Coronavirus: Conductor doesn't let the music stop
Schools are closed, most workplaces are shut and people have been urged to stay home as stricter measures to curb the spread of Covid-19 kicked in last week. The Sunday Times finds out how Singaporeans are coping as the month-long circuit breaker period, which began on April 7 and lasts till May 4, enters its second week.
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Ding Yi Music Company's assistant conductor Dedric Wong at home with his four-year-old nephew Alexander Bristow. On his laptop screen is an online group chat with fellow musicians.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF DEDRIC WONG
DEDRIC WONG, 33, CONDUCTOR
It has been a while since Ding Yi Music Company's assistant conductor Dedric Wong, 33, last stepped on stage - but even a pandemic cannot stop the music.
Three times a week, Mr Wong and musicians from the Chinese chamber group conduct individual practice sessions together on WeChat from their various homes.
The performers - whose instruments range from guzheng to erhu and pipa - rehearse scales and etudes at their own pace, while Mr Wong listens in and offers feedback, for instance by correcting their intonation. To help the musicians get back to basics and hone their skills, he sets them weekly assignments and they send him a recording of themselves playing each week.
The music group also conducts lessons via Zoom video conferencing for students from the School of the Arts, who are preparing for a concert in July. Mr Wong sits in during these sessions too.
Mr Wong, whose group plans to post videos of past performances online, such as their multidisciplinary "Of Music" concert series, will also upload new content, such as a video of wellness or relaxation exercises accompanied by music.
Staying in with his family of seven has taken some getting used to. "I'm not a 'home person'. During the work-from-home period, I would sometimes work in cafes."
He has been teaching his four-year-old nephew do-re-mi and is reading a book on Buddhism.
The artist in him added: "Everyone is yearning to be back on stage."
