A little Fanfare I pieced together overnight with excerpts from a Waltz I used once as a draft to a film,
in celebration of Teachers’ Day! Still incomplete, but thought I’ll just share it!
September 2, 2010
Some pics of Why-Oh-Gee are in!
Grabbed these off Facebook. unfortunately there were only 3 photos in which I was tagged, couldn’t view the rest 
Realised that Helix is wayyyy more photogenic than me. Look at her brilliant wood grains!
Heh in the last photo you can see the crew all hiding under ponchos in the back too- it was pouring and still drizzling even as we performed! Not the most pleasant of circumstances for a performance, but I’m still glad we got to perform and the show went on- I remember two years back, our show at the Singapore Night Festival had to be axed due to bad weather. Emo.
August 29, 2010
To(r)tally
Batard-ly Bread
Yes, to accompany me on my usual late-night work frenzies, I have been doing lots of late-night grocery supermarket shopping. That’s where, like a scene out of a movie, I muse at all the kaleidoscopic labels that paint a more domestic, but still colourful, landscape of what our day-time lives might be like.
Sometimes makes you realise that brand managers are really stretching abstract concepts just for them to be applied to their products:
Piccolo Diapers
Piccolo = small flute
Hence piccolo diapers = small flutey pee pants? Hmm… but mad cute nonetheless, a thrill for tired-out music geeks like yours truly!
Boy am I getting random these days…
August 26, 2010
Why-Oh-Gee and other stuff
It’s been a while since I last posted!
Busy like anything, as usual, thanks to the upcoming exams (for students) and the YOG!
Yup, TENG performed and premiered my dear teacher’s Kelly Tang’s work, “Kallang Uproar” and his arrangement of “Island Home”.
We were also on Epicure magazine!
We sure had a nice time sampling wonderful chocolate concoctions as well as some fine wine 
Saw this really FAIL quotation in the Youth Olympic daily newspaper as well, when I was there on Monday for the Youth Village performance.
Sure summarises well what’s going on with the YOG =x
A friend on Facebook suggested that it might be a misquotation.
I wouldn’t be surprised that it IS though, judging from the number of corrections and apologies for the previous day’s newspaper:
Was still a good experience performing though, despite all the inconvenience TENG had to put up with just to be there.
We actually had to do a soundcheck from 11pm-2am on Sunday, and be back there at 8am on Monday for set-up.
Add to that the security was so tight, we were told initially we could not drive in. Hence on Sunday night,
we lugged all our instruments, equipment, attire etc up and down the shuttle bus from Boon Lay, walked at least 1km from within NTU to the NIE village centre, before arriving at our holding room.
I feel tired just thinking about it again.
Nice to see the athletes appreciative though. A great audience always makes you forget everything.
Oh well.
~
On another sidenote, www.limyi.com is going to be revamped into a proper website soon!
This blog will still be around, so music geeks and tech geeks, fret not! :p
August 15, 2010
Mi lápiz antiguo es muy bonito y precioso
I love this Pilot Shaker Pencil.
I remember it was all the rage back in primary school, but because it was so expensive (it still costs $3++ today), I could never afford it.
I use pencils a lot, and it’s still my choice of writing tool, be it writing music, marking scripts (I find red tends to be so unforgiving) to scribbling notes.
Somehow, despite my search over the years, nothing comes close to my trusty Shaker in terms of design, weight, lead etc etc.
I bought a few many years back after stumbling across a shop that still sold these. Unfortunately, I keep losing them every once in a while, leaving them on music stands or at on desks etc.
This is my last one now! Hope it stays with me for many more years…
August 12, 2010
Arrangement Techniques II
As part of my ongoing lessons with my Year 5 composition students, I shared this week and last two of my arrangements for String Orchestra, based on the veritable Xinyao 新谣 tunes by quintessential Xinyao master, Liang Wern Fook 梁文福.
Xi Shui Chang Liu《细水长流》(roughly translated as Flowing Waters) needs no introduction, I believe, having enjoyed such tremendous popularity that it is now probably synonymous as being the ‘anthem’ of Xinyao.
Ye De Xuan Yun《夜的眩晕》(Music of the Night) is not as well known, but beautiful nonetheless.
Here’re the original versions, before I post my arrangements!
August 5, 2010
Many Faces of Sheng 笙簧百啭
My new piece for solo sheng, 《禅》Zen is premiering with the Singapore Chinese Orchestra Sheng concert soon!
Click the image or here to view the full Esplande event website.
It’s wonderful to finally see a sheng only concert! Many classic sheng solos that I learnt during my study at the Central Conservatory of Music, Beijing are also being performed, so do catch it!
Below is the synopsis for the programme for the evening:
July 30, 2010
An arrangement says it all (Part I)
Was sharing this with my composition students today-
without going into details here, doesn’t an arrangement make all the difference to how we perceive and appreciate a song?
Two different versions, the original by MJ, the other by my teacher Dr Kelly Tang, for SATB choir.
One meaning, many facets. Beautiful.
Still gives me goosebumps everytime I listen to this brilliant arrangement.
If you follow it with the score you’ll fall even deeper into ‘Inception’.
Of course kudos to the ever-fantastic SYC led by Ms Jennifer Tham as well!
July 28, 2010
2010 Season
We have updated the TENG Company’s website!
Latest recordings from our 2009-2010 recordings are uploaded there, alongside photos and other updates.
You will also find under ‘EVENTS’ a special tab introducing Sun Huang, a top erhu performer of our generation that we are bringing in for a 2 night only concert this October!
The TENG Company
Gerald Teo, Business Director
Yang Jiwei, Executive Director
Dr Samuel Wong, Artistic Director
Your truly, Composer-in-Residence
On our home page you’ll get to hear excerpts of 《长门怨》 Longing《合》He, which I wrote for TENG last year.
You can listen to the full tracks here on my website, under ‘Compositions’, or on TENG’s website as well. 
