Tapestry Of Hope

Tan Wee-Hsin viola

Azariah Tan piano

Lillian Wang violin

5 July, Sunday, 7.30pm School of the Arts (SOTA) Concert Hall Mozart Brahms Intermission Beethoven

String Duo No. 1 in G major, K. 423 (17 min) Viola Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 120 (23 min) (20 min) ‘Kreutzer’ Sonata in A major, Op. 47 (40 min)

Guest of Honour: Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon Former Minister of State, Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports

PRESENTED BY

SUPPORTED BY Ar ts & Disability

ABOUT THE PERFORMERS

TAN WEE-HSIN Singaporean violist Wee-Hsin has been a full-time musician with the SSO since 2001. He has also performed with the Chicago Symphony, Rochester and Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestras and is active in the local music scene as a much sought-after chamber musician and guest principal violist.

Aside from his busy performance commitments, WeeHsin is also an avid educator and pedagogue. He is currently conductor of Hwa Chong String Ensemble and was previously adjunct faculty at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts and Resident Conductor of the Singapore National Youth Orchestra. He also works closely with charity groups like Hong Kong Music for Our Young to further the cause of music in the lives of the underprivileged. WeeHsin’s work with several of these groups over the years has reached out to benefit charity and community organizations such as Very Special Arts (VSA) Singapore and the National Kidney Foundation (NKF), among others.

A recipient of the SSO/MOE scholarship, Wee-Hsin holds Doctor and Master of Music degrees from Northwestern University and graduated from the Eastman School with Highest Distinction. His principal teachers include Lim Tze Chian, George Taylor, Bradley Lubman (conducting) and Roland Vamos, whom Tan served as Teaching Assistant.

AZARIAH TAN As a National Arts Council-Conservatory scholar and President’s Young Performer, Azariah graduated from the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music with first-class honours in 2011, and obtained two Master of Music degrees in Piano Performance and Chamber Music from the University of Michigan in 2013. Diagnosed with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss from a young age of 4, he is now working towards his Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance with Logan Skelton at the Rackham Graduate School.

Azariah was a recipient of the 2009 VSA International Young Soloists Award in Washington, D.C., the NUSS Achievement Award for Outstanding Achievement in 2009 and 2011, and full scholarships from the University of Michigan, National Arts Council of Singapore and the Yamaha Music Foundation of Japan. He clinched top spots in The American Prize 2012 Solo and Concerto categories, the

ABOUT THE PERFORMERS New York International Artists Association Piano Competition and the American Protégé International Concerto Competition in 2014, and the “Laureate” title at the WPTA International Piano Competition 2013.

Grateful for the opportunities that life has offered him, Azariah gives back by performing at events that support voluntary welfare organisations such as Very Special Arts Singapore, the Singapore Association for the Deaf, the Disabled People’s Association, Children’s Cancer Foundation and Community Chest. In his spare time during his summer vacations, he examines and conducts masterclasses for students under the Music Education Program on a voluntary basis. The 2014 Ten Outstanding Young People (TOYP) Singapore programme selected Azariah as an Honouree (Personal Improvement and/or Accomplishment) in recognition of his outstanding achievement and exemplary work toward the betterment of himself and his community.

LILLIAN WANG Born in Taiwan and raised in the USA, Lillian began her violin studies at the age of six. Under the tutelage of her primary teacher Jennifer Bellusci, Lillian received full scholarships from the Eastman School of Music and Northwestern University, where she obtained her Certificate in Performance as well as Bachelor and Master’s degrees. Lillian studied with Charles Castleman, Ilya Kaler and Gerardo Ribeiro (whom Lillian served as Teaching Assistant) and played in masterclasses by Lin ChoLiang, Robert Lipsett, William Preucil, Zvi Zeitlin, Robert Chen, Oleh Krysa, and the Ying Quartet, among others.

Before joining the Singapore Symphony Orchestra in 2010, Lillian was First Violinist of the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, Concertmaster of the YMF Debut Orchestra (Los Angeles), Principal Second of the Chicago Civic Orchestra, and a substitute with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Chicagoland Pops and Elgin Symphony Orchestras. Her teaching appointments include faculty at Northwestern University Music Academy, UCSI University in Kuala Lumpur and currently School of the Arts Singapore. While in Kuala Lumpur, Lillian also directed the Junior Violin Program, an outreach programme developed by the MPO to nurture and support young local musicians.

Alongside her orchestra and teaching commitments, Lillian has appeared as a soloist with the California Philharmonic in a live broadcast performance and with the Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra as a concerto competition prize winner. Chamber performances include those with the MPO Chamber Soloists in Kuala Lumpur and Tokyo, MPO and SSO Chamber Concerts, and others in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Cleveland, Seoul and Hong Kong.

ABOUT VERY SPECIAL ARTS SINGAPORE

“A world where people with disabilities are empowered through the arts, contribute to and integrate with the community” Launched in September 1993 by Singapore’s Ambassador-at-Large and VSA Patron, Professor Tommy Koh, Very Special Arts Singapore is a local charity organisation dedicated to providing opportunities for people with disabilities to be involved in the arts. For the past 22 years, VSA Singapore has been running successful art programmes, workshops, competitions and art exhibitions for the special needs community, creating awareness among members of the public of their immense talent and resilience. Through our programmes, we promote the educational, social, rehabilitative and therapeutic benefits of visual, performing and literary arts; integrate individuals with disabilities into mainstream society through the arts; and assist them in obtaining financial independence through arts and arts creation.

Very Special Arts Singapore Ltd Blk 133 Bedok North Avenue 3 #01-138 Singapore 460133 T: 6448 6275 F: 6441 6403

general@vsa.org.sg

www.vsa.org.sg

VSA Art Space @ Changi 5 Changi Business Park Central 1 #03-01 Changi City Point Singapore 486038 T: 6604 9431

www.facebook.com/vsa.singapore

We would like to express our sincerest gratitude to Azariah, Wee-Hsin and Lillian, without whom this concert would not have been possible. Thank you for your generosity and kindness.

Our heartfelt appreciation also goes out to the following for their support in making this concert a success: master of ceremonies Bryan Lim; photographers Ho Lai Mun and Jeffery Teo; videographer Edwin Tan; crew Ng Chin Thin; and other volunteers and supporters of VSA Singapore for their time and effort.