MEDIA RELEASE

Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre Partners Composer and Painter Mark Chan to Present a Cross-Disciplinary Production Email and Eternity

Email and Eternity  

Symphonic Suite: Music Without Borders

SINGAPORE, 26 August 2022 — Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre (SCCC) partners Mark Chan to present Email and Eternity – a cross-disciplinary concert combining his music and paintings. 

Mark Chan is a well-known local singer-songwriter, musical director and an internationally renowned composer who has worked with celebrities such as Andy Lau, Tracy Huang and Huang Xiaohu. He has helmed arts festival productions such as his hugely successful silent film scoring “Little Toys 小玩意” which toured to 5 cities and festivals. Mark is also a former national swimmer, a champion in his heyday.

After picking up the Chinese brush again three years ago and establishing himself as an ink painter and calligrapher, Chan is now making his return as a composer to the Singapore stage. His last work was “The Flight of the Jade Bird” which opened the 2012 Singapore Arts Festival at the Esplanade Concert Hall. 

For his return, he has partnered SCCC to reprise Email and Eternity – a full-length symphonic suite for World Chamber Orchestra – encapsulating Chan’s commitment to building bridges across cultures, with his trademark ‘Music Without Borders’, this time against an immersive backdrop of Chan’s paintings. 

The orchestra reflects Chan’s deep love for Chinese, Indian, Western, traditional and modern instruments. The carefully curated ensemble will combine Chinese orchestral instruments with the piano, tablas, electronics, and cello. 

Chan will be working cross-generationally on stage, with both established stars and students from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, and alumni of LaSalle College of the Arts.

On  2 October 2022, audiences will have the opportunity to join a dialogue session with Chan, where he will share his musical composition process, the inspirations behind the performance, and how his reflections helped with the creative process.

Email and Eternity

Date: 30 September 2022 to 2 October 2022

Venue: Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre，Far East Organization Auditorium, Level 9

Language: Conducted in English and Mandarin

Ticket Price: $28

Discount: 10% for students and senior citizens and group buy of 10 tickets and above

Tickets will be on sale from 25 August onwards.  Please visit https://www.sistic.com.sg/events/email1022 for more ticketing information.

As part of its commitment to accessibility, SCCC is happy to provide complimentary access to its onsite and online programmes for local charities, especially those with a focus on seniors. Please contact events@singaporeccc.org.sg for more details.

Please refer to Annex for more information about Email and Eternity.

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ANNEX

ABOUT EMAIL AND ETERNITY 

Email and Eternity was originally written in 2003 in response to the turmoils of Iraq and SARS, representing a time of global danger and uncertainty. This year, Chan saw similarities in the world affairs we have been experiencing such as the pandemic and invasion of Ukraine. 

During the performance, the audience will be taken on a journey from the airport, along a flight path through the skies in a post-pandemic world. It hopes to offer a sense of meaning, if not comfort, amid the uncertainties of today.

This performance will include a cross-disciplinary element through the inclusion of text and visual arts with the music score from the initial version. Chan’s paintings, which incorporates Chinese brush techniques, both interpret the performance’s musical composition, and serve as the stage backdrop.

The main feature of the performance is the carefully-curated orchestra, reflecting Chan’s deep love for Chinese, Indian, Western, traditional and modern instruments. The ensemble comprises Chinese orchestral instruments such as the erhu, pipa, dizi, xiao, sheng, yang qin, zhong ruan and Chinese percussion. These Chinese instruments are beautifully combined with Indian, Western, traditional and modern instruments like the piano, tablas, electronics and cello. 

To create an immersive experience for the audience, Chan playfully tweaks and combines melodies inspired from 1970’s and 80’s pop songs, the impressionism of Debussy and Ravel, Chinese folk songs, and the cross-rhythms of Brazilian guitar.