Celebrating cultural confluence with Khong Wong Yai in the orchestral production COMMISSIONS
Guest musician Ms De Silva Alicia Joyce, a versatile composer-educator educator with a deep appreciation for the diverse sounds and practices of Southeast Asian music cultures, was invited to perform on the Khong Wong Yai in COMMISSIONS. It was a one-night-only concert presented by the SMU Chinese Orchestra (SMUCO) held at the SOTA Concert Hall. Her experience in Javanese gamelan and Thai Piphat ensemble has led to frequent collaborations where she performs on the Javanese gamelan and Thai Piphat instruments across arts disciplines to create new experiences and perspectives towards the arts through multi-sensory performances.
In celebration of SMU25 and SG60, the concert commissioned works from past years alongside multicultural pieces celebrating Singapore’s rich diversity. The programme includes three world premieres of original commissions written specially for SMU25 and SG60, a multicultural music segment and performances by guest musicians --including artists from Singapore’s Purple Symphony. It reaffirmed SMU’s long-standing tradition of commissioning local works, a rare initiative for a non-conservatory university.
The concert also features unique instruments from Asian countries where SMU has her overseas centers -- Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, highlighting SMU’s commitment to inclusion and cultural exchange. The Khong Wong Yai is a circular frame of gongs used in Thai classical music. Consisting of sixteen tuned bossed gongs set within a rattan frame and played with two beaters, it serves a central role in the piphat ensemble by outlining the skeletal melody that guides the surrounding instruments. Each gong is individually tuned using beeswax beneath it, contributing to the instrument’s distinctive timbre.
In celebration of SMU25 and SG60, the concert commissioned works from past years alongside multicultural pieces celebrating Singapore’s rich diversity. The programme includes three world premieres of original commissions written specially for SMU25 and SG60, a multicultural music segment and performances by guest musicians --including artists from Singapore’s Purple Symphony. It reaffirmed SMU’s long-standing tradition of commissioning local works, a rare initiative for a non-conservatory university.
The concert also features unique instruments from Asian countries where SMU has her overseas centers -- Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, highlighting SMU’s commitment to inclusion and cultural exchange. The Khong Wong Yai is a circular frame of gongs used in Thai classical music. Consisting of sixteen tuned bossed gongs set within a rattan frame and played with two beaters, it serves a central role in the piphat ensemble by outlining the skeletal melody that guides the surrounding instruments. Each gong is individually tuned using beeswax beneath it, contributing to the instrument’s distinctive timbre.