T'ang Quartet
Encyclopedia
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
-based classical string
Strings (music)
A string is the vibrating element that produces sound in string instruments, such as the guitar, harp, piano, and members of the violin family. Strings are lengths of a flexible material kept under tension so that they may vibrate freely, but controllably. Strings may be "plain"...
quartet that has played to critical acclaim.
Biography
The T’ang String Quartet comprises Ng Yu-Ying (1st violinViolin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
), Ang Chek Meng (2nd violin), Lionel Tan (viola
Viola
The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
) and Leslie Tan (cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
). The Tang Quartet was formed in 1992 when the members were still performers with Singapore Symphony Orchestra
Singapore Symphony Orchestra
The Singapore Symphony Orchestra is a 96 members professional symphony orchestra. Its main performing venue is the Esplanade Concert Hall in Singapore although it has also toured widely in Asia, Europe and the United States...
. Trained individually in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, the Quartet was awarded a fellowship to work in the USA with Paul and Martha Katz, Norman Fischer, Kenneth Goldsmith and Sergui Luca at the Shepherd School of Music
Shepherd School of Music
The Shepherd School of Music is a university school of music located on the campus of Rice University in Houston, Texas. Shepherd School is itself very selective, accepting overall about 10-15% of all graduate applicants and 15% of all undergraduate applicants...
. After a two-year masters studies in Rice University
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...
as a pre-formed quartet, the T’ang Quartet started their professional career in 1999 with unanimity of purpose: to break new ground by extending the sheer fun and enjoyment of classical music to a larger audience, as well as setting new standards of artistic achievement.
Critics have praised the T’ang Quartet as 'astounding' for its 'confidence', bravura and charisma' (Boston Globe) and for bringing ‘enthusiasm, energy and commitment...to all the music...' (The Times, London). They have added that 'this ensemble is outstanding. Unanimity of attack is uncanny, and intonation and internal balance both impress greatly. These are plainly minds which share a wavelength' (Evening Standard, London).
Apart from recitals the Quartet is also very active in outreach and art education programmes. The T’ang Quartet is currently the quartet-in-residence at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music at the National University of Singapore
National University of Singapore
The National University of Singapore is Singapore's oldest university. It is the largest university in the country in terms of student enrollment and curriculum offered....
and was on the faculty of the Boston University Tanglewood Institute
Boston University Tanglewood Institute
The Boston University Tanglewood Institute is recognized internationally as the premiere summer training program for aspiring high school-age musicians and is the only program of its kind associated with one of the world’s great symphony orchestras...
from 2001 to 2005.
In September 2006, it was accorded the prestigious honour of performing at the opening of Singapore Biennale, and to foreign dignitaries at the IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings held in Singapore. ASEAN Summit in 2007
"T'ang" signifies that golden age of the arts in Asia - the T'ang Dynasty. The name is also an acronym of the players' last names – Ng, Ang and Tan.
In 2007, T'ang Quartet premiered "Optical Identity", a collaborative production with Theatre Cryptic (Scotland) was commissioned by the Singapore Arts Festival. The European premiere took place at the Edinburgh International Festival in August, and the production then traveled to the Alicante International Contemporary Music Festival (Spain) in September, and tours Scotland in October and November 2007.
T'ang Quartet was invited to perform Azerbaijan composer Franghiz Ali Zadeh's Mugam Sayagi at a UNESCO award Ceremony in Paris on 3 April 2008, where she was receiving the honorary title of UNESCO Artist for Peace.
Members of T'ang Quartet play instruments on generous loan from the Rin Collection and Mr Jiri Heger.
Members
- Ng Yu-Ying (born 1968), 1st violin
- Ang Chek Meng (born 1969), 2nd violin
- Lionel Tan (born 1966)
- Leslie Tan (born 1964), cello
Awards
- Winners – 2nd Internationaler Joseph Joachim Kammermusikwettbewerb (1999, Weimar, Germany)
- Bartok Prize – Prague-Vienna-Budapest sommer Akademic (2000)
- Cultural Award – Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (2000)
- Arts & Culture - Singapore Youth Award (SYA) 2002
- Artistic Excellence Award (Classical)- presented by Composers and Authors Society of Singapore (2008)
Live concert recording album
- Not Our Debut (T'ang Quartet and International Music Management, 1996)
Album release
- The Art of War (T'ang Quartet Limited, 2005)
- Made in America c.1893 (T'ang Quartet Limited, 2006) - featuring Violist Jiri Heger as guest soloist (Viola Quintet in E-flat, Op.97)
- "The True Sound of Healing" ( Produced by Tan Tock Seng Hospital,Singapore, 2008)
Other works
- Recorded soundtrack for "Feet Unbound", a feature film retracing the Long March as undertaken by teenage girls, directed by Ng Khee Jin in 2006.
- A short film on " Optical Identity" featuring T'ang Quartet was screened at the Adelaide Film Festival in Feb 2009