Breaking boundaries: Temasek Polytechnic student bridges cultural gaps in Chinese orchestra

SINGAPORE – He understands only the most basic of Mandarin words – like lian (practise) and zhun bei (get ready) – but Muhammad Iman Mohamed Irfan has already performed solo parts on stage with a Chinese orchestra.

The 18-year-old is the only non-Chinese member of Temasek Polytechnic’s Chinese orchestra and the only bamboo flute, or dizi, player in the current cohort.  

He is helped by his conductor, who is used to communicating in Mandarin but makes an effort to repeat his instructions in English for Iman. 

When in doubt, Iman turns to his friends in the orchestra, who are “more than happy to help”, as well as the Chinese dictionary app Pleco. He picked up the language after joining the orchestra as a co-curricular activity (CCA) in 2024, his first year at the polytechnic. 

His passion for Chinese music began at the age of 12, when he stumbled upon a Chinese orchestra performance of Bai Niao Chao Feng (A Hundred Birds Paying Homage To The Phoenix) on YouTube.

“After I watched it, I really fell in love with the style, so I started listening to more and more (Chinese music),” he recalled.

Iman joined the concert band in Edgefield Secondary School, which did not offer Chinese orchestra as a CCA. For four years, he played the trumpet, developing an interest in wind instruments. 

By his upper secondary years, he had saved up enough money to buy his first dizi for $70. Subsequently, he added a $230 double-reeded horn, or suona, and a $100 vertical flute, or xiao, to his collection of wind instruments. 

By watching videos and playing by ear, Iman taught himself the three instruments.  

“I’m one of the few people I know who really enjoys traditional Chinese music. (My friends and family) knew about my passion for music and supported me all the way, even though it was something different for them.”

His family always cheers him on by attending his performances, said Iman, who is starting the second year of his chemical engineering course in April.

When he entered Temasek Polytechnic, Iman auditioned for a spot in the Chinese orchestra. After playing the three wind instruments, along with other orchestra instruments, he was assigned to the woodwind section. 

Second-year student Walter Yeo Boon Kai, 19, who is also in the woodwind section, was impressed by Iman when they first met.

“I asked him what he knew about Chinese culture and how much he had learnt, and I was very surprised,” Mr Yeo said.

Despite Iman’s background in music, he admitted that the transition from playing in a concert band to performing in a Chinese orchestra has been challenging.

In addition to the language barrier, he said that “everything is different – the instruments, the (music) genres, and my conductors’ personal ways of teaching”.  

Moreover, some of his friends in the orchestra were already skilled at playing their instruments, having participated in Chinese orchestras in primary or secondary school.

To catch up, Iman often sought help from them and practised difficult sections of the music repeatedly to improve his technique.

The efforts have paid off – he played multiple solo parts during the orchestra’s performances, one of which was the Chinese orchestra’s annual concert in February.  

His passion for traditional Chinese music has led him to explore Chinese opera and Chinese tea, in what was a “natural segue” for him.

However, his true love remains in music.

Iman hopes to inspire more people to join the Chinese orchestra at the school’s upcoming CCA fair.

“I would tell them about my story and how it doesn’t matter what background you come from, as long as you enjoy the music and have a passion for it,” he said.

“My dream is to join a professional Chinese orchestra in future, but even if that doesn’t work out, Chinese music will still be my passion.”