flagship category: Artistic Programmes

A concert series that premiered in 2017 to critical acclaim, paying homage to the vanishing trades of our Singaporean Chinese culture through multidisciplinary experiences. Songs of the Dragon Kiln is a take on the hillside wood-fired kilns built in Singapore by immigrant Chinese in the last century, now on the verge of extinction, presented through Chinese chamber music and documentary film. Seven Sisters’ Sonata is a love story told in music and dance, that traipses through Singapore’s iconic Chinatown in an exploration of the Seven Sisters Festival, also known as Chinese Valentine’s Day.

A triennial festival in Singapore that gives composers of all nationalities and ages a platform to showcase their Chinese chamber music. The festival comprises a composition competition, a series of symposiums, and two concerts. The first concert, Masters’ Replay, sees Ding Yi musicians perform all the adjudicators’ Chinese chamber music works; finalists’ compositions are performed in the Prize Presentation Concert, before the final results are announced. Composium was first launched by Ding Yi Music Company in 2012 with the aim of establishing a wide repertoire of Chinese chamber works.

A biennial series of concerts and workshops by accomplished ensembles and experts from around the world. Audiences experience a unique encounter with a spectrum of styles and approaches, while collaboration and creativity are further sparked as Chinese chamber music practitioners come together. The Festival was first organised in 2013, with a summit live streamed for the first time in 2022 to grow the appreciation of the genre among an international audience.

The 6th edition of the Ding Yi Chinese Chamber Music Festival, organised by Ding Yi Music Company in collaboration with Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, will take place from 12 to 15 December 2024. This year’s festival will showcase the finest in Chinese chamber music through a series of concerts and activities, featuring acclaimed ensembles such as Windpipe Chinese Music Ensemble (Hong Kong), C-Camerata (Taiwan), and “Bows and Strings’ Dance” Erhu (Huqin) Ensemble (China).

For more information, please visit https://www.esplanade.com/dingyi