Date: Thursday 27th March 2008
Time: 8.01pm
Venue: YMS Auditorium (54 Waterloo Street)
Tickets: $12 (available from YMS Arts Centre)
For ticket enquiries, please call 6332-5813 or email makemusic@yms.org.sg

In keeping with a principal objective to feature different instrument and ensemble configurations through the afterEight series of concerts, YMS presents Arts Sphere. Under the artistic guidance of Maestro Tay Teow Kiat, Arts Sphere aims to establish the Chinese chamber ensemble as a recognised entity in classical music. Their repertoire consists of traditional, contemporary as well as cross-disciplinary works.

Highlights include 夜深沉 (Night Thoughts) from the opera Farewell My Concubine, re-arranged for guzheng solo; 渔歌 (Fisherman Song) depicting the tranquil life of the northern Hezhe minority and 望秦川 (Memories of Qin Chuan) which expresses longing for the plains of Qin Chuan.

This concert will feature award-winning soloists from within the ensemble: Chua Yew Kok (pipa), Li Ting Ting (guzheng), Tan Zhong Xiao (dizi) and Zeng Jing Wen (suona).

Date: Fri 22nd Feb 08
Time: 8.01pm
Venue: YMS Auditorium
Tickets: $12 (available from YMS Arts Centre)
For ticket enquiries, please call 6332-5813 or email makemusic@yms.org.sg

Carrying on with its trademark afterEight Series in 2008, YMS strikes out with local percussionist Angeline Wee. A “Best Graduate” from the Nayang Academy of Fine Arts, Angeline has performed with several of the country’s premiere music groups and currently plays with The Philharmonic Winds.

The concert will feature Angeline on the marimba and in duets with piano, vibraphone and alto saxophone. Also programmed is Crystal Butterfly by Ben Wahlund, a piece written for solo marimba and electronics. Of special interest is Imaginary Radio-Plays#1 by local composer Americ Goh. The piece calls for the multi-percussionist to fulfil the dual role of story-teller and musician as she supplements the narrative with music and sound effects.

Angeline will be joined by guests Ng Sok Wah on the vibraphone, Adrian Chong on the alto saxophone and pianist Lao Shao Suan.

Performing for the first time in Singapore, Kevin Bobo brought with him an eclectic collection of solo marimba works. Hailed as one of the top marimba players in the USA, Kevin presented a selection of music, of which the highlights were undoubtedly his original compositions Gordon’s Bicycle, Dreams and The Marriage of The Lamb. Also included were Rimsky-Korsakov’s Flight of the Bumble Bee and Gordon Stout’s Rumble Strips, among others.

Kevin is currently the Assistant Professor of Percussion at The University of Kansas and performs extensively throughout the USA at solo recitals, concertos and clinics at major universities and percussion festivals. He is a Malletech clinician/recitalist and a Zildjian Educational Endorser, performing exclusively on (KP3) Malletech Marimbas, Malletech Mallets, and Zildjian Cymbals.

For the second installment of the year, YMS was proud to feature: Saxophile. The ensemble was formed by a group of amateur musicians who aspired to bring their playing level up a notch by practising together as a chamber group in 2003. Saxophile discovered their niche in performing light music such as jazz and ragtime music. The ensemble aims to correct the public's misconceptions of the saxophone - that it is only a jazz instrument and not meant for classical music. Thus, Saxophile feels that it is important to include some classical items in their programming so as to showcase the saxophone ensemble as a group that could rival the usual chamber ensemble, such as the string quartet and woodwind quintet.

Saxophile performed works by Bach, Bartok, local composers and works composed by Saxophile member – Jeremiah Li.

For the first aftereight Series of 2007, YMS once again featured South Korean-born soprano Jeong Ae-Ree, in conjunction with celebrating her 10 years of work in Singapore. Since moving to Singapore, she began her career as a teacher and performer. She has established an outstanding singing class and she is the voice teacher to Janani Sridhar - the first Singaporean to have won the “Vocal Solo Under 16” in the 58th Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod competition in Wales. Ae-Ree has also sung in many chamber concerts and recitals. In addition to her vast repertoire of Italian Songs, French Songs and German Lieder, she has done operatic performances as well.

Ae-Ree presented an evening of music from the Renaissance to the modern and she performed works by Dowland, Caccini, Purcell, Handel, Haydn, R.Quilter, Walton, Debussy, Ravel, Poulenc, Faure, Schubert and Wolf.

Be immersed in an enthralling performance by acclaimed harpist Katryna Tan, recipient of the Young Artist Award (Music) 2005 by the National Arts Council. As one of the few harp soloists in the region, Katryna regularly performs music written for the harp by Asian composers, lending a unique touch to a predominantly Western instrument.

Besides showcasing solo works by local composers Phoon Yew Tien, Marc Chan and Goh Toh Chai, Katryna also performed her own compositions, as well as other transcriptions for harp. Her collaborations in this concert included renowned Chinese painter Cheah Tien Soong, Tan Loke Chuah (percussion), Samuel Wong (pipa) and baritone William Lim.