Singapore Chinese Orchestra begins 2024/2025 season with a twist on well-loved The Sisters’ Islands

SINGAPORE – Composer Wang Chenwei wrote The Sisters’ Islands over eight months when he was just a teenager at Raffles Junior College.

He recalls with a laugh in the VIP room at the Singapore Conference Hall, home to the Singapore Chinese Orchestra (SCO), in Shenton Way: “It took all the time I wasn’t paying attention in class. I actually have sketchbooks of the times I wasn’t interested and got an idea for the piece that I wrote down. But I should clarify, boys and girls, don’t try this at home, you should study for your exams.”

The 35-year-old wrote the work at his music teacher’s prompting for his twin classmates Clara and Sophy Tan, who both played the zhongruan, a Chinese four-stringed instrument.

His efforts paid off as the symphonic poem won the Singapore Composer Award for the then 17-year-old at the inaugural SCO International Competition for Chinese Orchestral Composition in 2006.

Since then, it has become a popular composition and will receive its 75th performance at the SCO’s Seamless, at the SCO Concert Hall on July 20.

The gala night kicks off the SCO’s 2024/2025 season. It is the second in a trilogy of seasons planned by SCO principal conductor Quek Ling Kiong, 57, since he took the position in January 2023.

He is giving the work a fresh spin by presenting it with Cultural Medallion recipient Osman Abdul Hamid’s Era Dance Theatre. It is the first time a full troupe of dancers will be performing to the music.

Quek says over Zoom: “I wanted to do something to attract a different audience. Rather than simply playing the music, and since the legend is from Malay culture, I thought, why not get a Malay dance group?”

Wang originally wrote the work for an orchestra first, without any soloists. In 2007, he reworked it into a ruan concerto for the Tan sisters to play solo parts.

He says: “I didn’t compose it with a dance in mind. Because I wanted to portray something uniquely Singaporean, I wanted it to be recognisable even without lyrics. I used gamelan-type instrumental textures to set up the backdrop of the Nusantara region, and when the sisters enter to perform the Asli dance, we know they are Malay.”

Legend has it that orphaned twin sisters Minah and Linah were forcefully separated when a pirate chief demanded to marry Linah. He took Linah away at dawn but a storm broke. Minah swam towards the pirate ship but drowned, and Linah joined her sister. The two islands where the sisters were said to have drowned were subsequently named Pulau Subar Laut (Big Sister Island) and Pulau Subar Darat (Little Sister Island).

Osman, 62, says at a VIP room at Singapore Conference Hall: “I listened to the music, read the story synopsis that the SCO sent over and began thinking about how I can create meaningful dance through the music.”

He also considered the visual elements of the performance. “There is one part where we will use long sheets of chiffon to simulate waves while dancers symbolise the softness of the sea. In chaotic parts where the pirates come, it will not simply be a fighting scene but more artistically done, alternating between slow and fast moments that allow the energy level to grow.”

Besides incorporating the Malay martial art form of silat into his choreography in his signature style, Osman hopes to include some stunt work involving dancers standing on one another’s shoulders and jumping off.

“It creates some excitement, but of course, safety is number one, and I’ll have to check if the SCO will allow this to happen on stage,” he adds.

Osman says: “Highlighting individual ethnic groups and showing how we all represent Singapore is something I keep close to my heart. It’s very important that we respect one another, especially going into a space and working together – it’s a huge responsibility.”

This intentionality with multicultural collaboration has been a constant since SCO began in 1997.

Quek says: “Whenever we travel, we get audience comments about how a Chinese orchestra from Singapore sounds different. Our tone colours, blended sounds and the repertoire we play incorporate non-Chinese musical essences and motifs. In our percussion section alone, we cover Chinese, Western, Malay and Indian percussion.

“We constantly have to upgrade, not limiting ourselves only to playing Chinese classical music.”

Book it / Seamless gala

Where: Singapore Chinese Orchestra Concert Hall, 7 Shenton Way
When: July 20, 7.30pm
Admission: From $20 to $80
Info:

str.sg/wasEU

Highlights of the SCO’s season

Tsung Yeh And SCO

SCO conductor emeritus Yeh Tsung will conduct three Singapore premieres performed in collaboration with suona soloist Liu Wenwen.

When: Aug 17, 7.30pm
Admission: $20 to $90
Info:

str.sg/ghpy

Yan Huichang And SCO

Settle in for the world premiere of Charms Of Hainan, the newest work by Cultural Medallion recipient Yan Huichang, among other recent compositions.

When: Nov 23 at 7.30pm
Admission: $20 to $90
Info:

str.sg/6UmX

Chamber Charms: Vibrant Strings II

SCO pipa principal Yu Jia will be playing the sitar in her first collaboration with Indian percussionist Joe Jayaveeran.

When: Feb 7, 2025 at 7.30pm
Admission: $30
Info:

str.sg/cBmA

Young Children’s Concert: Lost Voice, Found Rhythm: A Journey Of Self-Discovery With Ang Ku Kueh Girl

Guest conductor Lien Boon Hua takes families on a journey with the sparky adventurer Ang Ku Kueh Girl, as she discovers the world of Chinese music.

When: May 23, 2025 at 10.30am for group bookings; May 24, 2025 at 11am for the public
Admission: $30
Info:

str.sg/3aQ3C

Symphony Of Ink

Join in to honour Lim Tze Peng, the 103-year-old calligrapher and Cultural Medallion recipient in this latest in the Cultural Titans series, a collaboration between SCO and the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre to celebrate distinguished artists.

When: June 7, 2025 at 7.30pm
Admission: $20 to $80
Info:

str.sg/9sgp