VCHpresents Organ: Composing For The Organ

COMPOSING FOR THE ORGAN 27 AUG 2021, 7:30PM VICTORIA CONCERT HALL SPONSORED BY

PROGRAMME Margaret Chen, host Robert Casteels, composer Chen Zhangyi composer Chok Kerong, composer Eudenice Palaruan, composer Phoon Yu, organ

Opening by Margaret Chen

3 mins

CHEN ZHANGYI First look at the pipe organ: diversity of sounds and possibilities

20 mins

ROBERT CASTEELS Organists at work: organ in symphonic formation, chamber music and arrangements

20 mins

EUDENICE PALARUAN Imagined community: stories, influences and participation in pipe organ music

20 mins

CHOK KERONG The Jazz perspective: music from the keyboards

20 mins

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS Click on this link to submit your question

10 mins

TALK DURATION: approximately 2 hours (with no break)

MARGARET CHEN host Margaret Chen is an organist, an organ consultant and a lecturer in Music History and Liturgy. She received her training at Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, where she earned a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree and a Doctor of Music degree, all with highest distinction. Chen has played in many concert halls and churches in Asia, the US and Europe. In the past few years, she has performed in Suntory Hall, Tokyo; Wuhan Qintai Concert Hall, China; Cologne Cathedral, Germany; Overture Center, Madison, WI; and many others. Hall, Wuhan, China; and the Overture Center in Madison, WI, USA. She was organ consultant for the Victoria Concert Hall, The Esplanade Concert Hall, Singapore; Dewan Filharmonik Petronas, Kuala Lumpur; The Recital Hall of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, China; Qintai Concert Hall, Wuhan, China; and the Overture Center in Madison, WI, USA.

CHEN ZHANGYI composer The music of Chen Zhangyi has been described as “music from a voice of the future” by BBC Radio 3 and “a breath of fresh air on our musical landscape” by The Straits Times.

Nature is an important source of inspiration in his instrumental and orchestral works, such as Vanda, Rain Tree and Of An Ethereal Symphony. In his dramatic works such as the chamber opera cycle A Singapore Trilogy and acapella opera Panic Love, he often explores the musical representation of Singaporean culture. Chen teaches Analysis and Composition at Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music. As a violist, he performs with Red Dot Baroque. www.chenzhangyi.com

ROBERT CASTEELS composer Provider of artistic content summarizes at best the prolific activities of Dr Robert Casteels.

Renowned composer, conductor, educator, pianist, educator and researcher, he believes that these roles are fundamentally interrelated in the kaleidoscope of activities that is music making.

Born in Belgium, since taking up permanent residency in Singapore in 1996 and citizenship in 2007, Robert has contributed tirelessly to Singapore’s music scene.

Robert has written a growing corpus of 140 musical works that defy classification because they cross cultures, genres and disciplines.

Fifteen of his works are written for or include the pipe organ. At the age of 16, Robert was appointed principal organist of the Saint Dennis Church in Brussels, a position he held for ten years until he went abroad to study

orchestral conducting. Robert has conducted more than 50 professional orchestras in a repertoire of 600 works ranging from the early classics to contemporary music, from symphonic to vocal and dance repertoire.

A passionate educationist, Robert is noted for his pedagogical work in piano, analysis, composition and conducting. www.robertcasteels.com

EUDENICE PALARUAN composer

CHOK KERONG composer

Eudenice Palaruan studied organ music at at the Berlin Church Music School. He taught composition at the Asian Institute for Liturgy and Music and the University of the Philippines.

He was the former resident conductor and composer of the International Bamboo Organ Festival. As a composer and arranger, Eudenice introduces works that exhibit the indigenous Filipino and Asian sound.

In addition, he often gives lectures on non-Western vocal aesthetics and church music in the Asian context.

Chok Kerong has established himself as one of Singapore’s most versatile talents. He has distinguished himself as an inventive pianist and organist, and has performed at such events as the Tokyo Jazz Festival, Singapore International Festival of Arts and the Melbourne International Jazz Festival. A composer and arranger of remarkable clarity and depth, his growing body of work includes music for big band, string quartet, hybrid ensembles, and projects that combine songwriting with contemporary music production. Most recently, the Singapore International Festival of Arts commissioned Kerong to write “The Light Behind Us”, performed by the musicians of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and members of the Singapore Dance Theatre, with choreography by Christina Chan.

He is now an associate professor at the School of Church Music of the Singapore Bible College and the Choral Director of the Singapore Symphony Chorus. www.sbc.edu.sg/mr-eudenice-vpalaruan

Facebook: @chokkerong Hear Chok Kerong on Spotify

PHOON YU organ As an organist, Phoon Yu’s performances as a recitalist have taken him in Singapore to the Victoria Concert Hall, Esplanade – Theatres by the Bay, and St. Andrew’s Cathedral, and in the United States to the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, Marble Collegiate Church, and Central Synagogue in New York, NY, as well as St. David’s Episcopal Church in Baltimore, MD. In addition to his performing work, he composes and arranges, with Singaporean and American premieres as well as a 2020 publication of choral-organ anthems with the music publisher Muziksea.

At the Peabody Institute, Phoon was awarded the Bruce R. Eicher Prize for his organ achievements, while his arrangement of a Rachmaninoff Prelude was a prize-winning selection at the Orchestra of the Music Makers’ inaugural ‘Rachmaninoff...Orchestrated!’ contest. Phoon is currently studying at The Juilliard School as a Doctoral Fellow under the tutelage of Paul Jacobs.

ABOUT THE KLAIS ORGAN

The Victoria Concert Hall’s Klais organ is Singapore’s only fully mechanical organ, and has strong emotional links with generations of audiences.

It was first installed in 1987 through fundraising efforts from the thennewly formed Singapore Symphony Orchestra Ladies’ League.

The Klais organ, built by German organ-builder Orgelbau Klais, replaced the St. Clair organ that had been built in the Victoria Concert Hall (VCH) some 50 years earlier in 1931.

The St. Clair organ was named after Major W. G. St. Clair, founder of the old Philharmonic Society and the first editor of the Singapore Free Press, and its façade was retained after the installation of the Klais organ.

In 2010, with the redevelopment of the VCH and Victoria Theatre, the organ – consisting of a total of 2,012 pipes – was methodically removed piece by piece, repaired and stored

in climate-controlled warehouses during the refurbishment period.

Many donors and supporters of classical music, notably the Lee Foundation, stepped forward to provide financial support for the restoration.

When the VCH reopened in the second half of 2014, the organ once again took centrestage, providing awe-inspiring and delicate strains of music to old and new audiences. The Singapore Symphony Group started the VCH Organ Series in 2014 as a set of concerts to showcase the beauty and power of the Klais organ to the people of Singapore.

For more information on the Klais organ, please visit: www.sso.org.sg/klaisorgan For more information on other Pipe Organs in Singapore, please visit: singaporeago.org/organs

PARTS OF

PARTS OF THE PIPE ORGAN

PIPES

MIRROR

MANUALS

Made of different materials, sizes and lengths, they vibrate when wind is driven through it, producing a sound.

Placed at an angle above the manuals to allow the organist to see the conductor and follow his directions.

The keyboard(s) of the organ, each controlling different sets of pipes.

•Pitch: determined by the size and length of the pipe.

•Timbre (Type): determined by the material used, for example metal or wood, and the construction of the pipe.

THE PIPE ORGAN V I C TO R I A CONCERT HALL’S KLAIS ORGAN

STOPS

S W E L L P E DA L

P E DA L B O A R D

TRACKERS

A set of pipes made to produce the same type of sound is called a rank. Pulling a stop allows the organist to select which rank of pipes to play on.

A pedal which allows the organist to control the volume of the organ.

A keyboard which is played with the feet, usually used to play the bass line.

The connection between the keys and the valve that allows air to flow into the pipes.

Q & A SESSION Please click on app.sli.do/event/b4ikgd3v to submit your question.

SINGAPORE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Founded in 1979, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is Singapore’s flagship orchestra, touching lives through classical music and providing the heartbeat of the cultural scene in the cosmopolitan citystate. Our Chief Conductor is Hans Graf.

While the SSO performs frequently at the Esplanade Concert Hall, for a more intimate experience, we return to the place of our beginnings, the Victoria Concert Hall (VCH) – the home of the SSO. The VCH is host to our popular Children’s, Family and biannual free Lunchtime Concerts as well as our VCHpresents chamber series.

HANS GRAF Chief Conductor SUPPORTED BY

PATRON SPONSOR