M A R K C H A N
Composer / Musician / Writer / Singer
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Excerpts from O P I U M E - Music & Libretto: Mark
Chan
Mark Chan is one of Singapore’s premier composers.
A Singer/Multi-instrumentalist/Poet and Painter in his own right, his unique combination of East and West shows in the fact that he trained for 9 years in classical Chinese bamboo flute and also 7 years as a Western Counter-tenor.
His musical career spans a good 19 years and is surprising for its constant freshness and reinvention of a very distinctive style established back in the 80s and refined and matured up til the present day.
It is a seamless thoroughly integrated blend of Asian and Western, traditional and modern, classical, pop and avant-garde that always retains its primal beauty through his distinctive and memorable melodies and his cutting harmonies.
Recording & TV :
He has released 7 solo albums under various labels:
Warner (WEA), Polygram, BMG, Hori Productions (Japan) in styles ranging from pop/adult contemporary to world music and Asian healing.
The album China Blue (released by BMG) received very high accolades and "China Blue" was chosen Best Song of the last 10 years in Singapore in 1999.
He has performed extensively as a solo artist on TV and the stage in Singapore, Hong Kong and also Japan
Mark has also represented Singapore at various song festivals, entering the finals in the first Voice of Asia Contest in 1994.
He has produced albums and songs for some of Asia’s top pop stars: e.g. Tracy Huang, Andy Lau
and has hosted two series of TV shows for Singapore TV - both immensely popular, introducing the lost, funny and interesting aspects of Singaporean life:
<Common Threads> and <Retro Trek>.
Theatre:
His contribution to the development of theatre in Singapore and across Asia is one of his most significant bodies of work.
He was appointed Composer-in-residence at Theatreworks for 10 years (1989-1999) and, in addition, has composed, directed and recorded music for over 30 plays working with top directors, theatre companies and performers from Singapore and the rest of the world (China, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Canada, Australia, Hong Kong)
The plays he has scored have been in not only English, but also in Chinese, Malay, Japanese.
(see appendix)
Many of these theatre productions have toured internationally.
e.g. Madam Mao’s Memories (Edinburgh Festival), 3 Children (Japan, Singapore, Malaysia), Lear (Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, Germany, Denmark).
TV scoring: National Geographic Channel, Discovery Channel, Singapore TV, Japan – NHK.
Recent Work:
5 years back, Mark decided to return to more classical/ “serious” contemporary music and has created 4 ground-breaking major works over the past 3 years:
Reflections On War, Reflections On Peace
Commissioned by the Singapore Heritage Board for the permanent war museum at Bukit Chandu.
The 2 pieces are photo poems using a striking combination of photographs, text and music to comment on both present day reality and the fragility of peace and also looking back on the horrors and bravery of the 2nd World War, with specific reference to Singapore.
Little Toys – Silent Film scoring (2003 Hong Kong Arts Festival & 2003 Singapore Arts Festival – Main Programme Highlight in both festivals)
A co-commission from the Hong Kong and the Singapore Arts Festivals, it is the first serious and full-scale scoring of a 1930s silent b/w film from China ever created.
Again, using Mark’s trademark blend of Western and Chinese classical instruments (cello, erhu, pipa, guanzi, piano, percussion) it has been hailed a milestone in the moving forward of Asian music.
It opened to resounding response in Hong Kong and followed suit in Singapore and also toured to Copenhagen in the same year. Talks are now underway to bring the production to Paris.
(Dear Mr Chan,My husband and I have attended many Arts Festival performances--Cesaria Evora, the French National Orchestra, the Hagen Quartet, Yundi Li--and as much as we thought we would LIKE Little Toys, we did not expect it to so thoroughly trounce, in our opinion, all of the other performances we had attended. The film itself was a revelation, and your music was sublime.
With my most sincere appreciation,Jacqueline Deley ... )
Email & Eternity – Singapore Chinese Orchestra - 2003
Commissioned by the Singapore Chinese Orchestra, this unusual full-length piece stretches the boundaries of the Chinese classical ensemble, taking the analogy of modern air-travel and using that to reveal the hidden spirituality of modern life.
Strongly modal and mathematical in style, the music is never overwhelmed by the intellectual aspects.
Talks are in progress with Phillips Classical about the release of the live recording of this work.
OPIUME – a modern chamber opera
(Singapore Arts Festival 2004, Hong Kong New Vision Arts Festival 2004 – Main programme highlight)
His most ambitious work so far. Mark was responsible for both the libretto and the music and, together with Casey Lim, was co-creator of the production.
Inspired by the events of the illicit opium trafficking that took place in China in the 19th century, the opera is a modern view of not only what took place but also a comment on how we live our lives now: the difficulties of cultural interaction, the power play, the dangers and seduction of drug use and also the harsh reality of economic trade and imbalance.
Some quotes from reviews of Mark’s work:
China Blue:
“Chan’s music breathes serenity and contemplation… it captures a feeling and haunts with its melody. Integrating Chinese, Malay, Japanese and Western sounds, Chan hits his mark effortlessly…. real World Music!”
Philip Cheah, BigO (Singapore’s premier music magazine)
Travelling Under The Light Of The Full Moon:
“Chan has perfected his world of colliding sounds….pop transformed into reflective, inspirational music…. It heals, it’s singer-songwriter soul.”
“For a long time now, we have wondered about the Singapore sound…. What is it that makes it both local and international ….. Chan’s trilogy of albums (China Blue, Nature Boy & Travelling Under The Light Of The Full Moon) achieves that through sheer feeling….”
Philip Cheah, BigO
The Other Actor:
“The Other Actor is an indication of strong composing talent…. It’s a big step forward for Southeast Asian aesthetics “ 8 days magazine
“His haunting, sinuous compositions make the difference between a cerebral abstract play and a personal gut-level experience in the theatre.”
Hannah Pandian, theatre reviewer, Straits Times
~****~
“Mark’s music fuses a variety of influences into one brilliant and expressive voice, rich with lyrical beauty. The score he wrote for my plays displays a mastery of theatrical technique, and also stands as engaging listening all on its own. Mr Chan is undoubtedly one of the emerging talents on the world music scene. “
David Hwang, playwright of M Butterfly
“Mark is an exceptionally talented Singaporean, I have long admired his songwriting skills, his singing and, more recently, his compositions for the Chinese flute.”
Professor Tommy Koh, Chairman, Singapore National Arts Council
LITTLE TOYS
(Silent Film Scoring, 2003 Hong Kong Arts Festival & 2003 Singapore Arts Festival)
(Dear Mr Chan,My husband and I have attended many Arts Festival performances--Cesaria Evora, the French National Orchestra, the Hagen Quartet, Yundi Li--and as much as we thought we would LIKE Little Toys, we did not expect it to so thoroughly trounce, in our opinion, all of the other performances we had attended. The film itself was a revelation, and your music was sublime.
With my most sincere appreciation,Jacqueline Deley ... )
appendix
Directed by William Teo
April 1988, directed by William Teo
THREE CHILDREN Theatreworks, 1988
Directed by Ong Keng Sen & Krishen
Jit, rerun in 1992 in Singapore,
Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo and Yokohama
THE ROBBERS FROM A Children’s musical in Mandarin,
NUTMET TOWN Practice Performing Arts, Nov 1988, Directed by Lin Renyu, Re-run Aug
1993, 2nd re-run 1998
MOTHER COURAGE Asia in Theatre Research Circus
May 1989, directed by William Teo
GRAVEYARD SHIFT Action Theatre, August 1989
Directed by Ekerchai
TRINE Action Theatre, First run June 1990
Re-run October 1990
THE SILLY LITTLE GIRL Practice Performing Arts, Sep 1990
DAVID HWANG DOUBLE BILL Theatreworks, Feb 1990
Directed by Ong Keng Sen
AND THE FUNNY OLD TREE directed by Koh Pau Kun
TRIP TO THE SOUTH Theatreworks, Written by Filipino Playwright Tony Perez, Aug 1991
directed by Nonon Padilla (Philippines)
THE DAY I MET THE PRINCE Practice Performing Arts, First run in July 1989, touring Singapore schools every year for the past seven years, represented Singapore at the Cairo International Festival in Sep 93
OZONE Written by Indonesian playwright & director Arifin Noer, produced by
Theatreworks in Nov 1991, directed
by Arifin Noer
MADAM MAO’S MEMORIES Theatreworks, directed by Ong Keng
Sen, first run 1991, Re-run in 1992,
And then in the 92 Edinburgh Festival of Arts
PRIVATE PARTS Theatreworks, Singapore Arts Festival 1992, directed by Ong Keng Sen
LAO JIU Theatreworks, first run April 93, 2nd run in 94 in Singapore and at the Perth Festival of Arts, 3rd run in Singapore in 1997, written by Koh Pau Kun
MERGERS & ACCUSATIONS Theatreworks, July 1993, directed by Rani Moorthy & Ong Keng Sen
UNDER THE BED Theatreworks and One Yellow Rabbit (Canada), Dance-Drama directed by Denise Clarke & Blake Brooker, 1993
SCORPION ORCHID Theatreworks, for 1994 Singapore Arts Festival, directed by Krishen Jit (Malaysia)
THE FLOATING WORLD Black Swan Theatre (Perth Australia) & State Theatre of South Australia, for 1995 Festival of Perth, toured Sydney, Adelaide and Brisbane the same year. Directed by Andrew Ross
ASIAN PERFORMERS Theatreworks & Japan Foundation
WORKSHOP 1 Nov - Dec 1997, participants: traditional master musicians and composers from Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, China and Singapore
LEAR Japan Foundation & Theatreworks,
(music director and
joint composer and performer) Pan-Asian reworking of Shakespeare’s play, with performers from China, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, directed by Ong Keng Sen, premiered in Tokyo, toured Osaka and Fukuoka in Dec 97 – Jan 98, Toured Hong Kong, Djakarta, Singapore and Perth in January/February 1999.
Teater der Welt in Berlin and Summer Theatre Festival in Copenhagen in June/July 1999.
ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION Theatreworks, February 1998, directed by Nora Samosir
KISS OF THE SPIDERWOMAN Singapore Repertory Theatre, directed by Tony Petito, February 1998
ART Singapore Repertory Theatre, directed by Ivan Heng, Sep – Oct 1998, Singapore Premier
M BUTTERFLY Singapore Repertory Theatre, directed by Tony Petito, April 1999.
HAUNTED – the Musical Lyrics & Music: Mark Chan
Playwright: Ovidia Yu
Directed by Casey Lim
Produced by Theatreworks
Singapore Premier: July/August 1999.
A PERFECT GANESH Singapore Repertory Theatre
January 2000
all music on this website composed and copyrighted by Mark Chan
no unauthorised broadcast or sale
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