S in g a p or e S y m p h o n y orc he s t r a
16 & 17 November 2019 Victoria Concert Hall
What We’re Playing Today Excerpts from:
TCHAIKOVSKY
“Trepak” (Russian Dance) from The Nutcracker
BEETHOVEN
“Storm” from Symphony No. 6 “Pastoral” “Shepherd’s Song” from Symphony No. 6 “Pastoral” “Ode to Joy” from Symphony No. 9 “Choral”
MARIO DUSCHENES Organized Chaos KABALEVSKY
Comedians’ Galop
KHATCHATURIAN
Sabre Dance
GRIEG
Morning Mood
DUKAS
Fanfare from La Péri
ROSSINI
William Tell Overture
PACHELBEL
Canon in D
DVOŘÁK
Slavonic Dance No. 1, Op. 46
Platypus Theatre’s Emily Saves the Orchestra Written and Directed by Peter Duschenes Designed by Cathy Stubington Produced by Michael Duschenes Performed by Danielle Desormeaux, Peter Duschenes and Amelia Griffin Stage Manager: Wendy Rockburn
S ing a p or e S y mp hon y Or c he s t r a
J O S HU A TAN
HELLO!
Singaporean conductor Joshua Tan’s rise to prominence on the international scene has been marked by successful debuts in Carnegie Hall, Philharmonie Berlin, Mariinsky Hall, Bunkamura, Shanghai, Beijing and Taiwan. He was featured as the top Singaporean musical talent in 2009 by Lianhe Zaobao. Joshua has also won numerous awards and scholarships, including the Second Prize of the 2008 Dimitris Mitropoulos International Competition, Bruno Walter Memorial Foundation Award, NAC-Shell Scholarship, SSO/ MOE Scholarship and he is the first-ever recipient of the Charles Schiff Conducting Prize from The Juilliard School for outstanding achievement. In 2011, Joshua received the Young Artist Award of Singapore.
The Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) was born in 1979 - the orchestra first started playing music 40 years ago! We have many musicians. Some play string instruments (like violin and cello), wind instruments (like flute and trumpet) and percussion (like drums and cymbals). At the orchestra, we want to make beautiful music that will touch your heart and make your life more colourful. The SSO usually plays in a concert hall like this one you’re sitting in. But we want to show everyone how beautiful classical music is, so sometimes we have concerts in schools near your home. Sometimes we even play in the Botanic Gardens you can have a picnic while listening to the music! Our big concerts are held at the Esplanade Concert Hall - the giant durian! That’s a big concert hall that can fit 1,800 people. But when we want to play small pieces of chamber music or when we play fun music for everybody or for families like yours, we will come back to the beautiful Victoria Concert Hall, our beloved Home of the SSO.
conductor
Adept with film/multimedia, he is a Disneyapproved conductor and gave the Asian premiere of Fantasia. Joshua has also conducted for the BBC’s Planet Earth Series. In opera and ballet, Joshua has conducted La traviata, Tosca, Rigoletto, Der fliegende Holländer, Lohengrin, Carmen, Don Giovanni, Manon Lescaut, Madama Butterfly, Così fan tutte, Swan Lake, Giselle and was also cover conductor for Christoph Eschenbach and Lorin Maazel. Joshua is presently Associate Conductor of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and Principal Conductor of the Singapore National Youth Orchestra. Joshua has studied with leading conductors James DePreist, Charles Dutoit, David Zinman and Kurt Masur and is a graduate of The Juilliard School and the Eastman School of Music (High Distinction).
Pe ter Dus c he ne s
artistic director, writer and actor
P l at y p us T he at r e Since 1989, almost one million young audience members have been introduced to classical music through Platypus Theatre. After more than 650 performances with more than 75 orchestras worldwide, Platypus has established itself as one of North America’s premiere music education theatre companies. Original and engaging storylines are presented in an intelligent and interactive way, with music always taking the lead role. Children laugh, sing and empathize with the characters while learning musical concepts, styles, and much more. In 2006, one of Platypus’ most cherished productions How the Gimquat Found her Song was produced for TV and went on to win several awards including Best Children’s Program at the prestigious Banff World Television Festival. In 1991, Platypus was the subject of a nationally broadcast documentary on CTV, followed by a PBS full-performance broadcast in 2000. During its 25th anniversary year, Platypus premiered its eighth original production, Presto, Mambo!, in partnership with four orchestras across Canada. Other Platypus Productions include Emily Saves the Orchestra, Rhythm in your Rubbish, Bach to the Future, Charlotte and the Music-Maker, Flicker of Light on a Winter’s Night, and Peter and the Wolf.
Thousands of young classical music fans have Peter to thank for introducing them to symphonic music. He co-founded the Platypus Theatre touring company in 1989 to make orchestral music accessible for youth, and more than three quarters of a million concert-goers have benefitted from his creativity. As an award-winning playwright, Peter’s writing credits include all eight Platypus productions and the television adaptation of How the Gimquat Found Her Song. In addition to his roles in Platypus shows, he has also acted and directed with companies across Canada and the United States. When Peter isn’t busy helping the Gimquat find her song, he and his wife Sarah are helping their children, Magda and Theo, find their socks.
Da nie l l e De s or me a u x actor
Born and raised in Northern Ontario, Danielle studied Music at Queen’s University and graduated in 1984. She began her acting career in 1991 in Ottawa. Film and television credits include: How the Gimquat Found Her Song (2007 Award of Excellence – Accolade Television Awards, 2008 Best Children’s Program – Banff World Television Festival), the Oscar-winning Affliction (dir. Paul Schrader), Stardom (dir. Denis Arcand), The War of 1812, Big Sugar (dir. Brian McKenna). Some of her favourite stage projects include: The Seagull (dir. Peter Hinton – Segal Centre for Performing Arts, The Comedy of Errors (dir. Peter Hinton - NAC/Centaur), Umloüt, MöcShplat (dir. Alain Goulem - Clowns Gone Bad), National Capital/e Nationale (dir. Robert Lepage – NAC), as well as her own bilingual adaptation of The Anger In Ernest and Ernestine (dir. Alain Goulem – Hudson Village Theatre). Danielle has been a member of Platypus Theatre’s touring company since 1997, performing theatre for young audiences with symphony orchestras across the Canada, the U.S. and South-East Asia.
A me l i a G r if f in dancer
Amelia is one of the more graceful platypuses in the puddle, although she plays one of the most fearsome characters: THE MONSTER Cacopholus, (and Timpy and Melody) in Emily Saves the Orchestra. Amelia also performs, choreographs, and is a rehearsal director in professional productions across North America and the UK. She is an independent Ashtanga Yoga instructor and Movement Therapist and as an avid supporter of inclusion, she is enjoying being Artistic Assistant for integrated dance company Propeller Dance. When she isn’t dancing and prancing she loves to frolic and swim in the mountains, rivers, and lakes in Canada.
W e ndy R oc k b u r n
stage manager Want to know who and what goes where and when and how? Wendy’s the one who has it well under control. Since 2005, Wendy has expertly juggled all of the details for Platypus Theatre productions, from monster’s heads to lighting cues. Not only does she manage the Platypus touring company’s stage, but she also works with theatres all over Eastern and Central Canada. And as often as possible, she jets off to far places to photograph the world, most recently in the far reaches of Mongolia. Wendy has also been known to skydive over the desert in Namibia or outrace a gaucho in Argentina. Her favorite part about Platypus shows is watching the kids follow every turn in the story in rapt attention. And the climax of the Gimquat still makes her cry, even after all of these years. No wonder we’re wild about Wendy!
SSO Mus ic i a n s Joshua Tan Associate Conductor Andrew Litton Principal Guest Conductor Choo Hoey Conductor Emeritus Lan Shui Conductor Laureate Eudenice Palaruan Choral Director Wong Lai Foon Choirmaster FIRST VIOLIN Lynnette Seah~ Co-Concertmaster Kong Zhao Hui* Associate Concertmaster Chan Yoong-Han Fixed Chair Cao Can* Chen Da Wei Duan Yu Ling Foo Say Ming Jin Li Kong Xianlong Cindy Lee Karen Tan William Tan Wei Zhe Ye Lin* Zhang Si Jing* SECOND VIOLIN Michael Loh Associate Principal Hai-Won Kwok Fixed Chair Nikolai Koval* Chikako Sasaki* Margit Saur Shao Tao Tao Wu Man Yun* Xu Jue Yi* Yeo Teow Meng Yin Shu Zhan* Zhao Tian*
VIOLA Zhang Manchin Principal Guan Qi Associate Principal Gu Bing Jie* Fixed Chair Marietta Ku Luo Biao Julia Park Shui Bing Janice Tsai Wang Dandan Yang Shi Li CELLO Ng Pei-Sian Principal Yu Jing Associate Principal Guo Hao Fixed Chair Chan Wei Shing Jamshid Saydikarimov* Song Woon Teng Wang Yan Wang Zihao* Wu Dai Dai Zhao Yu Er DOUBLE BASS Yang Zheng Yi Associate Principal Karen Yeo Fixed Chair Olga Alexandrova Jacek Mirucki Guennadi Mouzyka Wang Xu FLUTE Jin Ta Principal Evgueni Brokmiller Associate Principal Roberto Alvarez Miao Shanshan
BASS CLARINET Tang Xiao Ping Assistant Principal BASSOON Wang Xiaoke Principal Liu Chang Associate Principal Christoph Wichert Zhao Ying Xue CONTRA BASSOON Zhao Ying Xue Assistant Principal HORN Han Chang Chou Principal Gao Jian Associate Principal Jamie Hersch Associate Principal Marc-Antoine Robillard Associate Principal Hoang Van Hoc TRUMPET Jon Paul Dante Principal David Smith Associate Principal Lau Wen Rong Sergey Tyuteykin TROMBONE Allen Meek Principal Damian Patti Associate Principal Samuel Armstrong BASS TROMBONE Wang Wei Assistant Principal Tuba Tan Yao Cong^
PICCOLO Roberto Alvarez Assistant Principal
TIMPANI Christian Schiøler Principal Jonathan Fox Associate Principal
OBOE Rachel Walker Principal Pan Yun Associate Principal Carolyn Hollier Elaine Yeo
PERCUSSION Jonathan Fox Principal Mark Suter Associate Principal Mario Choo Lim Meng Keh
COR ANGLAIS Elaine Yeo Associate Principal
HARP Gulnara Mashurova Principal
CLARINET Ma Yue Principal Li Xin Associate Principal Liu Yoko Tang Xiao Ping
* With deep appreciation to the Rin Collection for their generous loan of string instruments ~ Lynnette Seah performs on a J.B. Guadagnini of Milan, c. 1750, donated by the National Arts Council, Singapore, with the support of Far East Organization and Lee Foundation ^ Musician on temporary contract Musicians listed alphabetically by family name rotate their seats on a per programme basis.
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