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Established in 2007, Ding Yi Music Company is Singapore’s most prestigious Chinese chamber ensemble and the creator of two major Chinese music events: the Ding Yi Chinese Chamber Music Festival and the Composium, an international composition competition and symposium. The ensemble is made up of a group of accomplished Chinese instrumentalists who have trademarked Singapore Chinese chamber music with their distinctive approach to music-making and dedication to showcasing a vast repertoire that ranges from traditional Chinese music to contemporary interpretations and cross-genre works.
Ding Yi 鼎藝團 will be represented by the following members at this Canadian debut concert:
Fred Chan 陳宏偉 – erhu 二胡 (concert master 首席)
Ng Hsien Han 黃顯行 – dizi 笛子 (soloist 獨奏)
Chua Yew Kok 蔡友國 – pipa 琵琶
Tan Jie Qing 陳潔卿 – yangin 揚琴
Soh Swee Kiat 蘇瑞杰 – sheng 笙
Yvonne Tay 鄭怡雯 – zheng 箏
Cheong Kah Yiong 張家瑒 – percussion 打擊樂
Wong De Li, Dedric 黃德勵 – conductor 指揮
Dr. Ng Hsien Han 黃顯行 – dizi soloist (Ding Yi)
Dr. Ng leads Dicapella, the only dizi ensemble in Singapore. Ng began to study the dizi at the age of 13. His mentors included Lee Heng Quey (Singapore Chinese Orchestra – SCO), Zhan Yong Ming, and Yin Zhi Yang (Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts). Ng has performed as a soloist with the SCO and the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts Symphonic Wind Ensemble. Ng won the second prize (first prize vacant) at the National Chinese Music Competition (dizi category) produced by the National Arts Council in 2014. In 2017, Ng was awarded the prestigious SUTD President Graduate Scholarship to carry out his music research.
Wong De Li, Dedric 黃德勵 – conductor 指揮 (Ding Yi)
Wong De Li, Dedric aspired to be a conductor in his teens, and his interest was ignited again by Dr Tay Teow Kiat, the renowned Chinese music educator and Singapore Cultural Medallion recipient. With his master’s degree in orchestral conducting from the China Conservatory of Music in Beijing, under the tutelage of renowned Professor Yang Youqing and guidance from conducting maestro and Music Director of Singapore Chinese Orchestra (SCO) Tsung Yeh, Wong is devoted to bring Ding Yi to new heights of artistic excellence as a leading organization representing Singaporean music. In 2013, Wong was selected to participate in the conducting masterclass of maestros Prof Zhang Guoyong and Qu Chunquan, hosted by the Taipei Chinese Orchestra. In 2015, he was selected to attend Tsung Yeh conducting workshop, produced by the SCO. As a 2014 National Arts Council (NAC) Arts Scholarship recipient and a two-time recipient of the Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan Arts and Cultural Bursary in 2004 and 2006, Wong has performed in many countries, such as China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Cambodia. In 2016, Wong was appointed as the conductor of the Cultural Symphony Orchestra and was featured as an outstanding NAC scholar in the 2016 Straits Times Scholars Choice.
composer Alice Ping Yee Ho introducing her composition Four Dragons
Rising Dragon, Soaring Merlion: Sound of Dragon Ensemble & Ding Yi Music Company 溫「新」情緣
Friday May 26, 2023 at the Annex (823 Seymour St. Vancouver)
7pm pre-concert talk with Wong De Li, Dedric (Ding Yi conductor) & Alice Ping Yee Ho (composer)
8pm concert
Buy Tickets 購票:
$19.99 regular (Early Bird $15 by May 15, 2023),
$15 students/seniors/children,
free for children under 12
Vancouver’s Sound of Dragon Ensemble presents a concert on May 26 at The Annex with special guests from Singapore, the Ding Yi Music Company. They are performing a program of music written for the combination of Chinese and Western instruments by Canadian, Singaporean, and Chinese composers. This concert is Singapore’s prestigious Chinese chamber ensemble Ding Yi Music Company’s Canadian debut. Taiwan’s internationally acclaimed conductor Chih Sheng Chen and Ding Yi’s conductor Dedric Wong will share the podium to lead the ensembles.
While the dragon represents Asian heritage, the merlion, a mythical creature with a lion head and fish body, is a symbol for Singapore, referring to the city’s origin as a fishing village and its original name — Singapura, meaning lion city. “Rising Dragon, Soaring Merlion” is the meeting of two world-class chamber ensembles of Chinese roots from Vancouver and Singapore!
The concert will present an exciting program performed by the joined force of the two ensembles. Alice Ping Yee Ho‘s dramatic “Four Dragons” draws on an ancient tale deeply rooted in Chinese mythology, folklore, and culture. The four dragons in the Eastern Sea scooped up sea water and sprayed rain from heaven to save people from a drought. Then they turned themselves into four rivers – Black Dragon River, Yellow River, Yantze River, and Pearl River, to nurture the people on this land. Farshid Samandari‘s “sine verbis” symbolizes the effort to communicate against various types of censorship. Moshe Denburg‘s “Ocean of Tears” is a sonic picture of sadness and reflection written during the pandemic. Jordan Nobles‘ “Foreign Oceans” depicts an imagined underwater world. Jian Min Wang‘s Dream of Angels is a quintet of Chinese instruments. The thought-provoking melody depicts the graceful movements of a female dancer. Nixia Li’s The Seven Sages refers to China’s seven scholars from 200 A.D. They were known to gather in the bamboo forest to sing, play musical instruments, and recite poetry that criticized the government. Chenwei Wang‘s “Winds of Affinity” is a double concerto featuring Ding Yi dizi soloist Ng Hsien Han and Sound of Dragon flutist Paolo Bortolussi. The piece depicts an encounter between two musicians whose friendship gradually blossoms. Chenyao Li’s The Allegory speaks of the passing of time, history, and personal stories.
Repertoire曲目:
“Four Dragons” (2020) – Alice Ping Yee Ho (ON)
《四天龍》– 何冰頤 (多倫多)作曲
“The Ocean of Tears” (2021) – Moshe Denburg (BC)
《淚海》－ 莫諧．丹伯格作曲
“sine verbis” (2021) – Farshid Samandari (BC)
《無語》－ 法敘德．薩門達利作曲
“Foreign Oceans” (2021) – Jordan Nobles (BC)
《奇幻海洋》－ 喬登．諾伯斯作曲
“Sound of Dragon” (2014) – Lan Tung (BC/Taiwan)
《龍吟滄海》－ 董籃作曲
“Dream of Angels” (2004) – Jian Min Wang (China)
《天使之夢》－ 王建民作曲
“The Seven Sages” (2018) – Li Nixia (China)
《七賢風骨》－ 李霓霞作曲
“Winds of Affinity” (2016) – Chenwei Wang (Singapore), dizi & flute double concerto
《笛緣》－ 王辰威作曲, 笛子與長笛協奏曲
“The Allegory” (2015) – Chenyao Li (China)
《聽古》－李辰瑶作曲
The Sound of Dragon Ensemble is dedicated to creating/presenting new works for the combination of Chinese and western instruments and presenting contemporary music of Chinese roots/influences to the world stage. Established in 2015, the Sound of Dragon Ensemble’s instrumentation has been carefully selected by pairing Chinese and western instruments in the families of bowed strings, plucked strings, and winds, completed by a collection of percussion instruments from both the east and the west. The ensemble’s repertoire represents original Canadian intercultural art music and breaks down genre boundaries, crossing over Chinese traditions, contemporary music, world fusion, and improvisation.
The 2023 lineup of the Sound of Dragon Ensemble 龍吟滄海樂團 includes the following:
Charlie Lui 呂畇初 – dizi 笛子
Paolo Bortolussi – flute 長笛 (soloist 獨奏)
Lan Tung 董籃 – erhu 二胡 & vocal (soloist 獨唱)
Zhimin Yu 于志敏 – ruan 阮
Christopher Blaber – percussion 打擊樂
Itamar Erez – guitar 吉他
Sungyong Lim 林成容 – cello 大提琴
Mark Ferris – violin 小提琴
Dailin Hsieh 謝岱霖 – zheng 箏
Taiwan’s prominent conductor Chih-Sheng Chen 陳志昇 (Little Giant Chamber Orchestra 小巨人絲竹樂團音樂總監) will once again guest conduct the ensemble.
Dr. Paolo Bortolussi – flute soloist (SOD)
Dedicated to championing music by living composers, Dr. Bortolussi has premiered over 150 works for flute, including concerti written for him by Dorothy Chang, Jocelyn Morlock, and Aaron Gervais. Paolo is co-artistic director of the Nu:BC Collective, a new music ensemble in residence at the University of British Columbia. Beyond Shadows, Nu:BC’s debut CD, as well as Paolo’s recent solo release Israfel have received multiple nominations at the Western Canadian Music Awards. Raised in Halifax, Dr. Bortolussi is a graduate of the University of Ottawa and the Indiana University School of Music. He serves on the faculties of the University of British Columbia, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, and Trinity Western University, and has presented masterclasses across North America as well as in Korea and Taiwan. Paolo is principal flutist of the Vancouver Island Symphony where he is the driving force behind the Canadian Concerto Project, which has commissioned, premiered, and recorded five new concerti by Canadian composers for principal players of the orchestra.
Chih Sheng Chen 陳志·昇 – conductor 指揮 (SOD)
Chen is active on the international stage as a conductor, educator, and arts administrator, crossing between the disciplines of Chinese music, cross-cultural music, and western contemporary music, and in both orchestral and chamber music settings. He founded Taiwan’s Little Giant Chinese Chamber Orchestra (gCO) in 2000 and has produced/conducted over one thousand concerts, including the orchestra’s national and international tours and full seasons at Taiwan’s National Concert Hall.
Chen has been a guest conductor in Europe (Atlas Ensemble, Amsterdam), Canada (Sound of Dragon Ensemble, Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra, Toronto Chinese Orchestra, Edmonton Chinese Orchestra, BC Chinese Orchestra, BC Chinese Ensemble, Dim Sum Ensemble); China (Wuxu Chinese Orchestra, Zhejiang Song and Dance Theatre Chinese Orchestra, Heilongjiang Song and Dance Theatre Chinese Orchestra, Shenfeng Ensemble of Beijing Central Conservatory, Henan Ping Ding Mountain Chinese Orchestra, and Beijing, Chongqing, Chengdu, Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Henan, Guangdong, Jilin Chinese Orchestra), South Asia (Singapore’s Ding Yi Music Company), and Taiwan (Quanta Philharmonic Orchestra, Evergreen Symphony, Taiwan Chinese Orchestra, Kaoshiung Chinese Orchestra). He has been frequently invited to conduct at various universities and schools throughout China, including the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. From 2004 to 2008, Chen was the Associate Conductor of the Taipei Chinese Youth Orchestra and Teachers Orchestra. He was the executive director of the Quanta Philharmonic Orchestra.
Chen started his musical training as an erhu (Chinese violin) player at the age of ten. He holds a master degree in conducting from Taiwan’s Fu Jen Catholic University and a Ph. D from the Institute of Microbiology and Biochemistry of the National Taiwan University.
composer Moshe Denburg speaks about his composition Ocean of Tears
