Top dizi performers from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore will be performing at a concert during the three-day Singapore Dizi Festival making its debut tomorrow.

The concert, titled The World Of Dizi Virtuosos, will feature China- born Singapore dizi expert Zhan Yongming, world-renowned Chinese players Ma Di, Jiang Guoji and Qu Xiang, Taiwanese Lin Ku-jen and Choo Boon Chong from Hong Kong, among others.

Two dizi groups - the 18-member Tsun Lok Dizi Ensemble from Hong Kong and the Dicapella Dizi Ensemble comprising more than 15 award-winning young local soloists - will perform too.

Well-known Singaporean Indian flautist Ghanavenothan Retnam will make a guest appearance at the concert to be staged at the Singapore Conference Hall on Sunday.

The Singapore Dizi Festival is organised by the year-old Singapore Chinese Music Federation and the Singapore Dizi Society.

Professor Zhan, 58, a federation council member and founder president of the dizi society set up 14 years ago, says the three-day festival showcases the best dizi, or bamboo flute, players and music from the region.

"The festival is the first major event presented by the federation and I am glad it coincides with Singapore's Golden Jubilee this year," he adds.

Festival director Tan Qinglun, 27, says: "More than 70 dizi players are involved in the festival, which we spent a year to plan."

Other highlights of the festival include a concert on Saturday in which Prof Zhan, a post-graduate dizi tutor at the Shanghai Music Conservatory, will lead more than 20 of his best students from Singapore, China and Taiwan.

There will also be master classes conducted on the dizi's practice and peformance and its role in the Chinese orchestra; a panel discussion on the development of dizi music in the region; and a workshop on the construction and tuning of the dizi by famous Shanghai dizi maker Wang Yiliang.