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In Conversation with Pei-Sian Ng


Pei-Sian Ng is one of the most easy-going musicians I have ever met. Contrary to what usually occurs in an interview, our conversation over lunch was filled with lighthearted recollections of our favourite childhood video games. “I used to be obsessed with Diablo! I remember running back home from college after practising till midnight, just to play games,” Ng recalls fondly. “What I love most about Diablo, though, is the music. The Town Theme with the guitar is the best - I can put it on all day, I don’t mind living to it.” He let out a groan when I hinted that we should move on to more serious topics.

Adelaide-bred Ng has been in Singapore for only four years, but he is already a familiar face on the local classical music scene. At 29, the Principal Cellist of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra is the youngest-ever to assume the position - one beyond the dreams of most aspiring musicians, but which Ng had never desired to take up.

"This was never my dream, but financially it was very hard on my parents for both my brother and I to be in England pursuing our solo careers.” His sacrifice was not without gain. Since taking up the job, he has endeared himself to audiences and garnered critical acclaim in nearly every concert featuring a solo cello passage.

Surely he must have practised round the clock to get to where he is today? Ng’s lighthearted response inadvertently reveals a musician of uncommon natural ability. “When I was just starting out, I didn’t really practise, and no one forced me to. I just had fun; I enjoyed the cello, I enjoyed my lessons. In university I’d practise at most 5 hours a day. I think the most cello playing I’ve done in my life is actually in Singapore, after joining the orchestra.”

“But I have no regrets! I am very lucky to be here,” he added, when I asked if being in an orchestra affected his solo playing. “Being Principal Cellist is not bad, because I have solos every now and then. Also, I have been doing two or three big concerts a year, and this pace fits me quite well. It is a good balance; I’d rather not have big performances every week, or I would be very tired.”

Ng will be the soloist in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Variations on a Theme of Paganini in the Orchestra of the Music Makers’ upcoming OMMProm concert. Variations, in true Lloyd Webber style, features an eclectic mix of lush melodies and energetic grooves. “My favourite variations are the ones I can really say something with. On the surface they are beautiful melodies which can hit every chord in your heart, but if you do it right, you can create something special. I think my job is to dig, and look for something below the surface.”

His moment of seriousness was a pleasant surprise, but humorously short-lived. “For the rest of the variations, I’m just going to enjoy playing them! It is actually a really fun piece, and I am treating it that way. The concert is called ‘Rhythms & Rhapsodies’, not ‘The Meaning of Life’!”


Pei-Sian Ng will be playing Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Variations for Cello and Orchestra with the Orchestra of the Music Makers (OMM) under the baton of Chan Tze Law in the upcoming OMMProm concert. The concert will be held this Saturday, 1 Mar, 5pm, at the Esplanade Concert Hall. Tickets can be purchased from SISTIC here.


This post first appeared on The Music Wire: Are You Listening?, please read the originial post: here

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In Conversation with Pei-Sian Ng

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