announcement: singapore arts festival fringe

DBS Auditorium (Friday, 26th May, 1994)

ELAINE CHEW, a 24-year-old PhD student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has done something most other Singaporeans have not -- she has made music with world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma.

Just recently, she and two other MIT students accompanied Ma in an open rehearsal of John Harbison's concerto at the university. Chew was asked to play thte piano for Ma by her piano professor at the MIT New England Conservatory. "He was so friendly -- not at all intimidating," she says of Ma.

She is now back in Singapore, to take part in the Festival Fringe's Homecoming Series. The National Arts Council is showcasing her as one of Singapore's promising homegrown artistes who have gone abroad to study. She will return to the United States next month.

Other artistes featured in this year's Homecoming Series include prepared piano specialist Tan Lay Tuan and violinist, Kam Ning.

How does Chew feel about coming back to Singapore? "Home is always home," she sighs contentedly. "I have been returning every year, so this isn't much of a cultural shock."

Her only regret is that she was unable to bring along some of her chamber music mates to perform.

She has come a long way from the "little girl" who was catapulted to public attention when she made it as the youngest finalist, at 16, at the 1986 Diners' Club Pianist Of The Year Competition. She went on the win prizes at the 1988 Rolex Performance Awards and the 1989 National Music Competition. A Fellow of Trinity College, London, she has performed extensively in solo and chamber recitals at home and in the US.

"I hope I have matured -- at least musically," she says, adding that she is now "more aware of how and what exactly to communicate to audiences". Her practice schedule, however, is somewhat erratic and depends on whether there are concerts or mid-term examinations coming up. At present, she is slogging away on the piano for about four to six hours a day.

Chew says she is also very much involved in chamber music, where she gets to "communicate sideways" with fellow musicians. "There are greater insights when others can contribute ideas."

This unassuming former Hwa Chong Junior College student is studying for a doctorate in operations research at MIT, where she is also a music scholar on the Advanced Music Performance Programme. In 1992, she graduated from Stanford University with distinction in music (performance) and with honours in computational mathematics.

Maths and music actually have very much in common, she says: "They share some conceptual ideas about logic, reasoning and how things add up. Music, like maths, works towards a climax. There is a sense of purpose behind it." She says there are many patterns in maths and in music. "It's all about motifs or tiny musical themes, ideas and finding connections," she explains. But, she says, music is perhaps a more emotional experience.

Take Bach, for example," she refers to his Fugues (musical compositions where the melodic lines seem to chase each other). "He's very mathematical but there's so much feeling in his music. He's got a lot to say, only he's very subtle -- more than what we in the 20th century are used to."

Asked if she preferred maths or music, Chew laughs: "I wish I knew!" But obviously she seems to have no problems juggling both. However," I still haven't found the right balance yet", she says.

She owns up to one behavioural quirk: "I am paranoid about hair on the floor. I just bought this new vacuum cleaner, and my neighbour in the US was pretty mad at me for buzzing it the whole day ..." All potential suitors will also be disappointed: Chew is already attached to a tall, dark and handsome American.