Kelly Tang

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Kelly Tang
Kelly Tang.jpg
Background information
Born1961 (age 57–58)
Singapore
Genres Classical, Jazz, Film Score, Popular
Occupation(s) Composer, Educator
Years active1982–present

Kelly Tang (born 1961) is a Singaporean composer known internationally for his wind band, chamber and orchestral works. For his contributions to the local music scene, Tang was conferred the Cultural Medallion in 2011. [1]

Composer person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition

A composer is a musician who is an author of music in any form, including vocal music, instrumental music, electronic music, and music which combines multiple forms. A composer may create music in any music genre, including, for example, classical music, musical theatre, blues, folk music, jazz, and popular music. Composers often express their works in a written musical score using musical notation.

Orchestra large instrumental ensemble

An orchestra is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families, including bowed string instruments such as the violin, viola, cello, and double bass, brass instruments such as the horn, trumpet, trombone and tuba, woodwinds such as the flute, oboe, clarinet and bassoon, and percussion instruments such as the timpani, bass drum, triangle, snare drum, cymbals, and mallet percussion instruments each grouped in sections. Other instruments such as the piano and celesta may sometimes appear in a fifth keyboard section or may stand alone, as may the concert harp and, for performances of some modern compositions, electronic instruments.

The Cultural Medallion is a Singapore cultural award conferred to those who have achieved artistic excellence in dance, theatre, literature, music, photography, art and film. It is widely recognized as Singapore's pinnacle arts award.

Contents

Early life

Tang's love for music began at an early age. He started piano lessons at age six, and later played the tuba in his secondary school band. The young Tang did not find the tuba particularly interesting to play as there were not usually many parts in a musical composition that involved the instrument. However, this lack of activity turned out to be a blessing in disguise as it gave him the opportunity to observe what the other musicians in the band were doing and how all the parts fit together in a musical composition.

Tuba type of musical instrument of the brass family

The tuba (bass) is the lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibration into a large mouthpiece. It first appeared in the mid-19th century, making it one of the newer instruments in the modern orchestra and concert band. The tuba largely replaced the ophicleide. Tuba is Latin for 'trumpet'.

Musical composition aesthetic ordering and disposing of musical information

Musical composition, or simply composition, can refer to an original piece or work of music, either vocal or instrumental, the structure of a musical piece, or to the process of creating or writing a new piece of music. People who create new compositions are called composers. Composers of primarily songs are usually called songwriters; with songs, the person who writes lyrics for a song is the lyricist. In many cultures, including Western classical music, the act of composing typically includes the creation of music notation, such as a sheet music "score," which is then performed by the composer or by other instrumental musicians or singers. In popular music and traditional music, songwriting may involve the creation of a basic outline of the song, called the lead sheet, which sets out the melody, lyrics and chord progression. In classical music, orchestration is typically done by the composer, but in musical theatre and in pop music, songwriters may hire an arranger to do the orchestration. In some cases, a pop or traditional songwriter may not use written notation at all, and instead compose the song in their mind and then play, sing and/or record it from memory. In jazz and popular music, notable sound recordings by influential performers are given the weight that written or printed scores play in classical music.

Tang began writing music even as a student. His interest in music grew and he went on to helm a Christian gospel pop group. He also played bass guitar while in Anglo-Chinese Junior College and later on in the army band.

The bass guitar is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, except with a longer neck and scale length, and typically four to six strings or courses.

Anglo-Chinese Junior College (ACJC) is a junior college in Singapore that offers a two-year pre-university programme leading to the Singapore-Cambridge GCE Advanced Level examination. Established in 1977, Anglo-Chinese Junior College is the junior college arm of the Anglo-Chinese School family of Methodist schools in Singapore.

Education

Tang enrolled at York University in Toronto, Canada with the support of his parents. In 1982, during his first year as an undergraduate at York, Tang met and was greatly influenced by Srul Irving Glick, his first music composition teacher. He was awarded his master's degree in composition by Northwestern University in 1991, and received his PhD in Music at Michigan State University in 1995. [2]

Srul Irving Glick, CM was a Canadian composer, radio producer, conductor, and teacher.

Career

Tang's compositions have been performed by world-renowned ensembles such as the Russian National Orchestra, the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Minguett Quartet (Germany) and the Ensemble Contemporain of Montreal. In Singapore, his music is regularly performed by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, the Singapore Chinese Orchestra, the Singapore National Youth Orchestra and T’ang Quartet.

Russian National Orchestra orchestra

The Russian National Orchestra was founded in Moscow in 1990 by pianist and conductor Mikhail Pletnev. It was the first Russian orchestra to perform at the Apostolic Palace, Vatican and in Israel.

The Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is a symphony orchestra based in Singapore. Its principal concert venue is the Esplanade Concert Hall. The orchestra also gives concerts at the Victoria Concert Hall, and overall performs about 100 concerts per year. The orchestra's music director from 1997 to 2019 was Shui Lan. In July 2019, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) announced Austrian conductor Hans Graf as its Chief Conductor designate beginning from the 2020/21 concert season.

In Asia, Tang’s orchestral works have been performed by the Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Thai Navy Orchestra, Macau Youth Symphony Orchestra and Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra. His choral works have been sung by the Gaia Philharmonic Chorus (Japan), Windsbacher Knabenchor (Germany), Singapore Youth Choir and Calvin College Capella (USA). His wind band scores have been performed by Queensland Conservatorium Wind Orchestra (Australia), Desford Colliery Brass Band (UK), Philharmonic Winds and Singapore Armed Forces Central Band with "The President's Own" United States Marine Band.

Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra

The Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Nagoya, Japan, founded in 1966. The orchestra gives concerts primarily at the Aichi Prefectural Arts Theater Concert Hall and the Chukyo University Center for Culture & Arts Aurora Hall.

The Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra is the foremost symphony orchestra in Vietnam. It is based in Hanoi, the nation's capital.

The Philharmonic Winds is a Singaporean wind orchestra. The orchestra was formed in 2000 with Robert Casteels as Music Director and currently has more than 70 dedicated members. It is currently under the artistic leadership of Music Director Leonard Tan.

Tang's compositions have been performed at prestigious venues worldwide including Carnegie Hall, Vienna Musikverien, Berlin Konzerthaus, Auditorium di Milano, Museum of Musical Instruments, The Rodahal, St. Paul’s Cathedral and Sydney Opera House. In Asia, his music has been presented at Tokyo Metropolitan Art Space, Tokyo Opera City, Suntory Hall, Hanoi Opera House, Aksra Theatre, Cultural Centre of the Philippines, Esplanade Concert Hall, Suzhou Arts & Culture Center, Zijing Grand Theatre (Nanjing), Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and Shanghai Concert Hall.

In 1996, Tang scored the music for the Australian feature film “Feet Unbound: Women Of The Long March”, which has screened at major film festivals in Europe, America and Asia. [3] His Jazz compositions have been performed by pianist Jeremy Monteiro with Grammy® recipients Ernie Watts (saxophone) and Randy Brecker (trumpet). Tang’s music has been commissioned for the Singapore Arts Festival (2000), Shanghai International Spring Festival (2014) and Esplanade Theatres By The Bay’s Tenth Anniversary Celebrations (2012). His works have been featured at the Cultural Diversity in Music Education (CDIME) and World Association of Symphonic Bands & Ensembles (WASBE) international conferences.

Through the annual Singapore Youth Festival, Tang’s music is performed each year by thousands of students in school choirs and wind bands. His compositions are taught as part of the Ministry of Education’s music curriculum, and he continues to mentor young composers and conduct composition workshops at schools and colleges across Singapore.

Since 1996, he has served as Associate Professor of Music at Nanyang Technological University’s National Institute of Education. In November 2011, he took on a new role as Dean at School of the Arts. [4] [5]

Special commissions

In 2014, Tang was commissioned by the National Arts Council and the Singapore Symphony Orchestra to write an original composition for the opening ceremony of Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall on 15 July 2014. His work "Capriccio for Orchestra" was performed under the baton of SSO Music Director Lan Shui, with Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong and Cabinet Minister Lawrence Wong in attendance. [6]

In celebration of Singapore's Golden Jubilee, Tang was commissioned to compose a piano concerto for "Sing50", a performance on 7 August 2015 showcasing Singapore's rich music history. His new work "Concerto in Three Movements" was premiered by virtuoso pianist Lang Lang and the Metropolitan Festival Orchestra, under the baton of Chan Tze Law. [7]

Awards

In 2008, Tang was conferred the COMPASS Artistic Excellence Award by the Composers and Authors Society of Singapore. For his contributions to the local music scene, Tang was conferred the Cultural Medallion in 2011, the highest award for the arts in Singapore.

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Kelly TANG - LibGuides - National University of Singapore" . Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  2. ↑ "Kelly Tang Music Born in Singapore in 1961" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 June 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  3. ↑ "Kelly Tang - IMDb" . Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  4. ↑ "Kelly Tang - Infopedia - eResources - National Library Board" . Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  5. ↑ "Kelly Tang - Dean, Arts" . Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  6. ↑ "Concert review: SSO already at ease in first concert at the newly renovated Victoria Concert Hall" . Retrieved 15 August 2015.
  7. ↑ "Concerto for home written away from home" . Retrieved 15 August 2015.
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