The Lunar New Year is a time of reunion, celebration, and hopeful beginnings. At the Go Local! Happy Chinese New Year Concert, Ding Yi Music Company ushered in the festive season with warmth, vitality, and musical flair. Presented in collaboration with the China Cultural Centre in Singapore, the evening brought together Ding Yi’s musicians alongside guest artists from Hong Kong’s Windpipe Chinese Music Ensemble and the Charisma Ensemble, creating a vibrant cross-regional celebration of Chinese music traditions.

Even before the first note sounded, the celebratory mood had already been set. Earlier festivities included a lively lo hei, and the audience entered the concert hall in high spirits. When the orchestra finally took the stage, Ding Yi did what it does best: make an entrance.

The concert opened with Overture: Music Roaming Around the Bay, a rousing start that immediately filled the hall with energy. It felt almost as if a fiery horse were galloping through the city, blessing it with prosperity and momentum for the year ahead. The orchestra’s confident sound reminded the audience why Ding Yi has earned its reputation for excellence. They do not need elaborate staging or theatrics; the music alone carries the evening.

Resident Conductor Wong De Li, Dedric briefly addressed the audience with warm Lunar New Year wishes. His charisma and easy rapport with listeners have long been a hallmark of Ding Yi performances, and here again he proved to be the thread that held the evening’s diverse programme together.

The concert’s emotional centre arrived with Blooming Flower, featuring Ding Yi’s erhu soloist Chen Ning. The piece began gently, unfolding slowly like the petals of a flower opening to the morning sun. Chen Ning’s erhu captured this sense of emergence beautifully. There was patience in the phrasing, a careful shaping of sound that suggested the quiet determination required for anything to truly bloom. The orchestra supported her with delicate textures: light percussion, including tambourines, added a playful shimmer, while winds and the piercing brightness of the suona expanded the sense of space around the solo line.

By the end, the music seemed to suggest something deeper than the simple image of a flower. With time and perseverance, growth becomes strength. The erhu’s final phrases carried a maturity that felt both reflective and quietly triumphant.

After such emotional intensity, the programme turned to tradition with Autumn Moon Over a Calm Lake. The piece offered a moment of calm elegance, allowing the audience to simply sit back and absorb its serene beauty. Guest musician Ho Siu-cheong performed the solo on the xiao, its mellow timbre floating gently above the orchestra. The performance had a quiet, contemplative quality, like watching moonlight ripple across still water.

Energy returned with The Bamboo and the Green Pine, featuring guest soloists Xue Qing and Wang Yan. Standing side by side, the two instruments, daruan and erhu, seemed almost like twin sisters preparing to take on the world. Their interplay had the excitement of a friendly duel. The rich orchestral backing added weight to the exchange, with the double bass and cello grounding the texture while the guzheng provided a shimmering constant presence. The two soloists sparred and responded like seasoned martial artists, each phrase answered with equal skill and flair.

The next piece, Contempo, made striking use of percussion. The drums both kept time and shaped the rhythmic momentum, guiding the ensemble through shifting tempos and dynamic surges. Under Dedric’s direction, the orchestra navigated these changes with precision and dramatic flair.

The concert’s mood lightened further with the appearance of Gao Mei Gui, whose vocal numbers brought a different dimension to the programme. Pop standards such as the beloved emotional ballad《小幸运》 and high energy《我》added a cheerful pop sensibility rarely heard in Ding Yi’s usual repertoire.

It was also a meaningful reunion. Gao Mei Gui was once part of the Ding Yi orchestra before moving into her broadcasting and singing career. Seeing her return to perform with the ensemble added a touching layer of nostalgia. The orchestra adapted seamlessly to the role of backing ensemble, demonstrating once again its versatility and musical sensitivity.

Appropriately, the concert concluded with 《祝福你》 a fitting finale for the Lunar New Year season. Instead of the more commonly heard Cantonese version, the song was performed in Mandarin, offering a fresh take on the well-loved melody. As the final notes rang out, the message was clear: blessings not only for the audience, but for everyone in the year ahead.

With joy, reunion, and music filling the hall, the concert proved to be a wonderful way to begin the new year. And with Ding Yi approaching its 20th anniversary next year, there is clearly much more to look forward to. For now, the message of the night lingered in the air: prosperity, happiness, and perhaps most importantly: Huat ah!

Photo Credit: Ding Yi Music Company

Go Local! Happy Chinese New Year Concert played on 6th March 2026 at the China Cultural Centre Theatre. More information available here