Catch the fourth installment of Highly Strung, part of T’ang Quartet’s The Ensemble Dimension Project.
MUSIC
About the Artist
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About T’ang Quartet (唐四重奏)
Cutting an unmistakable silhouette on the local and global stage, the Quartet comprising Ang Chek Meng 洪泽民 (2nd Violin), Ng Yu-Ying 黄毓颖 (1st Violin), Leslie Tan 陈国平 (Cello) and Lionel Tan 陈国安 (Viola) has been pushing the boundaries of classical music since 1992.
The Quartet started its professional career in 1999 with unanimity of purpose: to break new ground in sharing the sheer joy and pleasure of music to a larger audience, and set new standards of artistic achievement.
A playful reference to the last names of the Quartet’s members, ‘T’ang’ also symbolizes the golden age of cultural expression in the Tang Dynasty, a nod to their Asian roots.
Trained in London and Moscow, the Quartet found its genesis when Ang Chek Meng, Ng Yu-Ying & brothers Leslie & Lionel Tan were members of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO). Forming the Quartet in 1992, they embarked on a musical journey together, exploring the frontiers of string chamber music. Twenty-one years later, the Quartet continues to evolve, surprising and delighting audiences with its innovative dexterity.
About the Musicians
Ng Yu-Ying
First Violinist
Ng Yu-Ying embarked on his professional career as a violinist with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) after graduating from the United Kingdom’s (UK) Royal Academy of Music with First class honours. During his undergraduate days, he studied with Clarence Myerscough and Erich Gruenberg. He was also awarded the Alex Templeton Prize, Roth Prize and Dominion Fellowship.
Aside from chamber music performances, his collaborations with violist Jiri Heger have brought him to the Czech Republic where he performed in concerts and live television programmes.
Yu-Ying has performed at major festivals spanning the UK, United States, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand.
Ang Chek Meng
Second Violinist
Winner of the Singapore National Music Competition in 1985 and 1987, Ang Chek Meng received a Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) Scholarship to study at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he trained under Jean Harvey, Erich Gruenberg and members of the Amadeus Quartet.
Graduating with honours, Chek was awarded the Countess of Munster Trust Scholarship. Chek joined the Singapore Symphony Orchestra in 1991. As a member of the T’ang Quartet, Chek has performed at major venues in Asia and beyond, including the Aspen Music Festival, Tanglewood Festival, Music Mountain Chamber Series, Melbourne Festival and New Zealand Arts Festival.
Lionel Tan
Violinist
Lionel started his professional career playing the viola in the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO), studying under Jiri Heger. He was awarded a scholarship and went on to study at the Royal College of Music in London, where he graduated in performance and pedagogy, and was awarded the Lionel Tertis Prize for outstanding performance.
Aside from his 11 year-stint as a violist in the Orchestra, Lionel has established himself as a prizewinning soloist and chamber musician, performing all over the world. He has also studied the viola with Martha Katz and Karen Ritscher in the United States, as well as Margaret Major, Christopher Wellington and Milan Skampa in Europe.
Leslie Tan
Cello
In a career that has spanned almost 20 years, Leslie is much sought after as a soloist and chamber musician. After performing as a cellist at the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO), he was awarded a scholarship to study at both the Trinity College of Music and Royal College of Music in London. Spending 13 years with the SSO, he went to the Tchaikovsky-Moscow State Conservatory as a graduate-assistant of Natalia Shahkovskaya.
He has performed at major venues and festivals around the world, including the Prague-Vienna-Budapest Sommerakademie and Aarhuus Festival in Europe. His performances have been broadcasted by the BBC in London. Leslie has ventured into other disciplines, collaborating with artists in dance, theatre and popular music.