TAY Teow Kiat 郑朝吉
Performing Arts in Singapore (Music),
Accession Number 003468
- Oral History Centre
Source
- 8
Total Reels
- Teo Kian Giap
Interviewer
- 07:03:38
Total Running Time
- Mandarin
Language
Copyright Notice
All rights to the recordings and transcripts on this website, including the rights to copy, publish, broadcast and perform, are reserved. Written permission is required for any use. If you have any queries, please contact nas@nlb.gov.sg
Reel/Disc 1 of 8
Metadata
- 9 Feb 2010
Recording Date
- 00:56:31
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
*Born in 1947 in Singapore. He came from a large family. His grandfather owned a three-storey house in Telok Ayer. When his grandfather passed away, the extended family broke up and Mr Tay’s family eventually settled at Geyland Lorong 1. He studied at Ai Tong School 爱同学校 and Maha Bodhi Primary School 菩提学校. His father sold goods and groceries to the seafarers at Clifford Pier. He recounted life at Geylang Lorong 1 and 3. Father suffered a stroke. He saved his pocket money and spent it on gaming. As a result, he suffered gastric problems and could not attend school for half a year. During that period, his elder brother taught him to play the mandolin. He also learnt Buddhism in school. He studied at Chung Cheng High. He had his first contact with Chinese orchestra music where he joined the school’s cultural society 民间音乐研究会. He learnt to play the 2-string Qin Qin 秦琴, a basic string instrument. As he had previous knowledge of playing the mandolin (string instrument), he mastered the instrument very fast and was soon asked to play the ruan 阮with the Chinese orchestra. Repertoire at that time was limited, as there was not much contact with China. Later he was asked to play the sanxian 三弦, which was difficult to learn. He however found ways to master it. He spent a lot of time in the orchestra and was soon promoted to be one of the leaders in the orchestra and started teaching.
He spoke about the local groups that were active during that time. He was invited to a music society 康乐音乐研究会 but stopped going after a few times. The school’s Chinese orchestra was disbanded, probably due to the political situation at that time. For the period 1949 to 1966, the development of Chinese orchestra music in China was shift. While he was in Pre-U, the family moved to Tanjong Rhu. Through a contact of his mother, he was requested to help teach the members of the Chinese orchestra at Mountbatten Community Centre. Mr Tay recalled practicing at Chung Cheng Lake at his school. He was also asked to teach at the People’s Association Headquarters. But he did not like the tone of the meeting so he did not accept it.
We will get back to your request within 5 working days
Reel/Disc 2 of 8
Metadata
- 9 Feb 2010
Recording Date
- 00:58:29
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
Through contacts at the Mountbaten Community Centre orchestra, he was recommended to teach at Quan Sheng Yin Yue She 泉声音乐社. His results at school were average. He learnt sanxian from Mr Yang Hao Ran 杨浩然, a folk artist. He gave a brief history of the society, where it housed an orchestra that basically served as a funeral band. It was at this society that Mr Tay built up his competence in running and conducting the orchestra. He was engaged for 2 nights a week but ended up teaching every night. As music scores were difficult to come by, he had to memorise music played on Rediffusion. After graduating from Chung Cheng High, he decided to enrol in Teachers Training College. At that time a Director of the Radio Television Singapore (RTS) Mr Goh Kar Pek 吴佳璧was interested in Chinese culture. RTS organised a Radio Station Concert 电台音乐会 and groups were invited to perform. During that period, more schools were forming Chinese orchestra. A Mr Huang asked Mr Tay to help form an orchestra in Jurong Secondary School (JSS). Mr Huang and Mr Goh Kar Pek knew each other and Mr Huang 黄 told Mr Tay about the radio concert. The music society participated in the concert and Mr Goh was happy with the performance. Mr Goh subsequently asked Mr Tay if he was keen to set up an orchestra at RTS. Mr Tay started teaching at Siglap Primary School. Mr Goh asked all the orchestra members to go over to RTS. The people at Quan Sheng Music Society were not happy. At that time, there were also members from Jurong Secondary School in the orchestra. Problems arose during the negotiation stage with RTS. Some students from JSS questioned the motive of moving to a government agency. In the end, only junior members of the orchestra followed Mr Tay to RTS. Mr Tay had to rebuild the orchestra. He spent 4 nights a week conducting and rehearsing at RTS. He held audition for orchestra members and opened classes for novices. There were more Chinese orchestra during the 70s – 80s. Soon, the RTS Chinese Orchestra was doing the annual radio show. There were more music scores available from China. One of his uncles, who was in Hong Kong at that time, help purchased the scores from HK. As the music scores always included quotes from Mao Zedong, they were detained by Internal Security Department. He thought of quitting conducting and concentrating on mastering the sanxian, but Mr Goh would not want anyone else to be the conductor. Mr Tay only played the sanxian in public once. He related a story where a lady wanted to learn sanxian from him.
We will get back to your request within 5 working days
Loading...
Reel/Disc 4 of 8
Metadata
- 9 Feb 2010
Recording Date
- 00:58:07
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
Mr Tay’s impression of Mr Lim Nai Yan, former principal of Dunman High School. He related the incident on the joint concerts between the Dunman High School Chinese Orchestra and the Beijing School Chinese Orchestra. The performances drew good response in both Beijing and Shanghai. The visit by Dunman Chinese Orchestra has prompted the development of Chinese Orchestra in schools in these cities. Dunman High School Chinese Orchestra was praised for its skills and good discipline. Mr Tay mentioned how he beefed up the Dunman High Chinese Orchestra. Mr Tay did not set up a Chinese Orchestra at Siglap Primary School as he was busy at SBC Chinese Orchestra. At that time, People’s Association Chinese Orchestra has become professional and it did a lot of community tours. SBC Chinese Orchestra concentrated mostly in concert venues. He mentioned that besides the Chinese Orchestra, there were also a choir and a youth drama group based in SBC Radio 3. In late 80s/ early 90s, there was talk about privatisation of SBC. The Chinese Choir and the youth broadcast group were disbanded first. Mr Tay was looking for alternatives at that time. The SBC management wanted National Trade Union Congress (NTUC) to take over but NTUC already had an orchestra. Mr Tay proposed to have an interim name for the orchestra while looking for a permanent home. He came up with the name City Chinese Orchestra. NAC Chairman Professor Tommy Koh and SBC representative went to meet Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts Principal Wu Tsung Kan, and a decision was made to let SBC Chinese Orchestra go over to NAFA. Due to space constraints at NAFA, the base for the Orchestra was at Dunman High School. The Chinese name of the orchestra was changed to “Si Cheng Hua Yue Tuan” 狮城华乐团. English name renamed unchanged. A prefix “NAFA” was added in front. In 1993, the orchestra officially left SBC. How he felt leaving the umbrella of SBC. He felt the awkward relationship between the orchestra and the various Principals of NAFA. He related an incident regarding the appointment of music examination board from China.
We will get back to your request within 5 working days
Reel/Disc 5 of 8
Metadata
- 23 Feb 2010
Recording Date
- 00:58:10
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
The NAFA City Chinese Orchestra was evolved from the SBC Chinese Orchestra. The other active Chinese Orchestra was the People’s Association Chinese Orchestra. From the 70s to the 80s, there were more amateur groups from the community centres (Keat Hong, Queenstown), societies (Hsing Hai), Clan Associations (Jin Jiang, Fu Zhou) etc. From the 80s to the 90s, the Ministry of Education introduced the music competition and many schools started their own orchestras. This indirectly affected membership for the non-school orchestras. He gave possible reasons why students never joined Chinese orchestras when they left school. He felt that training in schools in the 80s may not be comprehensive, and thus the students may not be interested to continue after they left school.
The situation improved when schools were able to engage instructors from China in the 90s. He said that most schools could not hold a full length concert as the conductors/ teachers were not well trained. He mentioned a few active conductors in the schools. He mentioned the number of instructors (at least 14) required for an orchestra and felt that most schools were not devoting enough manpower and resources to it. Mr Tay mentioned the changes to the composition of a Chinese Orchestra through the years. He also mentioned changes to the instruments. In terms of music compositions, there used to be mainly ensemble pieces in the early years. From the 80s onwards, concertos were introduced. Most composers in China were influenced by Western music. Mr Tay mentioned some composers such as Tan Dun and Qu Xiaosong.
In terms of new works, in the 80s and 90s, composers like Tan Dun fused Chinese elements and western contemporary music. He felt that the music has become more contemporary. He noted that the repertoire of Singapore Chinese Orchestra is also heading in that direction. He commented that in the 80s, the Chinese Orchestras were mainly found in music societies and Community Centres. From the 90s onwards, school Chinese orchestra constituted the bulk of the Chinese orchestras in Singapore. The 4 actives ones were Keat Hong, Cheng San, Hsing Hai 星海 and NAFA City Chinese Orchestra, and the professional company Singapore Chinese Orchestra. There were about 100 orchestras in school but yet only a few schools could stage a full length concert. With the establishment of diplomatic ties between Singapore and China, Chinese instructors started to arrive in Singapore and they introduced a more systematic way of learning to the students. Standards of students have risen, seen through the music competition organised by the National Arts Council. But most students joined the orchestra more as to learn the culture, rather than thinking it as a career. He felt that the role of music competitions may not serve the purpose now, and schools’ main priority was to get good results at music competitions. He felt that there should be a conservatory for Chinese music. He mentioned that there were 3 examination bodies for Chinese music in Singapore.
We will get back to your request within 5 working days
Reel/Disc 6 of 8
Metadata
- 23 Feb 2010
Recording Date
- 00:58:40
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
In 1993, Mr Tay was awarded the Cultural Medallion, the first Chinese music conductor to receive it. He spoke about his nomination and how he felt when he received the award. In 1999, he spent 6 months sabbatical in Shanghai to upgrade himself, including learning conducting from Mr Cao Peng 曹鹏. Mr Tay had a chance to study in Taiwan in the 80s but during the application process, he decided not to apply. One of the reasons he went on sabbatical to Shanghai was that he was not considered for the music director post of Singapore Chinese Orchestra. He felt that it could due to his qualifications and thus he wanted to upgrade himself. He spoke about his stay in Shanghai. He mentioned that conducting is a difficult skill, but yet anyone who could mimicked the movement could go on stage and conduct (he cited an example).
In 2005, he went to Beijing Normal University 北京师范大学to study Chinese music conducting. He gave reasons why he went there instead of music conservatories in Beijing or Shanghai. Mr Tay did a concert with Mr Wang Li Ping 王立平, based on the score Mr Wang composed for the TV serial Dream of the Red Chambers. The concert was brought to China and it was staged more than 100 times. Mr Wang helped Mr Tay enrolled into the University. He spoke about his time in Beijing. He spoke briefly about his family. In 2000, he was transferred to the Centre of Excellence (COE) East Zone, concentrating on Chinese Orchestra. He came up with a long term proposal but the schools wanted results fast. He spoke on the activities that he organised, including forming an orchestra for the school principals. He retired from COE in 2009. He gave his assessment of the programme. He opined that the teaching of Chinese music should be included in the school curriculum. He noted that teachers-in-charge tended to change every year, and there was no fixed syllabus to train them. There were conflicts between teachers in charge and conductors. He continued his studies by doing a PhD at the same University.
We will get back to your request within 5 working days
Reel/Disc 7 of 8
Metadata
- 23 Feb 2010
Recording Date
- 00:58:11
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
Mr Tay noted that it was the conductors that created the vibrancy of Chinese orchestra music in Singapore. He mentioned that practically all the conductors in the major Chinese orchestras in the world were trained in western conducting. There is currently no course in China for Chinese orchestra music conducting. He mentioned an archeological finds from the Wu Dai 五代 era, where there was a figurine among others that resembled a conductor. He opined a need to groom Chinese music conductors who are familiar and grounded in Chinese music. He mentioned that he would be overseeing the development of Dunman High School’s 850 seat and 450 seat performing venues. He mentioned the major music venues in Singapore, and felt that the venues at the school would complement the current venues in Singapore, and to promote cultural exchanges. He felt that he was not involved in major policies in Singapore cultural scenes, so he directed his energy into conducting.
Mr Tay talked about his style of conducting, and gave some pointers for good conducting. He said that conductors should control their temper and learn to galvanise the orchestra members, citing a few personal examples. He conducted Singapore Chinese Orchestra on a few occasions. He listed the orchestras in China that he has worked with. He has yet to list a concert that he was totally satisfied with, though he liked a few performances of Dream of the Red Chambers. He was not totally satisfied with his few recordings. He mentioned his routine on performance day. His impression of early pioneers like Mr Li Xue Ling 李雪岭, Mr Li Zhen Yuan 李振源, Mr Zhang Zhen Quan 张镇荃, Mr Yang Hao Ran 杨浩然, Mr Wu Da Jiang 吴大江, Mr Mo Ze Xi 莫泽熙, Mr Goh Kah Pek.
We will get back to your request within 5 working days
Reel/Disc 8 of 8
Metadata
- 23 Feb 2010
Recording Date
- 00:16:53
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
Mr Tay continued his discussion on Mr Goh Kah Pek. He elaborated on the concert series organised by the Radio Television Singapore. He mentioned the initial adjustments of having to do publicity and rehearsing at a new venue when City Chinese Orchestra had just formed. He noted that musical instruments had become more expensive.
We will get back to your request within 5 working days
