NUS Chinese Orchestra

@NUSChineseOrchestra NUSChineseOrchestra

From its inception in 1973, the NUS Chinese Orchestra (NUSCO) has grown to become a prominent youth Chinese orchestra in the local music scene. With over 100 musicians including undergraduate and postgraduate students, NUSCO provides its members with the opportunity to pursue their passion in music, exposing them to a varied repertoire from both local and international composers.

NUSCO seeks to develop a lifelong appreciation of Chinese orchestral music amongst members through a holistic curriculum that cultivates a growth mindset within them. NUSCO therefore regularly takes on the challenge of performing both traditional and contemporary pieces that can change perceptions of the art form with both members and audiences alike. Such technically demanding works include The Great Wall Capriccio, The Ballad of Lan Hua Hua, and most recently, Symphonic Poem: Battle of the Red Cliff.

By increasing the relevance of Chinese orchestral music, NUSCO hopes to inspire other youth orchestras in Singapore to contribute to the sustainability of the art form. Under the tutelage of Music Director Moses Gay, and together with professional instructors, the orchestra aims to explore a myriad of creative performances to achieve its goals.

Key Past Events

2023 NUS Arts Festival 2023, Essentially Macbeth with NUS Chinese Drama
2022 Guzheng Outreach Concert, Luminescence《筝韵。炫》
2021 Annual Concert, Seek 《三月天。寻》
2021 Annual Concert, 《三月天 · 和》Harmony
2019 Hsinchu Chinese Music Festival, Taiwan
2019 NUS Arts Festival Closing Show, The Art of War, featuring Tenor soloist Raymond Lee in Symphonic Poem: Battle of the Red Cliff, and Piano soloist Tan Tzu Kuang in The Yellow River Piano Concerto
2018 NUS ExxonMobil Campus Concerts Series, Confluence
2018 Annual Concert Connections, featuring The Celestial Web composed by Law Wai Lun with accompanying poem recital
2017 Moonlit Melodies performance with local singer, Ruth Kueo, Esplanade Outdoor Theatre
2017 Annual Concert Orbis, featuring dizi soloist Beverly Goh with the award-winning Bamboo Flute Concerto
2017 NUS ExxonMobil Campus Concerts Series, Transendence
2016 Annual concert, A Glimpse of Diversity
2014 NUS ExxonMobil Campus Concerts Series, Tales
2014 Annual Concert Vestige, featuring the world premiere of Dance of Dreams composed by Xu Zhi Yan

Moses Gay

Music Director

Hailed by The Straits Times as an “excellent young conductor”, Moses Gay’s first foray into conducting began at the precocious age of 15 when he earned great praise from renowned Chinese conductor Ku Lap Man. Since then, he has developed into an outstanding musician, graduating with First Class Honours from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts and obtaining a Master’s Degree in Orchestral Conducting from the China Conservatory of Music, both on full scholarship. In 2014, he was granted tenure as Assistant Conductor of the Singapore Chinese Orchestra (SCO), Singapore’s only professional Chinese Orchestra where he continues to grow as a conductor.

 

Throughout the course of his study, Moses was privileged to learn from eminent conductors such as Roberto Paternostro, Martin Sieghart, Vance George, Mark Gibson, Leon Gregorian, Wolfgang Doerner and Marc Trautmann in various masterclasses and as their assistant, received positive appraisals from all. In 2011, he was mentored by Alexander Polischuk at the Saint Petersburg State Conservatory in Russia and throughout his postgraduate course, received tutelage from Professor Youqing Yang and Tsung Yeh (Music Director of SCO).

 

Moses’ conducting experience extends beyond Chinese orchestral music. In 2015, he was invited to collaborate with the Orchestre Régional de Cannes in France and in 2017 he conducted the Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra and the South Czech Philharmonic in the Czech Republic and the Berlin Sinfonietta in Germany.

 

As an erhu performer, Moses was invited to Rennes, France to perform the Red Plum Capriccio Concerto with the Orchestre Symphonique de Bretagne and to helm a workshop in erhu performance at the Institut Confucius de Bretagne. He has also had the privilege of receiving guidance from famed erhu doyenne Min Hui Fen and erhu master Zhang Shao. Moses owes his musical journey to Zhang Yu Ming, to whom he expresses his heartfelt gratitude.