Mark Chan (born 1958) is a

Singaporean Singaporeans, or the Singaporean people, refers to citizens or people who identify with the sovereign island city-state of Singapore. Singapore is a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-lingual country. Singaporeans of Chinese, Malay, India ...

composer, recording artist, singer, instrumentalist, poet, and painter. He studied fine arts at the

Edinburgh College of Art Edinburgh College of Art (ECA) is one of eleven schools in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. Tracing its history back to 1760, it provides higher education in art and design, architecture, histor ...

Leaving on a high note with Opiume for the masses
South China Morning Post, 7 August 2012, accessed 8 March 2013 and is recognised as a renowned Singaporean composer.The Flight of the Jade Bird
, New Vision Arts Festival 2012, 7 September 2012, accessed 8 March 2013 Chan trained for 9 years in classical Chinese flutes ( dizi and xiao),Mark Chan
virtualWOMEX, 2008, accessed 8 March 2013 for 7 years as a classical

countertenor A countertenor (also contra tenor) is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of the female contralto or mezzo-soprano voice types, generally extending from around G3 to D5 or E5, although a sopranist (a s ...

and for various years with other instruments including the cello,

erhu The ''erhu'' (; ) is a Chinese two-stringed bowed musical instrument, more specifically a spike fiddle, which may also be called a ''Southern Fiddle'', and is sometimes known in the Western world as the ''Chinese violin'' or a ''Chinese two-s ...

pipa The pipa, pípá, or p'i-p'a () is a traditional Chinese musical instrument, belonging to the plucked category of instruments. Sometimes called the "Chinese lute", the instrument has a pear-shaped wooden body with a varying number of frets rang ...

, guanzi, piano and percussion.Mark Chan
, Music Taste, accessed 8 March 2013 He also plays

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

and Indonesian flutes.Mark Chan
United Communities of Spirit, 14 January 2002, accessed 8 March 2013 Chan is known for his style, which he describes as a "blend of Eastern and Western sounds, fusing a range of Chinese, Indonesian, Malay and Indian elements with a modern international sensibility."Anne Freeman, MIDEM Music Spotlight: Mark Chan, Music from the Other End of the World
MusicDish e-Journal, 22 March 2006, accessed 8 March 2013 On Singapore television, he was the host of ''Common Threads'' and ''Retro Trek''.

Personal life

Chan completed his primary and secondary education in

Anglo-Chinese School Anglo-Chinese School (ACS) is a family of Methodist schools in Singapore and Indonesia. It was founded in 1886 by Bishop William Fitzjames Oldham as an extension of the Methodist Church. Anglo-Chinese School is usually abbreviated as "ACS", wit ...

, where he was a nationally ranked swimmer. His father Chan Ah Kow was the

Singapore National Olympic Council The Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) is the National Olympic Committee and National Paralympic Committee for the Republic of Singapore. It was founded in 1947 as the Singapore Olympic and Sports Council (SOSC) before renaming to its curr ...

's Coach of the Year in 1970–72. Mark and his siblings Alex,

Bernard Bernard (''Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''bern'' "bear" and ''hard'' "brav ...

Roy Roy is a masculine given name and a family surname with varied origin. In Anglo-Norman England, the name derived from the Norman ''roy'', meaning "king", while its Old French cognate, ''rey'' or ''roy'' (modern ''roi''), likewise gave rise to ...

and

Patricia Patricia is a female given name of Latin language, Latin origin. Derived from the Latin word ''Patrician (ancient Rome), patrician'', meaning "noble"; it is the feminine form of the masculine given name Patrick (given name), Patrick. The name Patr ...

were trained by their father and swam competitively. Another sister

Victoria Chan-Palay Victoria Lye-Hua Chan-Palay (born 9 October 1945) is a Singaporean-born neuroscientist who has worked in the United States and Switzerland. Early life and education Chan is the second daughter of noted Singaporean swimming coach Dr. Chan Ah Kow. ...

became a neuroscientist in the United States and Switzerland. As an openly gay artist, Chan said his sexuality was never an issue in the Singapore industry. He once advised young gay artists to, "first and foremost, be an artist. A good one. And only after that, a gay one. It's not a side issue but the art thing is so big it requires the whole of you."Alvin Tan, Beneath the Skin of Mark Chan
Fridae, 18 October 2002, accessed 8 March 2013 As an artist, Chan has a reputation for being exacting.
, The Straits Times, 5 April 2010, accessed 8 March 2013 Chan describes himself as a

Zen Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

and

Taoist Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the ''Tao'' ...

Music

Chan has seven solo albums to his name under Warner (WEA),

Polygram PolyGram N.V. was a multinational entertainment company and major music record label formerly based in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1962 as the Grammophon-Philips Group by Dutch corporation Philips and German corporation Siemens, to be a ...

BMG BMG may refer to: Organizations * Music publishing companies: ** Bertelsmann Music Group, a 1987–2008 division of Bertelsmann that was purchased by Sony on October 1, 2008 *** Sony BMG, a 2004–2008 joint venture of Bertelsmann and Sony that wa ...

and Japan's Hori Productions. In addition, he has written and produced for pop stars

Andy Lau Andy Lau Tak-wah (; born 27 September 1961) is a Hong Kong actor, singer-songwriter and film producer. He has been one of Hong Kong's most commercially successful film actors since the mid-1980s, performing in more than 160 films while maint ...

and

Tracy Huang Tracy Huang (; born 29 August 1951) is a Taiwanese singer. Huang began her career in music with the Thunderbird Choir, alongside Su Rui. After she left the group, Huang spent two years in Taichung, at an American military base, where she learne ...

, and has composed for arts festivals, theatre and TV.Adrian Lim, Mark Chan Does Benshi Style
Regional Cinema April 2013, 9 May 2013, accessed 8 March 2013Mark Chan to conduct music accompaniment of classic Chinese silent film
Fridae, 21 February 2003, accessed 8 March 2013 Chan represented Singapore in the

Voice of Asia Voice of Asia (, ''Azııa Daýysy''; , ''Golos Azii'') is a music festival held annually in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Acts from all over Asia and other areas take part. The usual venue for the festival is the outdoor Medeo speed skating rink, situate ...

1990 in

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

. In 2006, his music was featured in

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions I ...

, France, at the 40th edition of

Midem Midem is the acronym for Marché International du Disque et de l'Édition Musicale, which is organised annually in and around the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès in Cannes, France. The trade show, organized by Reed MIDEM, a subsidiary of Re ...

. 1985 – ''Face to Face'' 1991 – ''China Blue''TheatreWorks presents Lao Jiu
TheatreWorks, 14–24 April 1993, accessed 8 March 2013 1994 – ''The Other Actor''Karin Bergquist, Singaporean master compositions
, Culturebase.net, 9 July 2003, accessed 8 March 2013 1996 – ''Nature Boy'' 1997 – ''Traveling Under the Light of the Full Moon'' 2002 – ''Beneath the Skin of Things'' 2002 – ''Reflections on War, Reflections on Peace'' was commissioned by the Singapore Heritage Board for the permanent war museum at

Bukit Chandu Bukit Chandu (Malay for Opium Hill) is a hill located in Kent Ridge in Singapore where the Battle of Bukit Chandu took place on 14 February 1942 during the Battle of Singapore in World War II. Notable attractions * Reflections at Bukit Chandu * ...

to comment on present day reality and the fragility of peace, while also looking back on the horrors and bravery of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, with specific reference to Singapore. This work is in the

National Archives of Singapore The National Archives of Singapore (NAS) (Malay: ''Arkib Negara Singapura'', Mandarin: 新加坡国家档案馆, Tamil: சிங்கப்பூர் தேசிய காப்பகம்) is the national archives of Singapore. It was for ...

Theatre Composer

Chan was Resident Composer of TheatreWorks for 10 years (1989–1999). He composed, directed and recorded music for over 30 plays in Singapore, China, Japan,

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

, Canada, Australia and Hong Kong. The plays he scored have been in English, Chinese,

Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...

and Japanese. Many of these plays have toured internationally: ''Madame Mao’s Memories'' (Edinburgh Festival), ''Lear'' (Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, Germany, Denmark) and ''Three Children'' (Japan, Singapore, Malaysia). In 1992, ''Three Children'' was rated 15th among all theatre productions in Japan that year. His other theatre credits include ''Ozone'', the ''

David Henry Hwang David Henry Hwang (born August 11, 1957) is an American playwright, librettist, screenwriter, and theater professor at Columbia University in New York City. He has won three Obie Awards for his plays '' FOB'', '' Golden Child'', and '' Yellow ...

Festival'', Michael Chiang's 1994 play, ''Private Parts'',TheatreWorks presents Private Parts
TheatreWorks, 30 June – 12 July 1992, accessed 8 March 2013 and the English translation of

Kuo Pao Kun Kuo Pao Kun (193910 September 2002) () was a playwright, theatre director, and arts activistKwok, Kian-Woon. "Remembering Kuo Pao Kun (1939–2002)." Inter-Asia Cultural Studies 4.2 (2003): 193–201. in Singapore who wrote and directed both Man ...

's ''Lao Jiu''. In 1999, Chan wrote the music and lyrics for ''Haunted'', which played at Singapore's Victoria Theatre. In 2010, he adapted ''Haunted'' into a chamber style musical with the new title, ''The Rain Came Down Like Pearls The Night I Died''. The production was part of the

National University of Singapore The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national public research university in Singapore. Founded in 1905 as the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States Government Medical School, NUS is the oldest autonomous university in the c ...

Arts Festival 2010, featuring Chan as narrator. In 2000, Chan took a self-imposed break away from music for the theatre to concentrate on "music for music." In 2012, with Julian Wong and lyricist

Xiaohan The traditional Chinese calendar divides a year into 24 solar terms. ''Xiǎohán'', ''Shōkan'', ''Sohan'', or ''Tiểu hàn'' () is the 23rd solar term. It begins when the Sun reaches the celestial longitude of 285° and ends when it reaches t ...

, he composed the score to Kuo's ''Day I Met The Prince'', based on ''

The Little Prince ''The Little Prince'' (french: Le Petit Prince, ) is a novella by French aristocrat, writer, and military pilot Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. It was first published in English and French in the United States by Reynal & Hitchcock in April 1943 an ...

''. This Mandarin production, directed by Kuo's daughter, Kuo Jian Hong, was part of the Kuo Pao Kun Festival 2012 to commemorate his 10th death anniversary.

Arts Festivals

During his break from the theatre, Chan embarked on a series of commissions from the

Singapore Arts Festival Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA) is an annual arts festival held in Singapore. It is organised bArts House Limitedfor the National Arts Council. The festival is usually held in mid-year for a stretch of one month and incorporates t ...

: 2003 – ''Little Toys'': jointly commissioned by the Singapore and

Hong Kong Arts Festival The Hong Kong Arts Festival (HKAF), launched in 1973, is a major international arts festival committed to enriching the cultural life of the city by presenting leading local and international artists in all genres of the performing arts as we ...

s 2003, ''Little Toys'' premiered in Hong Kong in February 2003 and won widespread critical acclaim in Singapore, Shanghai, Paris and

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

. Chan scored the Chinese film of the same title for erhu, pipa, cello, piano, percussion, guanzi, and assorted keyboards. 2003 – ''Email & Eternity'': commissioned by the

Singapore Chinese Orchestra Singapore Chinese Orchestra SCO ( zh, c=新加坡华乐团, p=Xinjiapo Huayuetuan) is Singapore's only professional Chinese orchestra. Inaugurated in 1997, the 85-musician orchestra took on the twin role of preserving traditional arts and cultu ...

, this piece used the analogy of modern air-travel to reveal the hidden spirituality of modern life. 2004 – ''Opiume'': jointly commissioned by the HK New Vision Arts Festival and Singapore Arts Festival 2004, the chamber opera starred Australian singers, Judith Dodsworth, Xie Kun, and Paul Hughes. Chan wrote the 100-minute-long ''Opiume'' in five months, dividing the opera into 6 movements, which reflect several chapters of the

Opium War The First Opium War (), also known as the Opium War or the Anglo-Sino War was a series of military engagements fought between Britain and the Qing dynasty of China between 1839 and 1842. The immediate issue was the Chinese enforcement of the ...

story: Discovery, Intoxication, Economics, Addiction, Conflict and Epiphany. 2007 – ''Dreaming of Kuanyin Meets Madonna'': jointly commissioned by the Singapore Arts Festival 2007 and contemporary dance ensemble, Arts Fission. The production was about 2 deities that represented "inclusive spirituality" to Chan –

Kuanyin Guanyin () is a Bodhisattva associated with compassion. She is the East Asian representation of Avalokiteśvara ( sa, अवलोकितेश्वर) and has been adopted by other Eastern religions, including Chinese folk religion. She ...

and the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...

. 2012 – ''Flight of the Jade Bird'': Chan's latest work was commissioned by the Singapore Arts Festival 2012 for its opening.Chin Hui Wen, Interview: Mark Chan for The Flight of the Jade Bird
I–S Magazine Online, 17 May 2012, accessed 8 March 2013 It premiered at the

Esplanade Concert Hall An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cle ...

in May 2012. Described by Chan as an operatic

tone poem A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music, usually in a single continuous movement, which illustrates or evokes the content of a poem, short story, novel, painting, landscape, or other (non-musical) source. The German term ''T ...

, ''The Flight of the Jade Bird'' also featured Mui Cheuk-Yin as solo dancer and choreographer. The story was inspired by the mythology that envelops ancient pieces of

jade Jade is a mineral used as jewellery or for ornaments. It is typically green, although may be yellow or white. Jade can refer to either of two different silicate minerals: nephrite (a silicate of calcium and magnesium in the amphibole group of ...

in many cultures, tapping into jade's spiritual quality, historical value and its special relationship with the bearer. In November 2012, ''The Flight of the Jade Bird'' played at the Hong Kong New Vision Arts Festival. This production used Meyer Sound's Constellation system to create four basic acoustical characteristics to frame the work, a process that was documented in Pro Audio Asia magazine.Meyer Sound, Taking Flight
Pro Audio Asia, January–February 2013, accessed 8 March 2013

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chan, Mark Anglo-Chinese School alumni Singaporean people of Cantonese descent Singaporean musicians Singaporean poets 1958 births Living people Alumni of the Edinburgh College of Art Singaporean male swimmers Swimmers at the 1974 Asian Games Swimmers at the 1978 Asian Games Southeast Asian Games medalists in swimming Southeast Asian Games gold medalists for Singapore Southeast Asian Games silver medalists for Singapore Southeast Asian Games bronze medalists for Singapore Competitors at the 1971 Southeast Asian Peninsular Games Asian Games competitors for Singapore