Traditional Chinese Music in Contemporary Singapore

By Michelle Loh and Lum Yan Sing

Traditional Chinese Music in Contemporary Singapore is a collection of essays written by 12 esteemed contributors who are greatly involved in building up and contributing to traditional Chinese music in Singapore.

 

Ranging from musicians to lecturers and conductors, these essays present various perspectives and incisive insights into this particular sphere of music, and are both a useful entry point for the curious reader, as well as valuable companions to experienced enthusiasts.

 

Featuring essays from:
Lum Yan Sing;
Quek Ling Kiong;
Tan Chin Huat;
Michelle Loh;
Samuel Wong;
Teresa Fu;
Natalie Alexandra Tse;
Chia Qilong Andy;

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pagesetters Services Pte Ltd
• Release date: Aug 4, 2021
• ISBN: 9789811467936

Book preview

Traditional Chinese Music in Contemporary Singapore

Traditional Chinese Music in Contemporary Singapore

Copyright © Michelle Loh, LASALLE College of the Arts, 2020

Copyrights to individual essays featured in this book are reserved by their respective authors.

ISBN: 978-981-14-3778-6 (paperback)

ISBN: 978-981-14-6793-6 (e-book)

Published by Pagesetters Services Pte Ltd

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National Library Board, Singapore Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

Name: Loh, Michelle, editor. | Lum, Yan Sing, editor.

Title: Traditional Chinese music in contemporary Singapore / Michelle Loh and Lum Yan Sing.

Description: Singapore : Pagesetters Services Pte Ltd, [2020] | Includes bibliographic references.

Identifier(s): OCN 1140436930 | ISBN 978-981-14-3778-6 (paperback) | 978-981-14-6793-6 (e-book)

Subject(s): LCSH: Chinese--Singapore--Music. | Instrumental music--Singapore. | Orchestral music--Singapore.

Classification: DDC 781.62951--dc23

Traditional Chinese Music in Contemporary Singapore

Table of Contents

Foreword

by Professor Edwin Thumboo

Introduction: Maintaining Traditions, Moving Forward

by Michelle Loh & Lum Yan Sing

Policy and Culture

Cultural Developments: A Survey of Traditional Chinese Music

by Quek Ling Kiong

Rituals of Respect: Social Interactions within Singaporean Chinese Orchestras

by Samuel Wong

Creative Urbanism: Assessing Chinese Orchestra Developments

by Toh Shao Ying

Education and Pedagogy

Early Childhood Education: Incorporating Chinese Music

by Natalie Tse

Using Chinese Instruments in the Orff Approach

by Lee Phui Cheng, Justinn

Music Examinations: Results of the New Paperchase

by Michelle Loh

Composition and Instrumentality

Making Bold Modifications to Chinese Instruments

by Lum Yan Sing

East and West: Translating Orchestral Languages

by Wang Chenwei

From Solo to Ensemble: The Artistic Evolution of the Guzheng

by Tan Chin Huat

Individuality and Tradition

Negotiations within Singapore’s Cultural Sphere: Case Study

by Heng Lena

Marketing an Identity: The TENG Ensemble and the Rise of New Chinese Music Ensembles

by Samuel Wong & Teresa Fu

Producing the Atypical: SA Trio and Singaporean Chinese Ethnic Identity

by Natalie Tse & Andy Chia

About the Contributors

Landmarks

Cover

Text

Table of Contents

Foreword

Professor Edwin Thumboo

Singapore’s multi-ethnic policy, adopted from its very foundation in 1954, when the present government PAP was formed in November, has had an enormous impact on all aspects of Singaporean life. The Party, which took power in 1959, won 43 out of 51 seats in the first election and has maintained its authority. The first generation of leaders, led by Lee Kuan Yew, established a system of democratic government that has seen the nation develop from Third World to First World in about 40 years. The government’s approach to solving and developing successful responses to the enormous and varied challenges it had to confront, led to the invention of new ideas in various sections of national life, from economics to education to social advancement. The importance of Mathematics and the Sciences in education for instance, has led other nations to study what the Singaporean government did.

The importance of the arts was recognised by the government. But it had to tackle more urgent, more fundamental problems before supporting the arts whose development in a multi-ethnic society had its own challenges about which there was no previous experience globally within this area, which became important after the establishment of the National Arts Council in October 1991. Singapore already had arts colleges: Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts 1938 and LASALLE College of the Arts 1985. Yong Siew Toh Conservatory was set up at the National University of Singapore later in 2003. There were other groups set up by Malays, Chinese, Indians and Eurasians that did good work but did not persist because of the uncertainty of financial support. There were arts schools and groups that persisted till today, for instance Sri Warisan Som Said Performing Arts Ltd, Zheng Professionals and Eason Music Singapore, Bhaskar’s Arts Academy and Eurasian Association Singapore among many other leading organisations in the arts.

Singapore developed and became an active part of the global scene. She was able to adapt quite rapidly, new perspectives and programmes in AI, biotechnology, software programming, data analytics, financial services, all of which contributed to our national development. Biopolis, for instance, was launched in 2003, and the setting up of new universities, SUTD, SIT that service these areas brought forth research at the most advanced levels. In this burgeoning of new technologies, the arts benefited. The more we globalised, the closer we got to each other. We were therefore able to tap and utilise the traditional patterns of colour for instance in Africa. The old boundaries were yielding; new opportunities emerged. At the moment, CNN and CNA show what has been done with what is available.

These fresh forces inevitably encouraged, and at times compelled, a re-examination of well-established, ancient traditions in all areas of the arts in our four SG cultures. The Chinese has a long history in music, the subject of this volume, a much stable and ancient tradition is being pressured to adapt. And adapt in a way that keeps its identity and yet becomes part of the present. That is the value of this volume whose contributors have all suggested how the power of tradition gets strengthened when it adapts and keeps relevance. Huayue, traditional Chinese music, is being updated to retain its power and relevance. Each chapter touches on some aspect of this music, moving from policy and culture to education and pedagogy, composition and instrumentality to individuality and tradition. The list suggests the comprehensiveness of this volume. It is both traditional and contemporary, linking the two. Given time, there will be another statement of this kind. For this is how huayue has kept itself going within Chinese culture over the years.

Michelle Loh and Lum Yan Sing are to be congratulated in bringing this volume together. Let us hope that our multiculturalism will encourage such innovations.

Edwin Thumboo

Emeritus Professor ‘97

Introduction:

Maintaining Traditions,

Moving Forward

Michelle Loh and Lum Yan Sing

The idea of this book is to capture the variety of developments that Singapore’s traditional Chinese music industry has enjoyed in the new milennium.

This covers the period, specifically, from 2000 to the late 2010s. During ths time, there were many new developments in the scene across the five sectors of traditional Chinese music—education, artistic development, marketing and publicity, instrumentation and orchestration, and policies.

The biggest challenge that the authors and editors faced is the struggle to stay relevant in the dynamic arts scene in Singapore. Some trends mentioned in the book may not be new by the time of print, but these would be precisely the documentation we want to capture before everything is normalised into a mundane acceptance. We also want to give recognition to the challenges that these musicians, composers, conductors and teachers faced before these developments became accepted by the industry.

As you read on, you will be presented with a series of snapshots supported by research evidence and facts. These snapshots are the documentations of key implementations, changes, challenges and solutions. Hence, this book captures the milestones and developments of traditional Chinese music in the new millennium. The authors of this book bear witness to the changing circumstances in huayue as ethnographers. Each of these chapters are the very essence of the respective authors’ lifelong contribution to the areas of artistic development, arts management, music instrumentation and composition, music education, orchestra and ensemble developments.

This book also hopes to present the reader with an unfolding of the different layers of complex issues, which are interconnected and cannot be studied individually. The authors are practitioners and researchers in their own fields of professional practice as well as research practice. Veterans in Singapore’s traditional Chinese music scene, Quek Ling Kiong, Lum Yan Sing, Tan Chin Huat and Justinn Lee, document changes in Chinese orchestras, instrumentation, guzheng ensembles and music teaching. Samuel Wong, Teresa Fu, Natalie Tse, Andy Chia, and Lena Heng analyse trends of Chinese music ensembles, social behaviours and education. Michelle Loh, Wang Chenwei and Toh Shao Ying discuss music examinations, music composition and the development of cultural policies in the new millennium.

The most surprising outcome of this book are three recurring points which emerged in our process of research and writing, without any intentions of the authors nor the editors.

Firstly, music ensembles became a new trend with the setting up of The Teng Ensemble in 2004, Ding Yi Music Association in 2006 and SA Trio in 2011. These companies have since evolved and re-innovated themselves, which is something that the arts can never stop doing. Secondly, the introduction of music examinations has helped to build up a new generation of musicians who are trained in a highly disciplined and structured manner. Thirdly, there is a need for traditional Chinese music education to go beyond schools and orchestras in order to benefit other communities in our society, such as children with special needs.

As conductors, musicians, performers, teachers, composers and arts managers, we come together with the hope to present readers with a series of discourses and documented creative developments of Singapore’s traditional Chinese music scene in the new millennium.

Michelle Loh and Lum Yan Sing

Editors

Traditional Chinese Music in Contemporary Singapore

Cultural Developments:

A Survey of Traditional Chinese Music

Quek Ling Kiong

In December 2013, I submitted a research title to the National Arts Council (NAC) for the Cultural Fellowship that I had been offered for the 12-month period between December 2013 and November 2014. The question I raised during that period was, Is traditional Chinese music in Singapore currently in a state of renaissance or is this only illusory, a bubble façade?

One of the main reasons that led me to this thought was a focus group discussion organised by NAC. In that discussion, there were representatives from other forms of traditional Chinese art such as Chinese Opera, calligraphy, Chinese hand puppetry and so on. The facilitator raised the point that there seem to be more issues in other traditional Chinese arts as compared to Chinese orchestras and the traditional Chinese music industry. Another comment further highlighted that the development of traditional Chinese Music in Singapore seems to indicate that we have no problem[s]. This was the general impression of fellow artistes as well as policy-makers on traditional Chinese music in Singapore. These impressions led me to conduct the research for the NAC Cultural Fellowship.

Facts on the Renaissance of Traditional Chinese Music in Singapore

The present situation of Chinese music seems to be showing positive signs, from governmental support to levels of community participation.

The government and the Ministry of Education (MOE) have clearly put great effort into supporting Chinese orchestras and similar Chinese music ensembles as Co–Curricular Activities (CCAs) in schools. This has encouraged primary and secondary schools as well as junior colleges to form Chinese orchestras. The number of student members in public schools’ Chinese orchestras was approximately 10,857 in 2012. This was the prime of Chinese orchestra CCAs in Singapore schools. That being said, there has also been a decline in the number of members in recent years—this figure dropped from 2014 onwards, and continued to decrease to 7,369 in 2017 (Singapore Cultural Statistics 2018).

Nevertheless, the presence of a Chinese orchestra in almost every school at every level is crucial as it encourages continuity in the learning of traditional Chinese music throughout a child’s life. Students who carry on with their studies in local polytechnics and universities also have the opportunity to join Chinese orchestras there. The annual SYF Arts Presentation (Chinese Orchestra), formerly known as Singapore Youth Festival Central Judging for schools, also contributes very much to the popularisation of Chinese music. Schools receive funding support from the MOE, which they use to increase the number of instructors for the large orchestras. Each orchestra has an average of 60 to 100 members, and even more in schools with strengths in Chinese culture. These instructors are motivated to coach at their best to produce artistic excellence no matter how young the players are; students are, in turn, keen to perform at their best to earn good credit and honour for their schools.

These different stakeholders—the ministry, schools, instructors and students—converge towards a collective goal. Regardless of the intentions of individual stakeholders, this convergence provides greater intangible benefits for students and elevates the artistic standards of Chinese music as a whole. Hence, the level of performing skills in traditional Chinese music across all age groups has improved tremendously.

The launch of various NAC funding grants in support of the traditional arts in Singapore, such as the Seed Grant (TA Seed Grant), the Major Company Grant and the Arts and Culture Presentation Grant, amongst others stated in the Traditional Arts Plan in 2011 (Annex E – Traditional Arts Plan in Building Blocks for a Culture of Creation: A Plan for the Performing Arts 2014), has boosted the morale of the traditional Chinese music industry even further. As a result of this support, more Chinese music ensembles and orchestras have been formed, and more concerts have been staged.

Over the past 10 years, the number of scholars who pursue graduate studies in Chinese music at local institutions or overseas music conservatories has been increasing. These scholars are not only pursuing Chinese music at a higher, tertiary level but also going into more specialised areas, including composition and arts management. As a result, the pool of Chinese music practitioners has also expanded in terms of work areas, with these specialised skills complementing the more orthodox study areas of instrumental performance and teaching.

Another important factor that has created more awareness and interest for Chinese music was the formation of the Singapore Chinese Orchestra (SCO) in 1997. A national flagship performing arts group and the only professional Chinese orchestra in Singapore, the SCO runs more than 100 programmes annually, including ticketed concerts, free outreach performances, workshops, educational talks, school concerts and overseas performance tours. Since its operation, the SCO has cultivated a large audience with its diverse, versatile, inclusive, excellent and innovative programmes in traditional Chinese music. Three mega–concerts were held over the last 15 years: the ‘Millennium Concert’ in 2000, involving 2000 Chinese orchestra musicians in Singapore; a record–breaking celebration for Singapore’s National Day in 2004 featuring 2400 musicians; and, finally, an advance gift from the SCO to the nation for SG50 at the National Stadium in the Singapore Sports Hub.¹ This last concert broke two Guinness World Records [Largest Chinese Orchestra (Single Venue)² and Largest Chinese Drum Ensemble³] and three Singapore records, including that for the largest erhu ensemble.⁴ These efforts by the SCO have clearly showed its leadership in bonding and nurturing the traditional Chinese music industry in Singapore to a higher, more cohesive level of performance.

On the foundational aspects of Chinese music, many private music centres have offered Chinese music lessons for the general public. More musicians are turning into entrepreneurs, setting up businesses that primarily offer teaching services and the sale of instruments and other music equipment. Such small-to-medium enterprises help many musicians, who are otherwise freelancers, garner a sustainable source of income.

In the area of assessment and standards setting, there are three examination systems in Singapore for Chinese music. The first is by the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) and is co-presented by the Central Music Conservatory in Beijing. The second is offered by the National University of Singapore Centre for the Arts (NUS CFA), which developed a specialised curriculum for its candidates, up till 2017—this has shifted to the Confucius Institute at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), called the Chinese Instrumental Grading Examinations. The third is by Shangyin Music Academy, a private academy which provides grading credentials certified by the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. These grading systems offer a more systematic, structured learning experience with focused short-term goals for students, which have led to the increased popularity of learning Chinese music instruments. These grading systems also help boost the Chinese music industry’s commercial viability through both direct and indirect means; admittedly, this is quite an important factor for the sustainability of traditional art forms in modern society.

Looking at the aforementioned progress and development of the traditional Chinese music scene, one might be convinced, as the NAC focus group participants suggested, that the Chinese music industry faces no problems at all.

Drawing on my own experience as someone whose involvement in the Chinese music industry spans a few sectors—along with shared opinions from my fellows within the industry—I wish to make some observations beyond this surface impression of the industry and even question the standpoint that the Chinese music industry is without its issues.

Is It a Façade?

I have conducted many auditions for several organisations. These range from the national youth orchestra (Singapore Youth Chinese Orchestra) and annual music camps held in schools for the Chinese orchestra members, to the Direct School Admission (DSA) programme for CCAs—amongst several others that require musicians or aspiring students to pass through an audition to enter a particular orchestra, programme or school.

I have found that candidates display encouraging standards when presenting their solo repertoire; they can perform and hold their stage presence to a reasonable standard. Yet, when it comes to performing a repertoire not chosen by themselves, such as one selected by the organisation and for which they have prepared in advance, many fail drastically. Discouragingly, this difference in ability becomes even clearer when candidates are asked to sight-read or to perform an excerpt through sight-reading. Even though their resumes show outstanding results from graded examinations or high performance standards in the SYF, these candidates often claim that they are capable of playing music in only two keys! They have never heard of the SYF’s set pieces, nor do they have understanding of sight-reading music, even though many have been learning Chinese music for seven years or longer. The discrepancy between these candidates’ understanding of general music knowledge and aesthetics versus competition and taught repertoires is astounding; this caught the attention of the other adjudicators who sat on those panels as well.

Something wrong is happening in the training of Chinese music. Although students are generally performing better and proving themselves capable of tackling technically harder pieces, these abilities are no more than regurgitation, repetition and imitation at the professional level. In the long run, this may affect the health and development of traditional Chinese music as an industry.

I was invited by the then-Co-Curricular Activities Branch (CCAB) of the MOE to conduct a workshop for the Leadership Camp for leaders and student committee members of secondary schools’ Chinese Orchestras. In these workshops, student leaders are asked questions aimed at helping educators understand their current levels of knowledge in traditional Chinese music. These leaders are typically students who hold various leadership positions in their secondary school Chinese orchestras, and are often all-rounders in addition to being talented in their respective musical instruments. With good academic portfolios and solid track records in music in addition to their leadership positions, these students are considered the crème de la crème.

During the camps, the students undergo training in techniques, endurance and teamwork as well as take part in inspirational workshops. Some of the questions posed during the workshops include, Name three famous masters of the Chinese instruments that you are playing, Name three classic Chinese orchestral works you have learned, Name three famous Chinese orchestras in the world, Name three famous composers of Chinese orchestral works, How many Chinese orchestra concerts have you attended in a year? Share your experience with us and so on.

Their answers are rather shocking. The student leaders are often only able to name the instructors who have taught or who are currently coaching them, most of them based in Singapore. They do not know the classic Chinese orchestral works, the masters in traditional Chinese music, world-renowned Chinese orchestras or famous Chinese music composers. The knowledge that they hold is limited to pieces performed during the SYF, songs performed in schools and, perhaps, repertoires for their graded examinations. Even then, their knowledge of these pieces is limited to technical delivery based on notes and dynamics along with an understanding—albeit a questionable one—of the music’s historical and theoretical context.

I can’t help but wonder if this is alright. Is this a good sign, or is this problematic? If even the student leaders of school Chinese orchestras, who have been marked for greater responsibility, have such limited knowledge of Chinese music, how about their peers? If the foundation of the typical Chinese music learner or lover is this superficial or limited, how does this impact the development of audiences in traditional Chinese music? How can the standard of performance increase? Is the current renaissance in Chinese music in fact a glass ceiling? What can be done to improve the sustainability of interest in this art form in the future?

Tertiary Education as an Important Indicator

If there are many Chinese orchestras in Singapore, led by both schools and communities, why are there fewer students pursuing careers in traditional Chinese music?

The Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) is the only institution in Singapore that provides an education in Chinese music. As an adjunct lecturer in NAFA’s Chinese music ensemble class, I have noticed that the student intake for Chinese music has declined severely over the past three years. In 2014, there was only one Singaporean student in the Chinese music programme despite the 10,044 Chinese orchestra CCAs set up by local schools.

That being said, there are still young people pursuing Chinese music as a career. In 2007, a few NAFA graduates got together to start a Chinese chamber ensemble, Ding Yi Music Company, the first of its kind in Singapore. It is a small example of success by a younger, locally-groomed, Singapore-born generation of Chinese music practitioners.

On the other hand, universities do not offer traditional Chinese music as a full–time undergraduate programme. They do, however, offer Chinese music as a form of arts and leisure activity for all enrolled students. The National University of Singapore (NUS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and Singapore Management University (SMU) all offer Chinese orchestra as an activity through which students can pursue interests in the arts and other areas in parallel with their undergraduate or post–graduate studies. While Singaporean undergraduates do continue to play and perform with Chinese orchestras in universities, their number has also dwindled over the years. This decrease is very significant when held against the large number of pre-tertiary Chinese orchestras. By the university level, undergraduates typically have acquired an adequate level of performing skills and experience after many years of playing and learning, having started performing from their time in primary, secondary or pre-tertiary schools. These undergraduates are not only passionate about the art form but also make up Singapore’s future human and knowledge capital. One would imagine that there would be more talented and passionate players in the universities than anywhere else, since universities are where talent and brains congregate. This is not the case in the actual scene.

The takeaway is this: undergraduates who have learned or performed Chinese music previously may decide not to join the Chinese orchestra when they enter university. They may be tired of Chinese music after many years of pursuing it as a leisure activity and prefer to try something new. Although this trend is akin to growing up and signals, perhaps, a natural rebellious phase, it is curious that after spending so many years on music exams and lessons, these undergraduates decide to shift away from it all, to just give it all up.

As someone involved in education and outreach for the Chinese music industry, I am constantly finding ways to study these causes and hopefully investigate ways to improve the situation. This group of young former Chinese musicians is a huge potential audience for the traditional art, if not active creators of it. If young people stop being interested in Chinese music upon entrance into university, it would be interesting to understand the reasons behind this.

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