Young orchestras SNYCO and Nusso prove mettle in weekend concerts

Just a fortnight after the Singapore National Youth Orchestra's sterling performance under Singapore Symphony Orchestra music director Hans Graf comes another weekend with two youth orchestras making their mark.

- Chang Tou Liang

The Singapore National Youth Chinese Orchestra (SNYCO), led by Lien Boon Hua, mastered a demanding programme which included works by three young Singaporean composers.

First was the world premiere of Chok Kerong's Bird's-Eye View.

The single-movement symphonic poem by Chok, better known as a jazz pianist and arranger, displayed range with its resourceful use of tonal colours and unusual harmonies. Depicting the buoyancy of flight, the music soared with unfettered wings.

Quite different yet engaging was Sulwyn Lok's With A Little Bit Of Love And Imagination, with excerpts that possessed the easy accessibility of pop-inspired movie music.

In Phang Kok Jun's Storytellers On Ann Siang Road, a musical duel ensued between erhu played by brothers Zeng Canran and Zeng Haoran, accompanied by just six players.

By reflecting and merging disparate cultures of Chinese and Malay music, this was Nanyang music at its most intimate.