About the Artists
Jeremy Monteiro
Music Director
Jeremy Monteiro (pianist, vocalist, composer, jazz educator) has won critical acclaim in many parts of the world. He has performed all over the world in addition to being dubbed "Singapore's King Of Swing" by the local press.
He served as Artistic Director of the Singapore International Jazz Festival 2001, an event which featured 52 bands and more than 150 musicians from Singapore and overseas.
On March 11th 2005, as part of the inaugural Mosaic Music Festival, he performed at the Esplanade Theatres by the Bay in Singapore, with his international trio of Shawn Kelley and Belinda Moody, Singaporean singers Claressa Monteiro, Jacintha Abisheganaden, Anne Weerapass and Rani Singam together with Jazz legend James Moody, in a concert to commemorate James Moody's 80th birthday.
In June of 2005, he released a duet album, Only Trust Your Heart, with top Chicago Saxophonist, Greg Fishman. In May 2006, Jeremy released his first album of all original compositions, Homecoming, which was recorded in Los Angeles and funded by the National Arts Council’s Cultural Medallion grant.
In 2006, he became a Fellow of the London College of Music which is part of the Thames Valley University in the UK. That year, Jeremy Monteiro was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society for the encouragement of the Arts, Manufactures & Commerce in the UK (the RSA).
Closer home, he was appointed a Board Member of the National Arts Council of Singapore. The NAC is a Statutory Board of the Government of Singapore and comes under the auspices of the Ministry of Information, Communication and The Arts (MICA). Jeremy Monteiro was appointed Professor & Visiting Chair of Jazz, School of Music, Faculty of Performing Arts & Integrated Studies, LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts. He is the first Singaporean to be appointed Professor at the Institution since Brother Joseph McNally founded it in 1984.
In 2011, Jeremy was appointed to the Board of Governors of the Asia Academy of Music Arts & Sciences under the chairmanship of Quincy Jones and also appointed as Artistic Director of the Kuala Lumpur International Jazz Festival 2012.
As a composer, Jeremy has been awarded a Silver Medal at the 1991 International Radio Festival of New York, as well as finalist awards at the 1990 and 1991 London International Advertising Awards for best original music score (radio, T.V. and Cinema). He has composed or produced over 700 pieces of music and is listed in the year 2000 edition of Who's Who of The World.
Related links
Official Website: www.jeremymonteiro.com
Facebook page: www.facebook.com/JeremyMonteiro
YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/user/jeramzee
Rani Singam
Performer
Rani Singam is one of Asia’s most sought-after vocalists today. She is named in “The Jazz Singers, The Ultimate Guide”, a 2008 Hal Leonard publication which serves as an encyclopedic guide on the important singers in jazz.
Rani recorded her debut album in Los Angeles With A Song In My Heart. Produced by the legendary Jeremy Monteiro, the album is distributed in Asia and the United States. The album was rated 4/4 in O’s Place Jazz Newsletter 2008, a leading jazz publication in the United States.
In 2011, Rani produced her second album Contentment which was recorded at Bennett Studios, USA. A fresh approach to jazz vocals, this album is also a showcase of Rani’s songwriting skills comprising primarily original compositions.
Rani sings in a style which is truly reminiscent of the great jazz singers she admires. She also has a truly endearing way of connecting with the audience and when you watch her perform, you feel as though she was singing directly to you. Each performance is a dazzling and uplifting experience. She has “a beautiful vocal signature and great command of her delivery”. Her “playful yet caressing vocals likened by many to legendary jazz vocalists including Billie Holliday, Dinah Washington and Sarah Vaughn” continue to woo the hearts of critics and fans alike. She has staged her own solo concerts at the Esplanade which include a tribute to the late Nina Simone in September 2007.
Rani was also featured as one of 39 iconic Singaporean artists in the “Home” Music Video which was produced for the Total Defence Campaign 2011.
Rani is involved in jazz education through Jazz 123 - Rani Sings for Kids, a unique jazz appreciation programme for young people. It was first staged at the Mosaic Festival 2007 for preschoolers. In 2009 it was introduced to school children under Feed Your Imagination an arts excursion programme of the National Arts Council and the Esplanade.
Related links
Website: www.ranisingam.com
Facebook page: www.facebook.com/RaniSingam
YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/user/RANISINGAM
Chok Kerong
Music Arrangement
Singapore-born, NYC-based pianist/organist Kerong Chok honed his musical skills performing while pursuing a law degree from the National University of Singapore. Equally adept at straight-ahead acoustic jazz, pop, rock and R&B, he has performed in the USA, Singapore, Malaysia and the Maldives, and has played with artists like Eli Degibri, George Garzone, Steve Wilson, Francisco Mela, Ari Hoenig, Rodney Green and Eugene Pao. Chok was a resident at the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead program held at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. He was also the first jazz musician in Singapore to be awarded the National Arts Council (Singapore) Arts Scholarship to pursue a Master’s degree in jazz performance at the Manhattan School of Music. His teachers include Jason Moran, Phil Markowitz and John Riley. Chok has performed in a number of varied venues including Smoke, The Blue Note, and at The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.
Related links
Website: www.kerongchok.com
Wang Liansheng
Scriptwriter
Liansheng graduated with an LLB (Honours) degree from NUS. He started in the theatre scene as a production crew in 2005, and later made his transition into writing in 2012. Since then, he has written for The Necessary Stage’s Theatre For Seniors, Singapore Arts Festival 2012, and the NUS Arts Festivals 2012 and 2013.
Tan Shou Chen
Director
Tan Shou Chen is a theatre practitioner known for his versatility. His performing credits span music, theatre, film, TV, and radio. The Straits Times billed him as one of Singapore’s 30 under 30 actors to look out for. A new director, his debut work MEDEA developed under The Substation’s inaugural Director’s Lab Program was received with rave reviews. He will be next directing a dramatised reading of Singapore’s first English language plays under The Esplanade 50.
Related links
Website: www.shouchen.net
Facebook page: www.facebook.com/shouchentan
Instagram: instagram.com/shouchentan
Shafiqhah Efandi
Female Lead / Shen
Graduated from LASALLE College of the Arts with a BA(Hons) in the Acting course, she has worked with Singaporean directors Effendy Ibrahim in A Doll's House, Natalie Hennedige in 6 Characters in Search of an Author. She also worked with Edith Podesta in A Midsummer Night's Dream and Hamlet' and Stefanos Rassios in Woyzeck and Attempts on Her Life. She has had an interest in the Malay theatre scene and hopes to be involved in future productions of the known Malay theatre groups in Singapore. She also hopes to work in more productions where music play a big part as she would like to pursue music in the future.
Bright Ong
Male Lead / Fong
Bright is a theatre practitioner and a puppeteer who has Cirque du Soleil and The Muppets to thank for being the catalyst to his performing arts career.
An SRT alumni Young Co. scholar, he is also a graduate from the Geography department in NUS. Relevant eh?
He was the puppeteer for Latif on ZooMoo, an international puppet show about wildlife, as well as Cracker the Cat on another international television programme Mr Hooty’s Toyshop. Theatre credits include Accidental Death of an Anarchist, Sheares Production 2008, Macbeth, Shakespeare in the Park, SRT, 2011, Lan Fang Chronicles, Singapore Arts Festival, 2012, Lord of the Flies, SRT Young Co, 2012, Marco Polo, Theatreworks, 2014, 2 Houses, Georgetown Festival 2014. He will next be seen in Skinned Knee Productions’ work, Ragnarok.
Koo Chia Meng
Multimedia Designer
Trained as a filmmaker, Chia Meng has been actively involved in various aspects of film production since 2009. In 2013, he began directing music videos for Singaporean musicians as well as casting for feature films such as Anthony Chen’s ILO ILO (2013).
Chia Meng is also a Multimedia Designer, having provided visual content for various performances over the years, most recently Ah Boys To Men: The Musical (2014) and Hossan-AH (2014)". His works have travelled to audience internationally, including New York, Canada and Malaysia. He is presently an associate Multimedia Designer with TheatreStrays. Chia Meng is currently pursuing his Masters of Fine Arts in Film Directing at Taipei National University of the Arts, Taiwan.
Tan Chin Boo
Conductor, NUS Jazz Band
Chin Boo has more than 34 years of professional music experience. He has an Honours Degree in Electronic Music & Commercial Music Arranging from Berklee College of Music, USA, which he attended on a scholarship from then Singapore Broadcasting Corporation.
From a self-taught percussionist to Music Director and then Head of Audio post in MediaCorp, Chin Boo brings his wealth of knowledge and experience to Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP) where he heads the Audio / Radio section and lectures in Audio Technology and Productions, Advanced Audio Production.
He composed the music for NP’s 40th Anniversary musical, and was the percussionist for musical "Victor/Victoria", which starred Laura Fygi, at the Esplanade Theatre in 2009. Chin Boo was awarded NP’s Teaching Award (Academic) in 2006.
About NUS Jazz Band
Serving up a potent brew of lush and inviting jazz - the bossa, blues, swing, bebop, fusion, ragtime, soul and arrangements from the traditional to the contemporary, the NUS Jazz Band was formed in 1994 by a group of dynamic musicians and jazz enthusiasts.
The band experiments with a spectrum of arrangements and improvisations from traditional big band to contemporary compositions. The members engage in weekly practices under the guidance of tutors who are prominent practitioners in the jazz industry. They also participate in ensemble playing, jam sessions, workshops, master classes and music camps.
The NUS Jazz Band held a series of sold out performances at the NUS Arts Festival - Irresistibly Yours, Soul Remedy, Treat Her Like A Lady! The popular band has also performed at various schools and corporate events such as CASE Conference at Asian Civilisation Museum, Funkamania at Ngee Ann City, Arts in the City - Contemporary Jazz at Art Square, Raffles City, NUS Centennial Roving Exhibition at Raffles City Shopping Centre, Jazz at the Beach at Sentosa and Music Performances at Concourse and Outdoor Theatre, Esplanade.