Mr Lum Yan Sing 蓝营轩指挥
Mr Lum Yan Sing is currently Assistant Director of NUS Centre For the Arts (CFA), Chief Examiner for CFA Chinese Instrumental Examination, and Music Director cum Resident Conuctor of NUS Chinese Orchestra (NUSCO).
Mr Lum joined the People’s Association Chinese Orchestra (PACO) in 1976, holding key roles as both the Orchestra Leader and Concert Master and studied the Erhu under Erhu master Professor Wang Guotong. With the conversion of PACO to the Singaopre Chinese Orchestra (SCO) in 1996, Mr Lum continued his position as the Concert Master. In 2000, he was appointed as the Assistant Conductor of SCO.
Besides performing as a guest soloist with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO), Mr Lum has performed as an Erhu soloist and guest conductor throughout Asia and Europe, including Britain, Switzerland, Norway, Japan, China, Taiwan, and Thailand. In 1974, he won the second prize in the World Music Instrumental Competition held in Britain, and in 1979, was Concert Master of the Asian Youth Combined Orchestra in Hong Kong. His experiences transcends boundaries between Chinese and Western classical music. He was invited by the SSO to conduct the Orchestra in a Gaohu solo performed by Qiu Yongji in 2001.
Mr Lum has led NUSCO in many international performance tours overseas, including Romania, Scotland, Mauritius, South Africa, South India, Switzerland and Poland. At the invitation of the Singapore Soka Association, Mr Lum conducted both its symphonic band and Chinese orchestra in 2003 and 2005. In April 2005, he led the Kent Ridge Ensembles Xin Yun Quintet to Sarawak, Malaysia to perform at the opening concert of the International Music Festival 2005.
Under Mr Lum’s stewardship, NUSCO took to the stage in Bydgoszcz, Poland as one of the 17 international participants of the XXXII Bydgoszcz Musical Impressions in June 2009. NUSCO’s stellar performance wowed the panel of judges and was bestowed with the Grand Prix, awarded by the Ministry of Education and the European Krzysztof Penderecki Music Centre, the most prestigious award of the competition – a first for a Chinese Orchestra from Singapore and from Asia. At the invitation of the National Arts Council (NAC), Mr Lum also assumed the responsibilities of the Music Director cum Conductor at the 2006 and 2008 National Chinese Music Competition Prize Winners’ Concert. In February 2009, Mr Lum was invited by NAC to perform in the ASEAN-Korea Orchestra in Korea. Mr Lum is one of the few musicians in the music circle with extensive international experience. In addition to being the first Singaporean and foreigner to be invited by the China Central Chinese Orchestra to stage an Erhu solo recital in Beijing Concert Hall, he also conducted the China Central Chinese Orchestra in a compact disc recording.
In addition to his many hats as a soloist, conductor, and Artistic Director, Mr Lum was also Adjudicator for many music competitions: the National Chinese Music Competition organised by the NAC, the Singapore Youth Festival Chinese Orchestra Competition organised by Ministry of Education (MOE), and various music competitions organised by the Community Development Centres. In 2006 and 2008, Mr Lum was also invited by Orkestra Huayue Negeri Pulau Pinang (Penang Chinese Orchestra) to judge the Penang Chinese Orchestra Competition. In 2008, he was invited by the MOE Co-Curricular Activities branch to be a member of its Chinese Orchestra Education Resource Committee and was also appointed by the NAC as an Arts Resource Committee Member.
Mr Lum’s biography has been entered into the Encyclopedia of Modern Chinese Erhu Music which was edited by Mr Zhao Yanchen of the Tianjin Conservatory Research Institute.