SUTD LUNCHTIME PERFORMANCE 13 September 2017

To bring culture to the Singapore University of Technology & Design (SUTD) and otherwise culturally barren eastern side of Singapore, the university has organised a series of lunchtime recitals held on specially selected Wednesdays in the academic calendar. This series began last year, and I was fortunate to have been invited to perform in and attend these informal hour-long concerts held at the university's Campus Centre, a plaza with much traffic and not too bad acoustics.

The university was afforded the use of one of 50 Lang Lang grand pianos (provided by Steinway), which is now its proud property and boosted by a trolley system specially designed and created by SUTD students. 

Its latest concert featured talented SUTD students and guests from the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory from the culturally rich western side of the island. East meets West, so they say, and it was curious to see three elegant young ladies from the Conservatory dressed to kill in their concert attire alongside two nerdy boys from the University who looked like they just woke up from an all-night tech and booze project. Anyway, music was the winner because all of them performed to the best of their abilities, and were roundly applauded by the audience for their efforts.

Here are some pictures taken at this groundbreaking event.    

The concert was opened by SUTD sophomore
Joshia Seam who performed Chopin's Ballade No.1
with much gusto and accuracy.

Prof Lim Seh Chun was a most engaging host
who did much research in providing the
"programme notes" to the performed works.

YST Conservatory's ace pianist Luong Khanh Nhi,
winner of the Piano Concerto Competition, gave a
solid reading of Brahms' Rhapsody Op.119 No.4.
Appreciating the concert were a number of past 
and present Singapore Symphony Orchestra directors.

So young yet so talented.
YST's Kim Soyoung performing the Prelude
from J.S.Bach's Cello Suite No.1.

A riveted audience at SUTD's Campus Centre.

The highlight of the concert:
The YST trio of pianist Luong, cellist Kim
and violinist Arisa Ikeda playing the 1st movement
from Schumann's Piano Trio No.1 Op.63

Ikeda and Luong in
Kreisler's Liebesleid (Love's Sorrow).

On her own, Ikeda performed
Paganini's Caprice No.9 "La Chasse".

All eyes and ears on the performances.

Closing dramatically was SUTD student
Chu Wy Ton who performed
his own original composition Snow,
Debussy's Arabesque No.1
and Gershwin's I Got Rhythm. 

Here are all the performers receiving
their accolades.