Music Is: SNYCO makes its long-awaited full comeback this July, after 2 years with full orchestra

Singapore National Youth Chinese Orchestra (SNYCO) will be making its first full orchestra comeback starting from this concert, where audiences will be able to watch over 80 members back in action together on stage after 2 years, since December 2019. Conducted by SNYCO Music Director Quek Ling Kiong, the Singapore National Youth Chinese Orchestra will present Tunes of Tomorrow concert on 30 July 2022 (Saturday), 7.30pm.

Witness the youths of today take on the Tunes of Tomorrow, in a high energy repertoire led by SNYCO Music Director Quek Ling Kiong. During the concert, catch the world premiere of 2 Lingering Resonances of the Street Opera Gongs by local young composer Jon Lin Chua. This work was commissioned by the Singapore Chinese Orchestra, and is a modern reflection of the Hokkien street opera tradition in Singapore. Hokkien gezai opera (lit. “opera of little ditties”) gained popularity in Singapore in the 1920s due to its accessibility in character and use of well-known Hokkien folk tunes. In its heyday, Hokkien street opera performances drew large crowds, and the top opera stars were treated as celebrities. Today, these opera stars have aged or passed on, street performances are mostly drawing a small crowd, if any at all, and many local troupes have declined, with the closing down of some of the oldest and most established Hokkien opera troupes in recent years. Hokkien street opera performances have ceased to become a mode of entertainment in mainstream consciousness today, and are mostly only associated with Chinese folk religious worship.

The concert will also feature the Singapore premiere of Sounds of Virtue by Li Bochan, SNYCO Co-concertmaster Koh Yu Jie and Zhonghu Principal Chen Ning will present Li Bochan’s Ode of King of Western Chu; guest musician Jacky Ng (suona) and Dizi Principal Ng Wei Xuan (dizi) will present Feng Xiaoquan’s Snow Mountain, and an attention-grabbing performance by Percussion Association of Singapore. Together with guest musicians Jacky Ng and the Percussion Association of Singapore, watch the SNYCO’s young musicians and composers as they regale the crowd with an instrumental feast at Tunes of Tomorrow.

Tunes of Tomorrow plays on 30th July 2022 at the SCO Concert Hall. Tickets available from SISTIC