Biography

Liong Kit Yeng

Singaporean composer Liong Kit Yeng’s multifaceted career bridges the arts, broadcasting, and education. Beginning as a bilingual radio DJ, she hosted and produced current affairs, lifestyle and arts programmes that charmed listeners over the airwaves. Soon, she discovered her calling to inspire others through her music and creativity, marking the start of a journey into music-making.

Known for crafting memorable melodies and intricate harmonies, Kit Yeng’s compositions and arrangements have been featured on notable stages and at events locally and internationally, including the Canberra International Music Festival, New York’s Carnegie Hall, Japan’s Takarazuka International Chamber Chorus Contest, the Singapore International Festival of Music, Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre’s Cultural Extravaganza, and Singapore Writers Festival. Her works have been performed by Singapore Chinese Orchestra, Ding Yi Music Company, True Colors Symphony - largest all inclusive-orchestra in Hong Kong, and artists like Singaporean pianist Lim Yan. She has also collaborated with ensembles and choirs including Paper Monkey Theatre, Sing Song Club, Singapore Lyric Opera Children’s Choir, Vocal Associates Festival Choruses, Schola Cantorum Singapore, Hangzhou Polar Light Singers (China), Natus Cantorum (Taiwan), Taichung Chamber Choir (Taiwan), Johor Bahru Chamber Choir, and Ren Sing Choir (Malaysia).

Music | Education

Kit Yeng has been actively involved in educational music initiatives. As an educator, she was a part-time lecturer at Temasek Polytechnic and Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, and had been invited by the Ministry of Education (MOE) as trainer to workshops and music camps for secondary school student leaders, as well as imparting knowledge as a panelist at career fair talks. She has also served as adjudicators for the Singapore Youth Festival and Singapore Chinese Music Competition. Connecting with the communities, she shared her passion for choral music by conducting choral workshops at day care centres for seniors and students.

She has been commissioned by MOE’s Arts Education Branch to compose set pieces for the Singapore Youth Festival (SYF) Arts Presentation, such as Little Red Dot for choir in 2018 and Kreta Ayer (饮水思源: 牛车水) for Chinese orchestra in 2020 and 2024. Other works include an arrangement of Sing Your Way Home for a 180-strong combined orchestra—which she also conducted—comprising student leaders from wind band, Chinese orchestra, guitar ensemble and choir, showcasing her ability to bring diverse musical elements together.

The Purple Symphony

Photo credit: The Royal Johor

Screenshot of GIC's video, Bold Sees the Bigger Picture: The Making of

Photo credit: The Purple Symphony

Her dedication to inclusivity and excellence in the arts is evident in her work with The Purple Symphony (TPS), Singapore’s largest inclusive orchestra comprising musicians with and without disabilities. She has served as Composer-in-Residence since 2015 and Assistant Conductor since 2017, having developed a strong rapport with the musicians and gained trust among caregivers. Her solid understanding of the abilities and possibilities of the orchestra has seen her play a vital role in shaping TPS’s unique identity and sound. She composes and arranges innovative scores that become the core of the orchestra’s repertoire, blending Eastern and Western musical traditions. Working closely with the Artistic Director and a professional team, she has guided the orchestra and its ensemble through numerous high-profile performances, including the Singapore Chinese Music Competition (2021), National Day Parade (2017), live performances on national television, annual concerts, recordings, special invitations and overseas performances.

For the orchestra’s 10th anniversary concert in 2024, Kit Yeng composed an original piece Overture: Symphony in Purple, a stirring and evocative composition that deeply resonated with audiences, including Guest-of-Honour, President Tharman Shanmugaratnam. In November 2023, TPS embarked on its first overseas performance in Johor Bahru at the invitation of Her Majesty Raja Zarith Sofiah Binti Almarhum Sultan Idris Shah, Permaisuri of Johor (now Raja Permaisuri Agong). At the concert, Kit Yeng conducted a combined orchestra of TPS musicians and performers from Sekolah Seni Malaysia Johor, a prestigious arts school, for the opening piece Overture Tanjung Puteri, and her original work Kreta Ayer.

Artistic Direction | Emcee | Music critic

Beyond composing, Kit Yeng actively engages in the arts as a music critic and through her roles in artistic direction and multidisciplinary collaborations. Since 2016, she has contributed music reviews to Lianhe Zaobao, Singapore's Chinese-language newspaper, offering insightful critiques of music performances. As the bilingual host of Esplanade’s free monthly concert series “Beautiful Sunday”, she bridges the gap between performers and audiences, fostering a deeper appreciation and connection to the arts.

In 2024, she was commissioned by the Singapore Writers Festival to curate the “Literary Pioneer Exhibition”, honouring pioneer poet Dan Ying. Titled “A World of Words: Exploring Dan Ying’s poetry” (听雨的青涩年龄: 探索淡莹的文字世界), it is the first exhibition of the series to feature a Singaporean female poet. She served as Music Director for Paper Monkey Theatre’s puppetry production Romance of Mistakes (花田错) in 2013 and 2019, and as Artistic Director for Play with Bamboo, a musical showcase presented as part of the 2017 “Arts in Your Neighbourhood”, a community programme series of the National Arts Council.

Her versatility is reflected in her work as a producer and consultant. In 2023, she conceptualised, produced and performed in "When the Wind Blows" (风呼呼地吹), a poetry-inspired recital for piano trio that seamlessly combined visual arts, Chinese poetry and her original compositions. She also produced "Silver Stars 2014 – Our Music Party!", a celebration of musical talents among seniors. As a consultant, she provided artistic direction for "Moon | Conversations", the 2016 Mid-Autumn Festival traditional arts showcase presented by the National Arts Council in collaboration with Gardens by the Bay.

梁洁莹

洁莹的职业生涯跨越不同领域，包括艺术、广播与教育，其作品曾在堪贝拉国际音乐节、美国纽约卡内基音乐厅、日本宝冢国际室内合唱比赛、新加坡国际音乐节和新加坡华族文化中心“华彩”的舞台上表演。合作团体包括新加坡华乐团、鼎艺团、猴纸剧坊、台湾天生歌手合唱团、新山室内合唱团及中国杭州极光合唱团等。2018年为新加坡教育部主办的新加坡青年节艺术展演汇创作合唱指定曲目《小红点》，深获好评。2020年受委约创作华乐团指定曲目《饮水思源：牛车水》，2024年再度被挑选为指定曲目。

她是新加坡包容性乐团－紫色交响乐团－助理指挥兼驻团作曲。除了音乐编创，也带领乐团和小乐队参与包括2017年国庆庆典、2024年新传媒农历新年除夕特备节目等多项演出。2019年担任猴纸剧坊十周年团庆华语音乐偶剧《花田错》音乐总监、2017年新加坡国家艺术理事会“艺放邻里“委约节目《玩。竹》艺术总监、2016年出任国家艺术理事会与滨海湾公园联办的“古今秋月：艺汇滨海湾”传统汇演艺术顾问。2024年受新加坡作家节邀请，担任“听雨的青涩年龄：探索淡莹的文字世界”特展策展人。

教育工作方面，她曾经担任淡马锡理工学院及南洋艺术学院兼职讲师，不时受教育部邀请担任中学学生领袖音乐学习营导师，以及在学生职业展分享心得。她积极撰写乐评，并受邀担任新加坡青年节艺术展汇演和新加坡华乐比赛评委。