As the first Singaporean music director of Boston orchestra, the New England Philharmonic, Ng Tianhui is flying the Singapore flag high as one of the most sought-after interpreters of new music in the United States. Based in Massachusetts, the conductor juggles a multitude of roles including Music Director of White Snake Projects, as well as Director of Orchestral Studies at Mount Holyoke College.
It would have been unexpected for someone with trained chemists as parents to become a first-generation musician in the family. A defining moment with the SSO challenged him to dream about music and today, Tianhui enjoys conveying stories and helping audience connect with music which may at times be unfamiliar.
With Temasek Foundation SSO National Day Concert 2023 fast approaching, Bravissimo chatted with Tianhui on his excitement in leading the SSO for the first time, and what he misses from home.
What made you decide to become a conductor?
It was something that developed over time. I grew up with classical music at home as I often listened to my elder sister’s piano practice. Some of my earliest memories of music was Beethoven 3 embedded in a children's story in audio form.
During my secondary school years, I participated in the symphonic band, and one of the highlights that brought me immense joy was attending SSO concerts. At Victoria Concert Hall, I witnessed an unforgettable performance of Cesar Franck's Symphony in D Minor by the SSO. The visceral musical debate about whether or not to believe in the good in humankind moved me deeply, and I recall weeping at my seat and having to compose myself before leaving when the concert ended. It was then I knew if I dared to allow myself to dream, this was what I wanted to do with my life.
One turning point was achieving the Public Service Commission scholarship to study music at the University of Birmingham in the UK. There, I had the chance to witness Simon Rattle’s remarkable work with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. I later got a scholarship to the Yale School of Music, and the rest is history!
What do you enjoy most about this role, and what have you been up to?
I have always aspired to understand the role of classical music and the arts in society.
The upcoming programme with the SSO provides a perfect opportunity to learn about composers across different generations, and for me to share this platform to have their work heard nationally. This is central to the ethos of my work, and I wish to use the privilege I have, to leave a ladder up to the next level for those that come after me. It has fortunately led me to lots of friendship, learning and music-making.
I am particularly proud of my work with White Snake Projects. As Music Director, I have explored groundbreaking digital opera-making with my fellow artists and musicians that led to our work, Jorge Sosa's Alice in the Pandemic, to be collected by the Library of Congress as one of the most outstanding works of art during the pandemic, in 2020. Since then, our platform has also been used to highlight social justice issues, using art and music to provide room for all to ruminate on what we can do in the face of so many global challenges, with over 40 works commissioned and premiered since 2020.
With technology quickly transforming many industries, what is one aspect of your work that can never be replaced?
This is a question I have pondered on in different ways throughout my entire career.
I am personally fond of using technology to extend our human experience and connect with others across time and space. I love learning about how other musicians have utilised new discoveries to create art and music in ways that are rich, artistically satisfying and endlessly fascinating like great art tends to do!
During the pandemic, I worked with technologists to develop a live audio platform that enabled artists to perform from anywhere with a high-quality synchronised sound. In addition, we utilised facial motion capture technologies to animate avatars in sync with opera singers. These were done to help forge meaningful bonds with our digital audience.
While there are different means to help us bring our music across, it is ultimately the connection formed with the audience that we are searching for through all these new technologies.
How do you unwind? Share with us your must-dos when you return home to Singapore.
Makan is the word. You cannot get the taste of home anywhere else!
I am a foodie at heart, and one that also enjoys cooking. I often share about Singapore by introducing the national past time of its people! I love catching up with friends and colleagues whenever I am home and cannot get enough of classics like chicken rice from Boon Tong Kee, delightful hawker stalls at East Coast Lagoon Food Village. Now you know where to find me!
Apart from that, I love nature, architecture, and history. These motivations have pushed me to travel and see all the things I have read about. Unfortunately, that part of my life has diminished since the pandemic, and I am hoping to rebalance it with all the wonderful work opportunities I have gotten.
What are you looking forward to most at the upcoming National Day concert?
SSO has been such an important part of my life growing up. I have spent many years as an ardent fan in the audience, and worked with the SSO and affiliated performing groups on multiple occasions as an arranger, pre-concert talk speaker, chorister, baritone soloist and more. This debut as a conductor with the SSO is sure to be one for the books for me!
Words cannot adequately describe how thrilled I am to return after a long time away, especially for this opportunity to work on music by so many great local composers, and with friends, teachers, colleagues, mentors, and family members on stage and in the audience.
Be sure to catch Tianhui at our sixth National Day concert to witness world premieres of new music by Singaporean composers commissioned by the SSO.
The concert will be streamed live on Singapore Symphony’s YouTube channel.