NAFA alumna, Huang Chuying playing the Suona with Singapore Chinese Orchestra at the opening performance of The National Chinese Music Competition.
More young children are interested in Chinese music nowadays. The number of children participating in the National Chinese Music Competition has increased by 26% compared to the last competition. The youngest participant is only 7 years old. The competition, which is held once every two years, has seen close to 230 participants this year showcasing their talents on stage. The competition is split into a three categories – junior group, youth group and open category – and over 8 instruments. 11-year-old Lim Haoyu is the top flautist in the junior category. He has been learning the flute for four years. Haoyu said that he practices the flute for at least 45 minutes a day, and if his schedule permits, he tries to practice for 2 hours. On winning the competition, he is very happy that his efforts has paid off.
The National Chinese Music Competition has also attracted many children of other races. There are non-Chinese contestants as well. One of the winners is 14-year-old Indian-Chinese Zhou Jielin who has won the pipa competition in the Youth category. Jielin started learning the pipa four years ago, and is also the pipa champion (Junior category) in the last run of the competition. She said that the standard of competition in the Youth category is higher than the Junior category and to win the top prize again makes her feel very happy.
26-year-old Huang Chuying played the Suona and won the top prize in the Open category. She is a NAFA graduate and after graduation, she formed a music group “Reverberance” with fellow alumni members. The musical piece performed by this music group won the second prize in the same category.
Lim Haoyu and Zhou Jielin are SYT students.
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Source: Lianhe Zaobao © Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Reproduced with permission.