JOURNEY: Contemplating the World Through French Music
With Dr Khoo Hui Ling (Piano), Carlo Lay (Cello)
accompanying Lilith Verhelst (Soprano)
From the innocence of childhood and the fervor of love to grief a journey of the music from Debussy, Du Parc, Saint Saens, Faure and Massenet by Dr Khoo Hui Ling (Piano), Carlo Lay (Cello) accompanying Lilith Verhelst (Soprano).
PROGRAMME
REPERTOIRE:
L’invitation au voyage – Du Parc,
Ariettes Oubliees – Debussy,
Estampes – Debussy
The Swan – Saint Saens
Elegie – Faure
Je t’aime and On dit – Massenet
Dr. Khoo Hui Ling – Pianist
For pianist Khoo Hui Ling, playing the piano is a reflective meditation. It is a vulnerable and precious act of expressing what is in the heart beyond where words can go. Sought after as both a performer and teacher, she enjoys sharing this experience in her musical endeavors. Hui ling is currently academic faculty at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, and Founder and Pedagogy Consultant at The Music Studios, where she mentors piano teachers and students.
Apart from performance, Hui Ling cultivates a passion for teaching. Her sensitivity to detail ad ability to elicit the strengths of every student have helped students gain entry into prestigious music programmes, festivals and competitions. Prior to her current teaching appointments, she was a teaching intern at the Peabody Preparatory, a Graduate Teaching Fellow at the University of Oregon and a Higher Music Programme teacher at Nanyang Girls’ High School in Singapore. She has also served as an adjudicator for piano competitions organized by the Music Teachers National Association in the United States.
In 2016, Hui Ling graduated with a Doctorate in Piano Performance from the University of Oregon under the tutelage of Deam Kramer. She previously attended the Peabody and Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music and studied with Brian Ganz, Thomas Hecht, and Julie Tan. In her years as a student, she is grateful to have had the opportunity to perform in masterclasses for renowned pianists such as Leon Fleisher, John Perry, Sergio Tiempo, Garrick Ohlsson, Anton Nel, and Jean-Yves Thibaudet. The musical journey of an artist is a lifelong one. Hui Ling hopes to further develop her interests in performance, teaching, and in innovative collaborations with other artistic fields.
Lilith Verhelst – Soprano
Belgian soprano Lilith Verhelst simply loves singing. It makes her happy, and the reason why she became a singer is very simple too; to share that happiness with an audience. In 2015, Lilith relocated to Singapore where she is currently Adjunct Voice Teacher at The School of the Arts Singapore (SOTA). She is a pioneering member of Lied duo Khoo-Verhelst and Red Dot Baroque and was also featured in Sonic Blossom by artist Lee Mingwei at The National Art Gallery Singapore during the Night to Light festival.
Her ability to bring contemporary music to life has seen her in soloist roles in modern opera, musical theare and chamber music. She has collaborated with composer Geroges Aperghis to perform his work La Nuit En tete (2013) and also performed VOI(rex) by Philippe Leroux with Kammerensemble Neue Musik Berlin during her residency with the OPUS XXI Academy 2013 (Avignon). In April 2015, she sang the role of Green Ramy in the opera ROMY – Elle est moi und tate mich by Belgian composer Joris Blanckaert, in collaration with SPECTRA Ensemble.
Other notable projects have included singing within different editions of the Gaudeamus Festival Amsterdam, working with the Ereprijs Ensemble to premiere numerous works by the young composer. She performed the chamber opera Drawers in the presence of the composer Tom Johnson, participated in Columba by the Belgian musical theatre group Luna Baal, singing music by Nicholas Lens and toured The Netherlands with the opera Alzheimer (2006) by Chiel Meijering.
As a solo and ensemble singer, Lilith was a member of The Flemish Radio Choir (BE), CantolLX (LU), Cappella Amsterdam (NL) and Baroque Ensemble Collegium AD MOSAM (NL). She has also performed diverse programs such as the Frescobaldi/Cage programme put on by CantoLX and reviving the music of 17th-century Turnout composers in collaboration with the baroque orchestra B’Rock. In addition to her work in contemporary music and choral collaborations, she was part of the baroque duo The Green Lady Ensemble with harpist Sarah Louise Ridy- a duo focusing on the performance of Italian and English repertoire from the 17th century.
Lilith obtained her degree in classical singing at the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp before continuing her vocal studies at the Royal Conservatory of the Hague where she specialized in early music performance practice. Equally at home with singing baroque and contemporary repertoire, Lilith loves the purity of baroque music and the fact that it is so natural for the voice. Whilst most would find the challenge of singing contemporary music daunting, Lilith thrives on the freedom it gives her as a performer.
Carlo Lay – Violoncello
Carlo Lay has been receiving musical training from Prof. Christian Brunnert since commencing as a junior student at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln at the start of the winter semester 2013/2014.
He is winner of the Beethoven Bonnensis competition 2017.
Carlo was awarded a first prize with distinction (25 points) at the national Young Musicians competition 2016 and won the sponsorship award at the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival 2016.
Carlo was born in Singapore in July 2000 and has been playing the cello since early childhood. He has been a member of the National Youth Orchestra since 2015 and played with the North Rhine-Westphalia Regional Youth Orchestra before that. Carlo is also a member of the LGT Young Soloists (Liechtenstein/Switzerland).
Furthermore, he was also a choirboy in the Cologne Cathedral Choir.
Carlo has participated in concert tours of France, Austria, Spain, Italy, Poland and the US.
Carlo’s orchestral debut took place with the Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra of Rhine-Erft under the conductorship of Christian Letschert-Larsson. Carlo performed Joseph Haydn’s Cello Concerto in C Major with the Beethoven Orchestra, conducted by Kenneth Duryea.
Carlo has won numerous “young musician” prizes at both regional and national level. In addition, in 2012, his playing earned him the sponsorship award at the Lions Club Musical Competition.
Carlo has been given further musical inspiration and stimuli at master classes taken with Antonio Meneses, Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt, Wolfgang Boettcher, Claus Kanngießer, Hans-Christian Schweiker, Hannah Roberts, Adrian Brendel, Louise Hopkins, Leonid Gorokhov and Peter Hörr.
Carlo holds a scholarship from the Werner Richard-Dr. Carl Dörken Foundation and the Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben (German Music Foundation)
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