music: Bernard Tan, Phan Ming Yen * Chinese Opera: Chua Soo Pong, Joyce Teo * Photography: Venka Purushothaman, Mary-Ann Teo * Theatre: Robert Yeo, Jeffrey Tan * Visual Arts: Chia Wai Hon, Joanna Lee **Design and Print Production** Viscom Design Associates Design Conceptualisation and Art Direction: Sylvia S H Tan Photography, unless otherwise stated: Eric Foo Chee Meng **Project Coordination and Editorial Support** Elaine Ng, Evelyn Lim, Gurjeet Singh, Lina Yong, Jeffrey Tan, Ng Su-May **Sounding Board: Music and Cultural Heritage** **By Bernard Tan** Music has been an integral part of life in Singapore since its founding by Sir Stamford Raffles, when Western music entered the island to join the indigenous Malay musical traditions of the region. The arrival of Chinese and Indian immigrants added their music cultures to an already rich multi-cultural mix, which included the surviving traditions of the Portuguese from an earlier colonial occupation. Pre-independence musical activity in Singapore remained largely an amateur activity, save the relatively few professionals such as military bandsman or Chinese opera singers and musicians trying to eke out a living. With the departure of the British colonial masters, an independent Singapore proceeded to carve out an economic and industrial niche for itself in the world, while music stayed mainly at an amateur level in the choirs, bands, ensembles and orchestras which provided the concert life of the 1960s and 1970s. In 1979, the first year in which the Cultural Medallion was awarded, it was fitting that two Singaporeans were honoured with the first Cultural Medallions to be awarded for music: Choo Hoey, who had only just returned from a successful conducting career in Europe to become the first Music Director of the new Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO), and David Lim Kim San, who as the first conductor of the pioneering Singapore Youth Choir (SYC) had led it to a First Prize at the famed Welsh Eistedffod at Llangollen in 1974. Choo Hoey and Lim also represented two major threads of Singapore's musical development - orchestral and choral music respectively - in which much progress has since been made over the last couple of decades. **Orchestral Development In Singapore** 1979 marked a watershed year in Singapore's musical development with the inaugural concert of the SSO, the nation's first fully professional orchestra and indeed Singapore's first full-time performing arts ensemble. The former Deputy Prime Minister, Dr Goh Keng Swee, founder of the SSO, had invited Choo Hoey to return home from Europe to assume the position of Music Director. Persuaded by the strong and solid backing of the Singapore government for the new orchestra, Choo Hoey eventually accepted the appointment. Since then, Choo Hoey's uncompromising insistence on the highest possible quality ensured that the SSO was a quantum leap in the standards of orchestral performance in Singapore. Several of the Cultural Medallion recipients in music played important roles in the development of orchestral music in Singapore, both before and after the SSO's formation. The Abisheganaden brothers, Paul and Alex, who were awarded the Cultural Medallion in 1986 and 1988 respectively, have been active in the music scene in Singapore from the mid-20th century onwards. Paul was the founder of the Singapore Chamber Ensemble, which played an important role in the promotion of Western classical music in Singapore in the 1950s and 60s, and conducted its chamber orchestra in which Alex also played the double-bass. Paul also made substantial contributions to music at the National University of Singapore as the Director of its Centre for Musical Activities while Alex contributed to the local music scene in many ways as an educationist, bass-baritone soloist and highly accomplished classical guitarist and double-bassist. Alex had also been associated with many multi-cultural musical performances, which incorporated the musical traditions of his own Indian cultural roots. Vivien Goh, who was awarded the Cultural Medallion in 1983 was the first conductor of the reconstituted Singapore Youth Orchestra (or SYO, now the Singapore National Youth Orchestra) which was revived in 1980. Her dedication and strict discipline set the right tone for the orchestra, which has won a deserved reputation as one of the leading youth orchestras in the region. Lim Yau, awarded the Cultural Medallion in 1990, took over the SYO from Goh in 1989, and has brought the orchestra to even greater heights. He has also had a long association with the SSO, serving first as Chorus Master and then Associate Conductor before leaving the orchestra to form his own Philharmonic Chamber Choir as well as assuming the position of Artistic Director of the Singapore Lyric Opera. His return to the SSO in 2001 as Resident Conductor was a welcome development in consonance with the SSO's new objective of positioning itself as a premier orchestra in the region, bridging the music cultures of west and east. **Singapore Composers** Leong Yoon Pin, the doyen of Singapore composers today, was fittingly the first composer to be awarded the Cultural Medallion. He received it in 1982 for his work as a pioneer composer ranking alongside our pioneer visual artists. Leong, who studied with the famed composition pedagogue Nadia Boulanger, not only blazed a lonely and difficult trail as our first serious composer of note, but also founded the Metro Philharmonic Society. Societies such as the Metro Philharmonic, Singapore Chamber Ensemble and the long-established Singapore Musical Society (which ran an amateur orchestra in the 1950s and 60s also known as the Singapore Symphony Orchestra), were mainstays of the largely amateur Singapore music scene in the 1950s, 60s and 70s. Leong's extensive list of compositions, which include two symphonies and numerous choral works, have been performed by virtually all our major musical ensembles, including the SSO, the SYO (which has commissioned at least one work from a Singapore composer every year), and the Singapore Youth Choir. Leong was also the first Resident Conductor of the Singapore National Orchestra, a pre-SSO entity that was an important milestone in our orchestral history. In 2000, Leong was appointed the SSO's first Composer-in-Residence, during which time he was able to guide a number of young composers, as well as write a major orchestral work, Gegentala, based on his personal impressions of Mongolia. Two other composers who received the Cultural Medallion, Kam Kee Yong (in 1984) and Phoon Yew Tien (in 1996) also made important contributions to the small corpus of Singapore orchestral music. Kam was a flamboyant personality who made his mark as a composer, violinist and conductor, having been selected to participate twice in the prestigious Dimitru Metropoulos International Conducting Competition at Carnegie Hall in 1969 and 1971. Kam, who now lives in Canada, has successfully turned his multi-faceted talents to painting, though he is still actively involved in music. Phoon, who is from a slightly younger generation of musicians than Leong and Kam, has made a name for himself as a versatile and accomplished composer and arranger. Phoon has a practising musician's experience and instinct for what is practicable and effective in orchestral writing, which is also evident in his music for theatre and dance, the most notable of which was in collaboration with two other Cultural Medallion awardees, Kuo Pao Kun and Goh Lay Kuan. Phoon's wide experience in orchestral writing was put to the service of the nation when he was asked in 2001 to make a new orchestral arrangement of the National Anthem, Majulah Singapura (composed by the pioneer of Malay music in Singapore, Zubir Said). **Choral Music** The remarkable surge in the last decade or so of choral music in Singapore (which is largely due to the effort of former Senior Minister of State for Education, the late Dr Tay Eng Soon), has given Singapore composers, including Leong, many opportunities to have their works performed. Leong also has the distinction of being the first Singapore composer to write a full-length opera, Bunga Mawar (libretto by Cultural Medallion recipient for literature, Edwin Thumboo), commissioned by the Singapore Lyric Opera. Choo Hwee Lim, who was awarded the Cultural Medallion in 1992, was one of the founders of the Singapore Lyric Opera, after a long and distinguished career in education, choral conducting and most notably as one of Singapore's premier voice teachers. Choo, who is remembered by generations of Anglo-Chinese School boys as a much respected music teacher, was a pioneer in the production and direction of Western opera in Singapore. Choo is also the teacher of Lim Yau, who has continued to play a key role in choral music in Singapore while developing his career as an orchestral conductor. **Asian Music Cultures** Ahmad Bin Ja'afar, who was awarded the Cultural Medallion in 1981, made his mark as a composer of music for the flourishing Malay film industry of the mid-20th century. Some of his best-known compositions from the films of that era include Ibu, the theme from the film of the same name, Selamat Hari Raya, Di Waktu Kechil, and Laju-Laju Biduk-Ku Laju. However, he will be best remembered as the distinguished and long-serving leader of the premier Singapore broadcasting orchestra, which was first known as the Malayannaires when he joined it in 1958, and which then became the RTS Orchestra (Radio Television Singapore) and later the SBC Orchestra (Singapore Broadcasting Corporation) which has now sadly disbanded. While Ahmad Bin Ja'afar was a pioneer in the field of Malay music, Leong, Kam and Phoon all drew their cultural roots from the traditions of Chinese music, utilising contemporary Western compositional techniques without compromising their deeply felt Chinese heritage. Phoon, in particular, has been able to draw on his experience both as a member and conductor of Chinese orchestras, to write for the Chinese orchestra as well as to combine Chinese and Western instruments. Tay Teow Kiat, awarded the Cultural Medallion in 1993, has been a tireless promoter of the Chinese orchestra (a relatively new type of ensemble loosely based on the Western symphony orchestra) in Singapore. While he is perhaps most well-known in Singapore for his work in setting up and promoting Chinese orchestras in Singapore schools, and for his outstanding Dunman High School Chinese Orchestra, he has also gained a wide reputation in China and the region for his achievements as a conductor, having been invited to conduct the Singapore Chinese Orchestra in a well-received concert in 2001. The late Teng Mah Seng, on the other hand, who was awarded the Cultural Medallion in 1987, is well remembered for his dogged persistence in promoting the traditional Nanyin music of Fujian province. He made a valuable collection of about 200 well-known Nanyin traditional songs and his work merited mention in one of the leading Chinese music journals, Yin Xue, in its 1984 issue. His Siong Leng Musical Ensemble has performed widely in overseas events, including at the Llangollen International Music Eistedffod in 1983, winning the 3rd and 4th prizes in the vocal and instrumental sections respectively. The most recent awardee of the Cultural Medallion for music (in 2001), Yan Hui Chang, has garnered an international musical reputation. A Singapore citizen since 1996, Yan has held conducting appointments in several leading Chinese orchestras and is currently the Music Director of the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra. He has also worked with Zhang Yimou and other leading film directors, composing and conducting soundtracks for such acclaimed films as Raise the Red Lantern. Though he works principally in Hong Kong, Yan has collaborated closely with Cultural Medallion recipients such as Leong, Phoon and Lim Yau. **Looking To The Future** This outstanding array of musicians awarded the Cultural Medallion for music encapsulates the history of music in Singapore. They represent the many facets of our musical heritage: the Western symphony orchestra as well as the Chinese orchestra, choral music and choirs, our composers who have contributed to our Singapore musical heritage, and our Chinese, Malay and Indian musical traditions. All of these varied threads make up the rich musical tapestry, which we are proud to call our own, and which enriches our national ethos whose strength is drawn from the cultures, which make up our social fabric. There is little doubt that future awardees of the Cultural Medallion for music will continue to contribute to the development of our national musical life and heritage and to Singapore's growing stature as an international cultural hub. **Alex Abisheganaden** One could say that Alex Abisheganaden championed the 'under-dogs' of Western classical music the double-bass and the guitar. For the past 50 years he was synonymous with both these instruments and for a few decades it seemed he was the only double-bass player available for ensembles and orchestras. As fellow Cultural Medallion recipient Vivien Goh recalled in her book, Goh Soon Tioe: One Great Symphony, Abishe-ganaden had to retain his youth status to be the only double-bassist in the Goh Soon Tioe String Orchestra while also serving as tour leader in Switzerland. Abisheganaden is considered by some to be the 'Father of Guitar' in Singapore for his role in the founding of the Singapore Classical Guitar Society in 1967 and remained at its helm for 25 years promoting music through the guitar. Abisheganaden influenced a generation of musicians who perhaps would otherwise have not taken up these instruments or pursued music for their careers. From 1947 to 1983, Abisheganaden worked for the Ministry of Education (MOE) serving as teacher, school principal and inspector of schools. He played an important role in the Young Musicians' Society then under the aegis of the MOE. He was also active in promoting music in schools and music appreciation on radio and television. In 1980, Abisheganaden initiated the National University of Singapore Guitar Ensemble, which is now a full-fledged guitar orchestra well known in the region. You have had a long and varied career in the music scene. Looking back what would you describe as your most significant contribution to the scene? I would certainly say the promotion of music and the participation in music making for a great number of persons who would otherwise not have been so involved. Many whom I influenced were late starters in secondary schools, junior colleges and tertiary institutions. The people I came to influence were those who missed out. These were people who knew nothing about music and just started to learn music through the guitar in school. Although I am a performer, it was promoting the instrument and introducing music to these people that was important. For more than 50 years you promoted classical music in various forms and medium. What inspired you and why was it important? Though coming from a musical family, my formal education in music started only when I was a working man. I had to quickly acquire grades and diplomas. I realised that music is best learnt and nurtured from as young an age as possible. I was inspired to devote myself to young people and late starters. Besides performing solo or in ensembles and orchestras, I also served as scriptwriter for classical music programmes over radio. Sometimes, the station would call and say some people liked this or that and wanted to know who the artist was. It was wonderful to go back home, hear my programmes on air and know that it has touched people. Then in the early 1970s through the Young Musicians' Society, I supervised the Musical Arts Centre that provided very good music teaching programmes at very affordable fees for young people and late starters. This was my dream come true. I was able to inspire and motivate a good number of young persons who have made careers in music. What does music mean for you? Music is the broad canvas behind me all the time inspiring me to love and help people through life touching the lives of so many, both young and not so young. **Paul Abisheganaden** Born in 1914 and active in the music scene since the late 1920s, it would be difficult to imagine Western classical music activities in Singapore without Paul Abisheganaden. In the early 1950s, when the practice of Western classical music was still primarily limited to the Western community in Singapore, Abisheganaden founded the Singapore Chamber Ensemble, comprising mainly Asian members, which both performed as well as organised concerts. The significance of the Ensemble can be noted in the Singapore Annual Report 1958: "The Ensemble presented free musical soirees which have proved extremely popular, and have provided opportunities for well-known local musicians... They also gave a suitable concert platform for the sponsoring of the first appearances of Singapore students on return-ing home after periods of study overseas...". Abisheganaden has served in various capacities with the Ministry of Education: he was Cultural Affairs Officer, Chief Exams Officer and Principal of the former Teachers Training College. He was director of the then Centre of Musical Activities of National University of Singapore in 1979 and led the NUS Symphony Orchestra until 1994. At present Abisheganaden is working on a book about musical activities in Singapore from the 1920s onwards. To reflect on your long career, how would you describe your contribution to the music scene? It is hard for me to say what I have done. What I am happy about is that I was able to provide the kind of leadership that was needed at that time, to get together people who were interested in music and to be able to enthuse them to the point of giving concerts, even publicly. You have devoted your life to the practice and promotion of Western classical music. Why Western classical music? Although I understood and played Indian music, I never studied it. Western classical music was the only thing that I had a chance to study formally. Furthermore, my father was well-versed in Lutheran hymns just as he was well-grounded in the harmonic styles of Bach and Handel and he taught us these. Many of the hymns are beautiful and the harmonic structures are the kind of things that stay with you. So, that gave me the love for Western music. I studied violin and then later singing. When I came back from my studies in London, there was nothing at that time, this was in 1949, that's when I got a group of singers together and started a choir first for one year before starting a small string orchestra. Why do you think Western classical music is important in an Asian country such as Singapore? Why is it important to keep it alive? It is a common denominator, isn't it? Anyone, an Indian, a Chinese or Malay musician can participate in Western classical music because it is documented, because there is notation.... it is like the English language. Western music is, I think, the common music for all the people resident in Singapore. I don't think you can build a Chinese orchestra without any Chinese in it but you can build up a Western orchestra without any Westerners in it. I think that's the big difference. **Ahmad Bin Ja'afar** The only musical instrument that greets the eyes in Ahmad Bin Ja'afar's flat in Farrer Road is a John Brinsmead piano. The 83-year-old composer and former conductor of the then Singapore Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) Orchestra, tunes the piano himself. The flat is simple. He lives alone. Ahmad's daily routine is simple. "When my wife passed away in 1996, it was very hard for me... very lonely," says Ahmad who spends his mornings by himself followed by lunch at a Bukit Merah market and evenings with his daughter and her family who live nearby. His simple life epitomizes his humility. Ahmad is the man whose "Selamat Hari Raya" is ubiquitous during the Hari Raya festive season in Singapore and Malaysia. Ahmad is the man who wrote the 1953 hit song "Ibu" for the P Ramlee film of the same name. Ahmad is the man who is regarded by some as the 'Father of Modern Malay Pop'. Born in Binjai, Sumatra in 1919, he spent his early years playing for a silent movie cinema, which his father managed. He then played the clarinet with a military band in Tanjung Pura before arriving in Singapore in 1946. Throughout the 1950s, Ahmad played in the top dance bands in Singapore, including the well-known Raffles Orchestra under Gerry Soliano before joining the broadcasting orchestra then known as the Malayannaires in 1958. Ahmad became deputy leader in 1965 and was leader in 1967 till 1980, seeing the orchestra become Radio Singapore Orchestra and then RTS Orchestra and finally SBC Orchestra. After his retirement in 1980 until 1996, Ahmad was trainer and advisor to school bands. Throughout the interview, Ahmad was a good-humoured, straight talker who says: "I don't like to boast." Your career spans throughout the 1950s up till the 1980s in various aspects of the music industry. Have you considered writing your memoirs? I don't do that. I think I am just an ordinary man. Not famous. You have written two famous songs: "Ibu" for the film Ibu and "Selamat Hari Raya" that is heard almost every year. Looking back at "Ibu" first, how do you feel about this work, which was sung by the king of Malay films, P. Ramlee? How did the composition come about? I just feel ordinary. Not very proud, ok, good, thanks. (laughs) Because I always feel you don't judge your own songs. It's up to the public. If they like it, it's alright. I was working at the cabarets when they asked me to do this song. So I said, "Ok, I try". The producer gave me the lyrics in English, it was called "To Mother". At that time, I was not good in English so I asked my friend to translate it into Malay and I wrote it. What about "Selamat Hari Raya", which was also written for a film? Everyone knows this song. How did this work come about? During that time, there was the Happy Birthday song. I thought, 'Why not I do a Hari Raya song?' Since then, there have been many Hari Raya songs. The piece just came, at the piano. I was at the studio. I go there, play on the piano and submit it to the producer. Do you want to hear it? (Ahmad walks to the piano and plays Selamat Hari Raya) You have worked with some of the top bands in cabarets and restaurants in the 1950s. It is a music scene that has since vanished. What was it like being a musician during those times? There was a lot of orang puteh (white people), dancing. You get used to it. You come to your job to make people happy. Sometimes you are not happy but you have to force yourself to be. Musicians have to do that every night. You have to slog at it, selling your breath.... That's it. Ahmad Ja'afar was awarded the Cultural Medallion in 1981 and was the recipient of the Excellent Achievement Award given by the People's Association Malay Activity Groups Coordinating Council in 1995. **Choo Hoey** As music director of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) from 1979 to 1996, Dr Choo Hoey held one of the most influential and powerful positions in Singapore's music scene. Choo, the first music director of the nation's first professional and to date, only, Western symphony orchestra, is credited with starting the orchestra from scratch and programming widely and confidently from Beethoven symphonies via Mahler symphonies through Messiaen's monumental Turangalîla-Symphonie to Colin McPhee's Balinese influenced Tabuh-Tabuhan. Looking back at your tenure with the SSO, how would you describe your achievements? I do not think I have achieved anything. I think it is my duty as a musician to help whoever who wants to build an orchestra or to propagate music. That is all. But, I would only like to say that when the orchestra was started, we did not have enough manpower to man the whole orchestra and we had to look for musicians to fill the post. This was a very, very difficult task and the first few years were quite tough. Once we built a core team of musicians without having to look for new replacements, we were able to stabilise the repertoire and shorten the period of rehearsals to give credible performances. What then was your vision for the orchestra? I think first of all, an orchestra, from an administrative point of view, must be run on a friendly basis - without any rivalry or internal strive among the musicians. Another point, I feel, is that the manner in which the orchestra is built, in terms of its repertoire, is very important. The repertoire I choose must have an aim to achieve a goal. And from the very beginning, I made up my mind that each concert must include at least one contemporary work. You have indeed programmed a variety of works, spanning a variety of musical styles, including some significant 20th century works such as Gorecki's Symphony No.3 in 1994 and Messiaen's Turangalîla in 1995. Did you take into consideration the needs of the orchestra with that of the audiences? I do not build a programme in order to please the public. This I think is my failure. People complained the programmes I built were too difficult for the public to accept. In my mind, the orchestra comes first because my brief was to create an orchestra of a certain standard, not to please the public. With each work, I firstly, aimed at improving the capabilities of the various departments of the orchestra and secondly, make the public aware of current trends. Choo, however, is not without controversy. He wielded near absolute control over the SSO and was criticised for his style of music making. But it is no denying that Choo placed the SSO on the roadmap of western orchestras in Asia. Today, Choo is Conductor Emeritus of the SSO and spends his time with engagements between the UK and Greece. **Leong Yoon Pin** In A Soprano and the Pedlars, Leong Yoon Pin evoked the sounds of street hawkers, Indonesian gamelan, Chinese wayang and Indian classical music, to frame his symphonic work. In this pioneering work, which embraced the diasporic Singaporean cultures of Chinese, Malay and Indian, Leong proposed an Asian consciousness, which echoed the sentiments of nationhood in a very young country. Leong is a pioneer in many more ways. Leong was the first Singaporean composer to have his work, the Overture Dayong Sampan, performed by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) in 1998 and in 2000, Leong became the SSO's first Composer-in-Residence. Leong is accredited with having pioneered the idea of serious musical composition in Singapore. His works, spanning over 40 years reveal a broad range of styles and influences, are known to reflect the ethos and aspirations of Singaporeans as evidenced in works such as Overture Dayong Sampan (1980) - based on a Malay folk tune and Temasekian, a symphonic tribute to Singapore's pioneering forefathers. Leong who is also inspired by Chinese literature and history has produced large-scale works such as The Nine Cantos scored for chorus and percussion instruments based on ancient Chinese text and episodes in the Journey to the West. What has been the inspiration for your work over the years? The times I lived in and my disposition inspire me. If you ask about the materials that influenced me, I would say ancient and contemporary Chinese history and literature. A love and respect for fellow beings as advocated in the philosophies of the East and West has always been my disposition. My teenage days were spent under the colonial rule of the British and Japanese. A strong common desire then was to kick out the colonialists and be our own masters after World War II. The slogans in the years between the 1950s and 1970s aimed to instill in our people a sense of pride through singing songs of a non-decadent nature in the advent of self-government and eventual independence. Hence, my creative attempt was concentrated on songs with text that was rousing, forward looking and 'healthy' in content. What would the text be for these songs that were 'forward looking'? The songs written in Chinese include Da Hai Song which is about the sea, Wei Le He Ping Yu You Yi which is about peace and friendship, Huai Song Quyuan San Shou, which is about Chu Yuan, a symbol of patriotism. Chun a, Chun a! Buo Zhong De Shi Hou is forward looking while Dang Bai Hua Sheng Kai is about when the good days are here and the flowers are blossoming. These are some of the texts that have inspired me to write songs. Has the source of inspiration since changed now that we are living in different socio-historical circumstances? It has. Over the years, we got our independence. So, after the 1970s, there was an awareness of Asian consciousness. That was the time when I began to branch out to writing for instruments and orchestra. Expression of my country's environmental and historical sounds became a natural development. You talk about the "expression of environmental sounds". What are these sounds? For instance in my first symphony, I looked at the early days when the Indian labourers were working in the streets. I was fascinated by their labouring chant and I put that into the final movement. Later on, Dayong Sampan for instance refers to our Malay heritage, and so does Lenggang Kangkong. "I am just an ordinary man who expresses my feelings in music." How would you describe your own role as a composer in Singapore? I am just an ordinary man who expresses my feelings in music. If my works have been noted and considered as worthy of attention, I am already grateful. Do you feel the burden of being considered a "pioneer"? No, never. First of all, I don't even consider myself as jia. In English language, a person who writes music is called a composer. In Chinese, when you are a zuo qu jia, you are someone who is authoritative. So, before you are a zuo qu jia, you are a zuo qu zhe or zuo qu ren, just an ordinary man who writes. In the beginning, I never considered myself as a zuo qu jia. So, it is because of that, it has never been a burden. **Lim Yau** One could say that Lim Yau has just about done it all. Although best known for his work in the choral scene (he is music director of the Singapore Symphony Chorus, was artistic director of the Singapore Lyric Opera and founder of The Philharmonic Chamber Choir which within six years of its founding won the 19th International Bela Bartok Choral Competition in Hungary in 2000), Lim has worked with youth (music director of the Singapore National Youth Orchestra since 1990 and leads the Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra) and is resident conductor of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. Lim is also an advocate of contemporary music. He was actively involved in the formation of the New Music Forum in 1987, a showcase of new compositions by Singaporean composers. He has since performed and recorded many Singaporean compositions. What is about the human voice that inspires you? I really can't answer. Maybe it was because I discovered I had some sort of voice very early on. I began to enjoy the fact that I have a bass baritone voice. In fact, if you look at my work, in my teens I started to sing in choirs, in singing competitions. In my army days, I trained male choruses. Abroad, singing was my first study, and choral conducting. My first job was with the Bayreuth Festival chorus. My first job back in Singapore was as chorus master of the SSC. I remember I once said: "I would be happy to do without orchestral rehearsal for awhile. But if I am not in touch with a chord progression or a contrapuntal texture made by human voice, I feel something missing in my life." Aside from your activities in the choral scene, you have been involved in the premiere of many Singapore compositions and made recordings of works by Singaporean composers. I remember when I was at college in London, people would ask: "Tell me something about your own music." And I would be dumbfounded. I was not going to tell them it was only Malay, Chinese or Indian. Of course people ask about Singapore out of ignorance: "Is it Singapore-Hong Kong or Singapore-China". I was conscious of the fact that we don't have our own distinct musical language. I think it's because of that, that urge, that we need to have our own voice, that at the very beginning of my career, I thought that if I were ever going to be involved in conducting, I would go all out to help to make it happen. You are rewarded by the fact that it's like helping to deliver a baby. Delivery can sometimes be quite painful. But, the sense of satisfaction is quite different from doing a programme of established works. You have also worked extensively with young people, whether with the Singapore National Youth Orchestra (SNYO) or with amateurs or in concertante works with talented music students. Why is this important for you? The SNYO was an acquired taste. I did not imagine that I would stay until now and I am enjoying every single moment of it. Perhaps partly because of parenthood, as both my kids are actively involved in the SNYO. But, I think over the years it slowly dawned upon me that it is very meaningful to see kids grow up in a certain orchestral schooling that I have managed to influence. Now, some schools have their own orchestras but traditionally we do not have strong orchestral activities in school. The only opportunity kids have is to come to the Youth Orchestra. I have managed to help mould the schooling for orchestral playing and I think there's a satisfaction there. "...if I am not in touch with a chord progression or a contrapuntal texture made by human voice, I feel something missing in my life." What then do you see as the future of the music scene in Singapore? A mindset with the significance of the arts in a race of people is important. Take for example Sibelius who had a lifelong grant from his country, Finland. He was told, "Go and write something". What foresight from a country with similar population as Singapore, except with a lot more land. It was probably because of Sibelius that Finnish conductors today like Salonen, Kamu and Saraste, frequently guest conduct major orchestras. You ask them what gives them that confidence? Sibelius must have indirectly played a significant role in their career. In my view, one Sibelius from Singapore is going to change Singapore. If we have a creative enough environment to give rise to a composer, one day, we will have Mr X's work played by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. And all of our pianists, violinists and conductors will go out with more confidence. **Phoon Yew Tien** Music historians would probably mark 2001 as a significant one in Phoon Yew Tien's life. 2001 saw Phoon's rearrangement of Singapore's National Anthem as well as his most ambitious work to date, the 2 1/2 hour _Confucius - A Secular Cantata_ commissioned by the National Arts Council for the Singapore Arts Festival. Then again, Phoon has always been at the forefront of Singaporean composition. In 1988, his score for the dance drama _Nu Wa_ was regarded as one of the most "substantial large-scale works of music Singapore had ever produced." One of the most prolific composers in the scene today, Phoon has collaborated with dance and theatre practitioners and his work spans a variety of styles and genres from symphonic works to arrangements of popular Chinese songs. Trained in both Chinese and Western music, Phoon's compositions range from those for Western symphony orchestra, Chinese orchestra, chamber ensemble featuring Chinese, Indian, Malay and Western instruments, mixed percussion orchestra to choir. Why is it important for you to be a composer in Singapore society? What do you hope to achieve through your compositions? Do you explore sound textures or certain themes in your works? Actually I don't really think of this very much. I just do what I think I should do. It doesn't help? (laughs) Because I believe you do things naturally. I know my background and my education. I think I do things that are different from other people. I try to do things differently, of course based on what I like to do. I don't purposely do things that amuse people nowadays. Some articles have described the presence or influence of the East and the West in your works. How would you describe your musical language? I seldom analyse my work. I think it's based on my training and my days of early involvement in Chinese music. I don't know how to put it. It's a combination of the Western style of composition and the Chinese way. I base it on my instinct rather than on a kind of theory because my theory is simple, for instance, a combination of the 12 tone scale with a pentatonic scale. I have done a few pieces based on that concept. But the result or the effect may be quite subtle it's very much based on serialism. So, after all these years, your work is still based on serialism? That's part of it. I am very fond of writing music that is based on a simple motif. I have a simple beginning and then I develop from there, like variations. That is something I often do. How would you place yourself in the context of other Singaporean composers? Leong Yoon Pin has his own style. Other composers I am not quite sure because they have different training/