AYN: Arts Imprints Around My Neighbourhood with Quek Ling Kiong

I looked forward to Quek Ling Kiong’s interview like a fangirl. Fan-Mama to be exact because my son loves him. When I told him I met Quek Ling Kiong, Ewan’s face lit up and I swear his pupils dilated from excitement.

“You did? You mean you met Quek Quek? The Quek Quek from the CD? He is REAL? A real person?”, Ewan questioned me quite breathlessly. I couldn’t stop laughing when he asked if the Quek Quek in the storybooks is real!

Quek Ling Kiong is the Resident Conductor of the Singapore Chinese Orchestra (SCO) and Music Director of the Singapore Youth Chinese Orchestra (SYCO). We had been listening and reading to ‘Musical Adventures with Quek Quek’, a box set containing a music cd and four books where Adventurer Quek Quek takes children on four magical adventures and teaches them about the main sections of the Chinese orchestra. My children are captivated by the lyrical text and beautiful illustrations. I had to get an autograph from him for Ewan and Faye.

A chance meeting is due. For the kids with this inspiring conductor who lives and breathes through passion! Mr Quek’s musical dreams was achieved through hard work and a big leap of faith. He blew all his savings, left his full-time job and lied to his family about working overseas just to begin his formal training at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music at 27, where most musicians would have been well-acclaimed by that age.

I cancelled all firmed plans for 20th November 2016 just to join Mr Quek on a heritage trail around Bedok on an open-top bus. How novel that a tourist bus will be in a heartlands! He will be leading his crowd of 40 together on a sui generis orchestrical experience in a matured residential estate. Click to Register.

Bedok is derived from the Malay word for “drum” spelt as bedoh where the “h” is pronounced like “k”. Drums were used to gather Muslims to enter the Mosque during the prayer hour in the olden days. Today, this mosque still stands in Bedok. The instruments used during this heritage musical tour will include drums for sure. Participants will meet at Bedok Town Square (between Bedok Mall and Bedok Interchange Hawker Centre) first before they board the bus on a 20-minute ride towards Bedok Food Centre. Along the way, Bedok's past as an idyllic coastal town will slowly be unveiled through stories. Did you know that the Upper East Coast Road area used to be a beach?

On the bus, 40 hand-held percussion instruments willl then be distributed to the participants and they will be led into a musical crash course on rhythms led by two percussionists on board. This is an integral part of the tour, involving everyone in this experience! Oh yes! We will be participating in the show! I can already visualise how excited Ewan will be making noise (not necessarily music) with the group.

Arriving at Bedok Food Centre, a flash mob of 10 musicians from Dicapella will entertain the crowd with a Teresa Teng medley of songs, Rasa Sayang and a cultural medley of Di Tanjung Katong, Munneru Valibaa, Chan Mali Chan amongst others. The performance here is based on the theme of kampung nostalgia as Bedok Food Centre sits on the original site of two former kampungs, or villages, that were founded in the 1850s so the main instrument that will be featured is the Chinese Bamboo Flutes. Dicapella Dizi Ensemble is the largest bamboo flute ensemble in South East Asia. I am eager to watch this unique congreation which includes award-winning children soloists in their ensemble as well!

Boarding the open-top bus again, the participants will be learning the basics of drumming together with a historical brief on the rest of the journey back to Bedok Town. What an inclusive programme for the community don’t you think?

The grand plan here is, riders will all be invited to showcase their skills (albeit elementary) as they walk into Bedok Plaza in a 40-man big drumming procession with a Percussion Quartet on stage. A STOMP-like performance involving cups and kitchenware will blow the crowd’s feet off the ground! Can you imagine that? Oh the pride and delight to be part of it. Now let us hope everyone is game enough for this.

Seats will be lined in front of the stage for passer-bys to enjoy what’s planned in store for them. The theme at the Plaza will be Vibrant Town with a repertoire of songs including Dancing Queen, My Way to Kit Chan’s favourites. The audience will also have a chance to join in the fun with four installations around the square made of drums to create iconic landmarks of Singapore like Marina Bay Sands and the Singapore Flyer. These props are playable!

I cannot wait to be part of this with my family; hoping to enrich the children’s curiosity in Arts, Theatre, Dance and Music.

Come join Quek Ling Kiong at Arts Imprints Around My Neighbourhood 我家周边的记艺：乐游勿落, on 20 November 2016 (9.30am to 12.00pm and 2.00pm to 4.30pm) at Bedok. The music trail is perfect for families to explore the arts in that neighbourhood in the most culturally immersive manner ever conceived.

It will be a pity to give this a miss so have your family registered as soon as possible because there are limited seats left! Don't be left disappointed. Register here.

This is just one out of the more than 40 entertaining, fun and interactive performances and activities which residents in neighbourhoods will enjoy in the November edition of Arts in Your Neighbourhood (AYN), presented by the National Arts Council (NAC), taking place soon from 12-27 November. There will be great music, theatre, dance and multi-disciplinary performances, as well as art installations, music, art and photographic tours.  

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