SINGAPORE: Audiences are taken on a moving journey into Singapore’s cultural legacy in the concluding chapter of Ding Yi Music Company’s celebrated Disappearing… series, where the expressive language of Chinese chamber music revives the dwindling sounds of ancient trades.
This immersive performance, titled Disappearing…Series: The Last Episode, commemorates the heritage of three rapidly disappearing crafts from Singapore’s different cultures: Malay songkok craftsmanship, rattan weaving, and lion dance head-making. A concert experience that blends live music, narrative, and visual artwork breathes new life into these age-old customs that have been passed down through the years and are rich in cultural memory.
Bridges music and tradition
Creative director and conductor Wong De Li, Dedric heads the show with a vision that bridges music and tradition. Jeremiah Choy, theatre practitioner, directs this multimedia concert while Dr Jesvin Yeo serves as the research advisor, shaping the deep cultural insights. Composers Cultural Medallion recipient Eric James Watson, Tan Yu Ting and De Silva Alicia Joyce craft the musical landscape with entirely new compositions. Video director Sandra Sek leads the visual storytelling.
Screened only during the concert, her exclusive documentary film offers an intimate, cinematic window into the lives of the artisans. Each disappearing craft is exquisitely and poignantly captured through her lens, enabling viewers to observe both the finished product and the arduous process that went into it.
Memory of tradition
The artisans themselves—Hjh Abdul Wahab Bin Abdullah (Malay songkok creating), Chen Foon Kee (rattan weaving), and Henry Ng (lion dance head-making)—are at the centre of this show. Many people consider them to be the last practitioners of their trades.
Audiences will witness the sacred symbolism behind lion head-making, the meditative precision of rattan weaving and the pride imbued in the making of a songkok through intricate compositions and live multimedia. There are personal legacies, more than just trades. The artisan soul and community identity are reflected in every thread and stroke.
“The Disappearing… series has been Ding Yi’s heartfelt response to the quiet fading of Singapore’s intangible heritage,” said Wong De Li, Dedric, creative director and conductor.
“From dialect nursery rhymes to traditional handicrafts of Teochew embroidery and giant joss stick-making, this flagship series has evolved to honour what’s slipping away. Working with these artisans and hearing their stories has been incredibly inspiring — their creativity and resilience shaped the way we approached the music.
“This final chapter marks both a celebration and a farewell—where Chinese chamber music meets cultural memory, and hopefully, inspires audiences to keep these fading legacies alive.”
Singapore’s cultural legacy
The concert serves as both a climax and a call to recollection as Ding Yi Music Company wraps up this poignant series. It is an artistic homage to the unsung heroes who bear the burden of Singapore’s cultural legacy.
Disappearing…The Last Episode underscores the urgency of cultural preservation in a rapidly modernising society. It plays a powerful role that music and storytelling play in keeping these fading trades—and the legacies they embody—alive for future generations.
This show is a part of “The Disappearing…” series and also a highlight of the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre’s big Cultural Extravaganza in 2025. The Ding Yi Music Company and the SCCC are teaming up, using beautiful Chinese chamber music to put together events that really champion Chinese arts and culture in this part of the world. The Disappearing… series highlights and honours the disappearing customs and traditions of our local Chinese community.
Please visit https://ce.singaporeccc.org.sg/ for more information.
Disappearing…Series: The Last Episode will be held on June 6, 2025 (Friday), 7.30 pm, and June 7, 2025 (Saturday), 3 pm, at SCCC Auditorium, Level 9. Tickets are available for public sales at $35 (excluding booking fees) on SISTIC here. SAFRA, HomeTeamNS and merewards members enjoy a 20% discount. Terms and conditions apply.
Disappearing…Series: The Last Episode creative team
Wong De Li, Dedric, Creative Director/Conductor
Wong De Li, Dedric is the resident conductor of Ding Yi Music Company and music director of the Asian Cultural Symphony Orchestra and Nanyang Collective.
Jeremiah Choy, Director
Jeremiah Choy is a creative director, producer, and curator.
Dr. Jesvin Yeo, Research Advisor
Dr. Jesvin Yeo is a distinguished Professor of Visual Communication Design at the School of Art, Design and Media at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore.
Eric James Watson, Composer
Tan Yu Ting, Composer
De Silva Alicia Joyce, Composer
Sandra Sek, Video Director / Set Designer
Sandra Sek is a Singapore-based filmmaker and visual storyteller who graduated in 2023 from Nanyang Technological University’s School of Art, Design and Media (ADM), where she majored in film.
Henry Ng
Artisan (Lion Dance Head-Making)
Hjh Abdul Wahab bin Haji Abdullah
Artisan (Malay Songkok Crafting)
Chen Foo Kee
Artisan (Rattan Weaving)