
RISING STARS CONCERT SERIES
With Carlo Lay & Nigel Lim
GERMANY MEETS SINGAPORE
Carlo was born in Singapore 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).
Nigel won First Prize in the Senior category of the Yamaha Piano Competition. In 2014, Nigel emerged 2nd place in his category for the 2nd Singapore Steinway Youth Piano Competition, as well as runner-up for the Steinway’s Most Popular Pianist Award. In 2015, Nigel clinched the top prize (Gold Award) for the All Japan International Piano Concours held in Tokyo.
PROGRAMME
Brahms: Sonata in E minor, Op. 38 (1st movement) for Cello and Piano
Fauré: Elegie in C minor, Op. 24 for Cello and Piano
Piazzolla: Le Grand Tango for Cello and Piano
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Hallelujah
We Wish You a Jazzy Christmas
ARTISTS

Nigel Lim Wei Xuan – Pianist
Currently, a second-year national serviceman with the Singapore Armed Forces, Nigel is studying piano privately under the tutelage of Singapore’s renowned piano teacher, Benjamin Loh. Nigel has performed in numerous festivals and competitions both nationally and internationally. His exceptional flair for the piano is reflected by his musical achievements.
In 2009, at the age of 11, Nigel won First Prize in the Senior category of the Yamaha Piano Competition. In 2014, Nigel emerged 2nd place in his category for the 2nd Singapore Steinway Youth Piano Competition, as well as runner-up for the Steinway’s Most Popular Pianist Award. In 2015, Nigel clinched the top prize (Gold Award) for the All Japan International Piano Concourse held in Tokyo. Nigel has performed exemplarily well in exams too, scoring Distinctions in every one of his graded musical exams. Nigel also consistently topped his cohort when he was an MEP (Music Elective Program) student in Dunman High School (from 2011-2016), and his aptitude for music is shown when he scored distinction for both H2 and H3 music subjects in the GCE A-level examinations in 2016.
Since the age of 6, Nigel has performed in numerous concerts and recitals both locally and internationally. His experience in music extends to performances in the music conservatories of Hunan University and the Zhe Jiang Arts University in China in June 2009, as well as performances in Jeju Island, Korea when he participated in 1st Eumyoun International Music Festival.
In 2011 February, at the age of 12, Nigel held his first full-length debut solo recital in the Esplanade Recital Studio. The programme which spanned over an hour-and-a-half garnered positive reviews from the audience and set an important milestone in Nigel’s piano performance career.

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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