FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Event Listing For Singapore International Festival of Music 2016 (SIFOM 2016) Concerts from 13 to 30 October 2016 Community Outreach Programmes from August to October 2016 (1 October onwards below) Event

Singapore International Festival Of Music 2016 (SIFOM 2016)

Theme

The 2nd edition of the Singapore International Festival of Music will play to the theme of Myths and Legends.

Organiser

SIFOM Ltd in collaboration with Arts House Ltd and OperaViva Ltd

Venues

Multiple performances (free and ticketed), outreach programmes and masterclasses are held at various venues. Please refer to the programme (attached) for full details. Performance venues include:  Victoria Theatre & Concert Hall  The Arts House  National Gallery Singapore Community outreach venues include:  Community Libraries (Woodlands, Esplanade, Choa Chu Kang, and Serangoon)  Community Malls / Open Spaces (ION Orchard, Jurong Point)  Community Schools (Paya Lebar Methodist Girls Secondary School, Zhonghua Secondary School) and LASALLE College of the Arts  The Arts House  National Gallery Singapore

Participants

Open to all members of the public.

Highlights

Please refer to programme (attached) for full details.  13 October – Myths and Legends  14 October – The Seasons  15 October – 五 × 5 = ?  21 October – Portrait of a Composer & Ikan Girl  23 October – Portrait of a Virtuoso & Ikan Girl

Admission Fee

Admission is free for all outreach programmes. For ticketed performances:  At Victoria Concert Hall - $72, $52, $32 excl. SISTIC admin charge  At The Arts House and National Gallery - $36 excl. SISTIC admin charge  Festival Passes available from $115.20 For more information on ticket prices, please visit www.bit.ly/SIFOM2016

Tickets From

SISTIC:  All SISTIC counters  Online: bit.ly/SIFOM2016  Tel: 6348 5555  SISTIC mobile app (available for both iOS and Android)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Description

The Singapore International Festival of Music (SIFOM) is back with an enthralling programme! Be enchanted by Myths & Legends told through music. Fairy tales unfurl in Ravel’s Mother Goose Suite played by members of renowned Chamber Orchestra of Europe and Singapore’s SIFOM Orchestra under the baton of celebrated Conductor and Grammy-nominee, Darrell Ang. If violins move you, catch Sarasate’s Carmen Fantasy. Hearts will dance to 1B1’s tango-esque The Seasons by Piazzolla. Malay folklore comes alive in Syafiqah ‘Adha Sallehin’s musical theatre Ikan Girl, performed by The Bhumi Collective. Master the language of the soul and refine your musical ear. Book now, support local talents and rediscover music and love in New Music In A Mythic Landscape - our home, Singapore.

Information/ Contact

For more information, please visit www.sifom-sg.com or the Facebook page at bit.ly/2cMoSsx.

About Singapore International Festival of Music The Singapore International Festival of Music (SIFOM) is Singapore’s first classical music festival that celebrates classical music of today. Artsitic Director, Darrell Ang overlooks the programming and curation process of the Festival which aims to identify and promote local musicians, invigorate the concert-going experience for Singaporeans and develop new markets and audiences. Inaugurated in 2015, SIFOM marks Singapore on the world map of classical music capitals and cements her reputation as the centre of classical music in the region. Transcending beyond languages, music unifies. From world-class performances by our talents and alongside internationally-renowned musicians of our time, SIFOM brings people together through music. SIFOM believes in mentoring and developing Singapore’s pool of talents and the industry. Several of the musicians who have worked with legendary musicians and conductors give back to society through mentorships and interactions with the youths. About Arts House Limited Occupying the almost 200-year-old building that was Singapore’s first Parliament House, The Arts House has played an active role in the Singapore arts and creative scene. The House promotes and presents multidisciplinary programmes and festivals such as literary arts, film, performing and visual arts. The Arts House is run and managed by Arts House Limited (AHL). AHL also presents the Singapore International Festival of Arts and manages Goodman Arts Centre and Aliwal Arts Centre. About OperaViva Limited OperaViva is a small opera company which seeks to develop a unique style of presenting opera in Singapore. We do this by working with a broad cross-section of Singapore's arts community in a way which will make our offerings distinctive and different, while maintaining the highest standards of artistic quality. Run by a Board who are passionate about making a difference in the arts world, we also seek to work with international opera experts to develop our capabilities. But at the same time we endeavour to show what Singapore can offer to the global opera community as we re-examine and present the repertoire from our fresh Asian perspective. For more information and media queries: Mileage Communications Jacqueline Ho / Joel Chan Tel: 6222-1678 Email: [email protected] / [email protected] SYNOPSES OF TICKETED CONCERTS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Singapore International Festival of Music (SIFOM) returns for the second year! The Festival showcases Singapore’s finest young classical musicians, by pairing them with premiere international artists in performances. This year’s esteemed guests include members of the legendary Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Norway’s electrifying Ensemble 1B1, as well as local music groups Ding Yi Music Company and TO ensemble. Be mesmerised! Indulge in an enchanting and musical experience at the Festival! DATE

TICKETED CONCERTS

13 October 2016

MYTHS & LEGENDS: MOTHER GOOSE AND THE TALES OF 1001 NIGHTS 6.30pm | Victoria Concert Hall Musical Olympus Foundation Aleksey Semenenko, violin Kerim Vergazov, piano Grieg: Sonata no. 1 Ysaye: Ballade no. 3 Paganini: I Palpiti 8pm | Victoria Concert Hall Members of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Musical Olympus Foundation & The Singapore International Festival of Music Orchestra / Darrell Ang Ravel: Ma Mère l'Oye ('Mother Goose' Suite) Rossini: Nacqui all´affanno e al pianto… (from La Cenerentola) (Vasilisa Berzhanskaya, mezzo-soprano) Gounod: Vous qui fates l’endormie (from “Faust”) (Li Ao, bass-baritone) Sarasate: Carmen Fantasy (Alexey Semeneko, violin) Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade The second Singapore International Festival of Music (SIFOM) opens to the theme of Myths and Legends with a full symphonic concert featuring the resident festival orchestra (SIFOM Orchestra), alongside members of the legendary Chamber Orchestra of Europe. SIFOM’s artistic director Darrell Ang, will be conducting the orchestra. Three of the world's young classical music stars will also take centrestage with their favourite showpieces: Chinese bass-baritone Li Ao (winner of Placido Domingo's Operalia competition) plays the devil Mephistopheles in a famous aria from Gounod's beloved opera Faust, Bolshoi Theatre’s Vasilisa Berzhanskaya sings Cinderella's closing aria from Rossini's opera on the fairytale and violinist Aleksey Semenenko, who bagged the silver medal at the recent Queen Elisabeth Competition, promises to set the stage on fire with virtuoso pyrotechnics from Sarasate's beloved Carmen Fantasy. Lastly, be spellbound by Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's powerful symphonic retelling of the colourful adventures of Sinbad the Sailor and the 1001

TICKET PRICES

$72, $52, $32 excluding SISTIC charges

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Arabian Nights. His Scheherazade is full of unforgettable tunes which will leave you dreaming of flying carpets and magic lamps! 14 October 2016

THE SEASONS 6.30pm | Victoria Concert Hall Nancy Yuen, soprano + SIFOM Orchestra / Alvin Arumugam Overture and Senta’s Ballad from Wagner: Der Fliegende Holländer

$72, $52, $32 excluding SISTIC charges

8pm | Victoria Concert Hall 1B1 ... and featuring Basil Ong Tze Wee, Kaelyn Yunci Soh, Yuri Tanaka, Mathea Goh (violins) Grieg: Holberg Suite / Vivaldi: The Four Seasons / Piazzolla: The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13.

Grieg: “Präludium” from “Holberg Suite" Vivaldi: Spring from “The Four Seasons" Piazzolla: Verano Porteño Grieg: “Gavotte” from “Holberg Suite” Vivaldi: Summer from “The Four Seasons” Piazzolla: Otoño Porteño Grieg:”Sarabande” from “Holberg Suite” Vivaldi: “Autumn” from “The Four Seasons” Piazzolla: Invierno Porteño Grieg: “Air” from “Holberg Suite” Vivaldi: “Winter” from “The Four Seasons” Piazzolla: Primavera Porteña Grieg: “Rigaudon” from “Holberg Suite”

Spend the evening with one of Norway's best chamber orchestras – known affectionately as 1B1. This progressive string ensemble will bring with them an evergreen work – the Holberg Suite – by their country’s most famous composer, Edvard Grieg. Grieg's music will be cleverly interspersed by the sensuous and electrifying tangos of Astor Piazzolla and the equally evocative and descriptive The Four Seasons by Baroque composer Antonio Vivaldi, 1B1 will work with four of Singapore's most gifted violinists, who will each take turns to share the stage with our Norwegian friends in Vivaldi's The Four Seasons. This evening's concert will be preceded by a pre-concert performance of excerpts from Wagner's opera, 'The Flying Dutchman', and will feature Singapore's grand dame of opera Nancy Yuen with the SIFOM Orchestra.

Barock Lounge: Outer Space presented by Goethe-Institut Singapore 11pm | The Arts House Chamber Elbipolis Barockorchester Hamburg Barock Lounge Baroque meets electro: this seemingly impossible combination is ‘synthesized’ in an experimental concert series performed by the Hamburg baroque orchestra Elbipolis. Having established themselves in the early music scene for their musical brilliance and interpretational flair, Elbipolis regularly performs ‘lounge

$36 excluding SISTIC charges

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE concerts’ that combine music of the baroque together with electronic artists such as Tim Exile from London or Brezel Göring from Stereo Total. Sometimes straying away from the norm, sometimes handling the musical forms with irony, Elbipolis maintains their base through the use of fugue elements and counterpoint, contrasting them against the electronic rhythms. A unique and spontaneous musical experience results, opening dynamic horizons that cross the border between a formal concert setting and a club atmosphere. This is the perfect electrifying nightcap. 15 October 2016

MUSICAL OLYMPUS FOUNDATION presents "TODAY’S STARS, TOMORROW’S LEGENDS" 7.30pm | The Arts House | Chamber

$36 excluding SISTIC charges

Vocal Recital by Li Ao (bass-baritone) and Vasilisa Berzhanskaya (mezzosoprano) Pianist: Beatrice Lin Songs and Arias by Rossini, Mozart, Rachmaninov, Bellini, Massenet, Bizet, Tchaikovsky, Handel, Schubert, Moore, Gounod Mozart: Aria of Dorabella from Cosi fan tutte / "Ah scostati/Smanie implacabili" Mozart: Aria of Ramiro from La Finta Giardiniera / "Va pure ad altri" Mozart: Aria of Cerubino from Le nozze di Figaro / "Voi Che sapete" Gounod: Aria of Stephano form Romeo and Juliet / Depuis hier/ "Que fais tu" Massenet: Aria of Charlotte from Werther / "Werther, Werther!" Bellini: Aria and cabaletta of Romeo from I Capuleti e i Montecchi / "Ascolta. Se Romeo/ La tremenda" Rossini: Aria of Rosina from Il barbiere di Siviglia/ "Una voce poco fa" Rossini: Aria of Cenerentola from Cenerentola / "Nacqui all'affanno" Mozart: Duo of Guglielmo and Dorabella form Cosi fan tutte / "Il core vi dono" Mozart: Duo of Zerlina and Don Giovanni from Don Giovanni / "La ci darem la mano" Scarlatti: Le violette Pergolesi: Nina Schubert: Die Forelle Schubert: Der Erlkönig Bizet: Quand la flamme de l'amour from "La Jolie fille de Perth" Gounod: Vous qui faites l'endormie from" Faust" Tchaikovsky: Reconciliation Rachmaninov: Aleko's Cavatina from"Aleko" Two Chinese Songs: "Rainbow sister" and "Legend of the dragon" Join two of the operatic world's brightest young stars – Li Ao, winner of Placido Domingo's prestigious Operalia competition and Bolshoi Theatre’s Vasilisa Berzhanskaya – in an evening of dramatic presentations of arias and art-songs. From timeless pieces including Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte and The Marriage of Figaro to Gounod's operatic interpretation of Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet, well-known Lieder from Schuber – Die Forelle and Der Erlköning – be spellbound by these powerful voices!

16 October 2016

THE SUNKEN CATHEDRAL AND OTHER STORIES… 3pm | The Arts House | Gallery II

$36 excluding

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Piano Recital by Kseniia Vokhmianina Claude-Achille Debussy (1862 - 1918) Préludes, Book 1 1. Danseuses de Delphes : Lent et grave 2. Voiles : Modéré 3. Le vent dans la plaine : Animé 4. "Les sons et les parfums tournent dans l'air du soir" : Modéré 5. Les collines d'Anacapri : Très modérée 6. Des pas sur la neige : Triste et lent 7. Ce qu'a vu le vent d'ouest : Animé et tumultueux 8. "La fille aux cheveux de lin" : Très calme et doucement expressif 9. La sérénade interrompue : Modérément animé 10. La cathédrale engloutie : Profondément calme 11. La danse de Puck : Capricieux et léger 12. Minstrels : Modéré Kelly Tang (b.1961) Elegy (Solo Piano Edition 2015) Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915) Piano Sonata no.5, Op. 53

SISTIC charges

Touted to be the piano recital of the year, Ukraine-born Kseniia Vokhmianina has selected a programme of daring imagination and virtuosity. A recipient of the Lee Foundation Scholarship Award, she will perform impressionist master Debussy’s Préludes, Book 1 for piano including its most famous and haunting movement, La Cathédrale engloutie (The Sunken Cathedral), Vokhmianina will also deliver a composition by Kelly Tang, one of Singapore's foremost composers and pedagogues. His Elegy is dedicated to the memory of Singapore's first Prime Minister Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, and taken from the 2nd movement of Concerto in Three Movements, commissioned in 2015 in celebration of Singapore's 50th anniversary. Ending off the recital with a bang, Vokhmianina will perform the Russian mystic and composer Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin’s 5th piano sonata of 1907.

五+5=? 5pm | Victoria Concert Hall Ding Yi Music Company in collaboration with Song Hong Chamber Music Challenging the barriers between cultures and genres, Ding Yi Music Company presents a night of East meets West: Chinese Music Quintet with the western Piano Quintet. Showcasing Ding Yi’s very own virtuoso musicians in collaboration with renowned Vietnamese chamber ensemble, Song Hong Chamber Music, the concert will showcase new compositions by Ding Yi Music Company Composer-inResidence, Phang Kok Jun, guest composers Liong Kit Yeng, Wang A-Mao and guest Composer-Conductor Darrell Ang. Under the mentorship of renowned Grammy Award winner Jeff von der Schmidt and Jan Karlin, Song Hong Chamber Music has also included contemporary works from Vietnamese composers in their performances.

$72, $52, $32 excluding SISTIC charges

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Awarded the Grand Prize, Audience Prize and Orchestra Prize at the 50th Besançon International Conductor’s Competition, Darrell Ang, who is also the artistic director of the Festival, will collaborate for the first time with the Chinese chamber music ensemble as guest artist, conducting his own composition, Dao and the Four Ghosts (叶 老脱). Working with the five excellent soloists of Song Hong Chamber Music and Ding Yi Music Company's, Ang will also lend his special brand of music-making to two other compositions in what promises to be an unexpected treat for Singapore audiences!

“… And there was N0th1ng” 7pm | The Arts House | Play Den TO ensemble “… And there was N0th1ng”

$36 excluding SISTIC charges

Contemporary Asia Fusion / Multi-disciplinary / Audio-film, featuring original music written by Tze Toh. Award-winning composer-pianist Tze and his TO ensemble - an exhilarating fusion of jazz and Asian sounds - make their SIFOM debut in a daring new composition which seeks to blur boundaries between Jazz and Classical Music, Ethnic and Popular - a true Singapore first! Tze's intriguing new work, … And there was N0th1ng is inspired by Mamoru Oshii's Sci-fi animated film Ghost in the Shell and Issac Asimov's Foundation and I, Robot series. It is an original story/concert about an A.I (artificial intelligence) city Man established on a planet in a distant galaxy searching for answers to the fate of its human masters. In the machine's attempts to understand humanity, it mistakes Man's memories of myth of creation as fact, and eventually realising and appreciating the imperfection, unpredictability, imagination of man as a pinnacle of evolution it can never achieve. This promises to be a groundbreaking work! Featuring: Tze Toh - Piano Lazar T.Sebastine - Indian Violin Teo Boon Chye - Saxophone Christina Zhou - Violin Benjamin Wong - Viola 18 October 2016

THIEF IN THE NIGHT AND OTHER BIZARRE TALES… 7.30pm | The Arts House | Gallery II Piano Recital by Thomas Ang Ravel - Gaspard de la nuit Chopin - 3rd Ballade in A flat major, op. 47 Chopin - Étude in E major, op. 10 no. 3 Chopin - Étude in C sharp minor, op. 10 no. 4 Chopin - Étude in G flat “Black Keys”, op. 10 no. 5 Chopin/Hamelin - Étude X “pour les idées noires” after Chopin’s “Black Keys” Chopin/Godowsky - Étude no. 10 “Capriccio” in A major after Chopin’s “Black Keys” Bach - Prelude and Fugue in F sharp minor from Book 2

$36 excluding SISTIC charges

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Feinberg/Ang - The Dream Feinberg - 2nd Sonata, op. 2 Tchaikovsky - Daydream and Lark-song from Children’s Album, op. 39 Tchaikovsky/Rachmaninoff - Lullaby, op. 16 no. 1 Tchaikovsky/Ang - When the day dawns Young Singapore pianist, Thomas Ang who has just graduated from London's prestigious Royal Academy of Music, will present a recital to display musical strengths coupled with strong programming ideas in the form of Ravel's most terrifying piano masterpiece Gaspard de la Nuit, Chopin's Third Ballade and finger-twisting Études and Thomas’ own transcriptions of songs by Feinberg and Tchaikovsky. Proceeds from this concert's ticket sales will be donated to the Hamish Dyer Young Musicians' Scholarship – the same fund that allowed Thomas to pursue his music studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London. 19 October 2016

NEW MUSIC IN A MYTHIC LANDSCAPE 7.30pm | The Arts House | Chamber Musicians from SIFOM Orchestra / Marlon Chen

$36 excluding SISTIC charges

Ho Chee Kong: Echoes of Fall John Sharpley: Singapore Dreams Chen Zhangyi: Sandcastles Tan Yu Ting: Chinatown Bertram Wee: love songs Koh Cheng Jin: Ecstasy Ding Jian Han: Slow Jogging on a Not-so-silent Night Mick Lim: (Commissioned Work) The resident festival orchestra (the SIFOM Orchestra) will perform a repertoire from two veteran composers, one established representative of the current crop of young composers, and five new voices – each with his or her own unique story to tell of a Singapore that is in a perpetual flux. This set opens with Associate Professor Ho Chee Kong’s meditative Echoes of Fall and progresses with newcomers Bertram Wee’s love songs and a set of 7 miniature piano pieces and closes with a commissioned work by Mick Lim. 20 October 2016

VICTORIA’S GREATEST HITS 7.30pm | The Arts House | Gallery II Vocal Recital by Victoria Songwei Li Piano: Thomas Ang Caro nome - Verdi (Rigoletto) Gretchen am Spinnrade – Schubert Be kind and Courteous - Britten (A Midsummer Night's Dream) Love went a-riding - F. Bridge Chiedi all'aura lusinghiera - Donizetti (L'elisir d'amore) Prendi per me se libero... - Donizetti (L'elisir d'amore) Ange adorable - Gounod (Romeo et Juliette) No word from Tom - Stravinsky (The Rake's Progress) Zdes' horosho - Rachmaninov

$36 excluding SISTIC charges

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Ne poy, krasavitsa, primne - Rachmaninov Je veux vivre - Gounod (Romeo et Juliette) Journey with Singapore soprano Victoria Songwei Li, through the various stages of love based on European legends – from innocent young love in Verdi’s Caro Nome to a young girl's discovery of the excitement of love, to the proclamation of the joys of youth and love in Gounod’s Je veux vivre. Li is a recent graduate of the Royal Academy of Music in London and recipient of Hamish Dyer Young Musicians' Scholarship. 21 October 2016

PORTRAIT OF A COMPOSER & IKAN GIRL 7.30pm | The Arts House | Chamber Part I: SIFOM Ensemble / Marlon Chen

$36 excluding SISTIC charges

In 'Portrait of a Composer', composer Syafiqah 'Adha Sallehin will present her latest chamber music compositions - including a work for three flutes, and a String Quartet. Some of the finest young musicians from the SIFOM Ensemble will be performing these compositions. Part II: Syafiqah ‘Adha Sallehin featuring Bhumi Collective A story of good triumphing over evil, the story of Ikan Girl reminds one of patience and kindness and the perils of engaging in evil acts especially the mistreatment of a fellow being. Inspired by a Malay ancient poem known as the Syair Bidasari, this story will be presented in the form of a multidisciplinary performance that incorporates movement vocabulary from Malay dance, bharatanatyam and contemporary dance genres. It will also feature original music composed collaboratively and performed ‘live’ by classical and traditional musicians. 23 October 2016

PORTRAIT OF A VIRTUOSO & IKAN GIRL 7.30pm | The Arts House | Chamber Part I: Syafiqah ‘Adha Sallehin & Nabillah Jalal Accordion & Piano Recital Aside from composing, Syafiqah 'Adha Sallehin will showcase her talent: that of a virtuoso accordionist! Teaming up with pianist Nabillah Jalal, the duo promises to charm audiences with a unique repertoire. The concert is bound to show off a multitude of traditional colours! Part II: Syafiqah ‘Adha Sallehin featuring Bhumi Collective A story of good triumphing over evil, the story of Ikan Girl reminds one of patience and kindness and the perils of engaging in evil acts especially the mistreatment of a fellow being. Inspired by a Malay ancient poem known as the Syair Bidasari, this story will be presented in the form of a multidisciplinary performance that incorporates movement vocabulary from Malay dance, bharatanatyam and contemporary dance genres. It will also feature original music composed collaboratively and performed ‘live’ by classical and traditional musicians.

Programmes and information are accurate up to the time of print.

$36 excluding SISTIC charges

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Subject to change.

Updated: 15 August 2016