Leong Yoon Pin

Leong Yoon Pin (b. 5 August 1931, Singapore¹–d. 13 April 2011, Singapore²) was a composer, conductor and educator. Described as the doyen of Singapore composers, Leong was well known for his choral compositions, many of which were locally commissioned and performed by both amateur and professional choirs.³ His compositions were often infused with a local flavour. Leong was awarded the Cultural Medallion in 1982.

Early life and education
Leong was born in British colonial Singapore.⁴ He received his primary education at the People’s Free School, Xin Dao Primary School and Xin Hua Primary School. Leong resumed his education after World War II, first at Dong Ling High School before proceeding to St Patrick’s School from 1946 to 1948.⁵

Born the third of seven children to an electrical goods dealer and housewife,⁶ Leong was a self-taught musician, learning to play the piano at 16 and the guitar at 17. He only undertook formal lessons when he was in his 20s, under the tutelage of Noreen Stokes, a renowned South African pianist based in Singapore.⁷

From 1951 to 1953, Leong studied at the Teachers’ Training College. Upon graduation, he taught music and other subjects in primary schools.⁸ In 1951, Leong started learning the bassoon with a scholarship by the Singapore Music Society.⁹ Around the mid-1950s, he received a teaching scholarship from the Education Department (now Ministry of Education) to study music at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.¹⁰ After graduating in 1958, Leong returned to Singapore and was employed by the Teachers’ Training College as a music lecturer.¹¹

Under a scholarship from the French government,¹² Leong went to Paris to further his compositional studies with Nadia Boulanger from 1966 to 1967.¹³ Boulanger emphasised the importance of drawing from one’s own background when creating music, and this later became an inspiration for Leong to compose works infused with an Asian flavour.¹⁴

Almost a decade later in 1975, Leong won a British Council Commonwealth Fellowship and undertook postgraduate studies in music education at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.¹⁵

Musical achievements
Although he wore the many hats as a composer, educator and conductor, Leong was best known for his musical compositions. His first official work was the composition of the school anthem for the now-defunct Winstedt Primary School.¹⁶ His oeuvre included symphonies and tone poems such as Episodes in Journey to the West (1983),¹⁷ which was inspired by the Chinese folk tale Xi You Ji (Journey to the West),¹⁸ operas, a piano concerto, choral and many other instrumental works.¹⁹ His concert overture, Dayong Sampan (1980),²⁰ based on a Malay folk tune, was the first work by a local composer to be performed by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra.²¹ Leong was also very well known for his choral works such as Street Calls (1997),²² Dragon Dance (1988),²³ Pedlars and the Soprano (1999),²⁴ Like a Rapid Stream (1981)²⁵ and Love Quatrains (1993).²⁶

As a conductor, Leong founded and conducted the Rediffusion Youth Choir in 1953²⁷ and later the Metro Philharmonic Society in 1959.²⁸ During the 1970s, he formed the Singapore City String Orchestra, and this, along with many similar instrumental groups established during that period, revitalised the orchestral music scene in Singapore.²⁹ In 1977, Leong was appointed the first resident conductor of the Singapore National Orchestra formed under the National Theatre Trust.³⁰ In 2000, he was appointed as the Singapore Symphony Orchestra’s first composer-in-residence.³¹

Leong was the first composer to have his compositions recorded on a compact disc as part of a National Arts Council’s programme that was launched in 1993 to keep a record of outstanding local works.³²

Music education
Leong’s career path as an educator began when he enrolled in the Teachers’ Training College in 1951. After graduation, he held various positions at the college (replaced by the Institute of Education in 1973³³), first as a lecturer (1958–71; 1975–81) and then as head of the music department (1971–74; 1982–88).³⁴ Besides his teaching positions, Leong was also an arts adviser to bodies such as the National Arts Council, National Institute of Education and Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. He was continually involved in charting the course of local music and music education.³⁵

Awards
For his contributions to Singapore music, Leong was honoured with the Cultural Medallion in 1982.³⁶ He was also awarded the Bintang Bakti Masyarakat (Public Service Star) in 2005, and the COMPASS (Composers & Authors Society of Singapore) Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007.³⁷

Selected compositions/choral works
1955: Story of Mulan³⁸
1979: Giacoso – Largamente³⁹
1980: Overture: Dayong Sampan⁴⁰
1981: Like a Rapid Stream⁴¹
1983: Episodes in Journey to the West⁴²
1986: Nine Cantos⁴³
1988: Dragon Dance
1990: Temasekian⁴⁴
1993: Love Quatrains and Metamorphosis⁴⁵
1997: Street Calls; Bunga Mawar⁴⁶
1999: Pedlars and the Soprano; Feasting in the Woods⁴⁷



Author
Eleanor A. L. Tan



References
1. Tan Shzr Ee, “Music To His Years,” Straits Times, 17 May 2001, 3; “Father of Local Composers,” Straits Times, 14 April 2011, 12. (From NewspaperSG)
2. Akshita Nanda, “S’pore Music Pioneer Dies at 79,” Straits Times, 14 April 2011, 12. (From NewspaperSG)
3. David Chew, “Kampung Notes,” Today, 27 December 2006, 40. (From NewspaperSG)
4. Venka Puroshothaman, ed., Narratives: Notes on a Cultural Journey: Cultural Medallion Recipients 1979–2001 (Singapore: National Arts Council, 2002), 98. (Call no. RSING 700.95957 NAR)
5. Leong Yoon Pin, oral history interview by Cindy Chou, 4 June 1994, transcript and MP3 audio, Reel/Disc 1 of 4, National Archives of Singapore (accession no. 001490), 1; Lisa Kong, “Songs for the Folks,” Straits Times, 30 May 1990, 6; Tan, “Music To His Years.” 
6. “Father of Local Composers,” Straits Times, 14 April 2011, 12. (From NewspaperSG)
7. Tan, “Music To His Years”; Chew, “Kampung Notes.” 
8 Leong, interview 4 June 1994, Reel/Disc 1 of 4, 10.
9. Leong, interview 4 June 1994, Reel/Disc 1 of 4, 8.
10. Paul Abisheganaden, Notes Across the Years: Anecdotes From a Musical Life (Singapore: Unipress, 2005), 70 (Call no. RSING 784.2092 ABI); Leong Yoon Pin, oral history interview by Cindy Chou, 4 June 1994, transcript and MP3 audio, Reel/Disc 2 of 4, National Archives of Singapore (accession no. 001490), 13.
11. Chew, “Kampung Notes”; “Leong Yoon Pin,” TributeSG, accessed 30 November 2016.
12. Leong, interview 4 June 1994, Reel/Disc 2 of 4, 20.
13. Chew, “Kampung Notes.”
14. Tan, “Music To His Years”; Leong, interview 4 June 1994, Reel/Disc 2 of 4, 20–21.
15. TributeSG, “Leong Yoon Pin”; Leong, interview 4 June 1994, Reel/Disc 1 of 4, 1–10.
16. Tan, “Music To His Years.”
17. Leong Yoon Pin: Symphonic Works of Singapore (Singapore: National Arts Council, 1993), album insert. (From National Library Online)
18. Kong, “Songs for the Folks.” 
19. Ting C. S., Leong Yoon Pin and B. Tan, “Singapore,” in New Music in the Orient: Essays on Composition in Asia Since World War II, vol. 2, ed. Harrison Ryker (Buren, Netherlands: Frits Knuf, 1991), 105. (Call no. RSING 780.95 NEW)
20. Leong Yoon Pin: Symphonic Works of Singapore.
21. Leong Weng Kam, “Composer Leong’s CD a First,” Straits Times, 4 October 1993, 15. (From NewspaperSG)
22. Leong Yoon Pin, Street Calls (Singapore: Pro Musica Enterprise, 1997), score. (From National Library Online)
23. Leong Yoon Pin, Dragon Dance (Singapore: Pro Musica Enterprise, 1988), score. (From National Library Online)
24. Leong Yoon Pin, Pedlars and the Soprano (Singapore: Pro Music Enterprise, 1999), score. (From PublicationSG)
25. 我愿意是急流及通俗合唱曲十首 = Like a rapid stream and ten light choral works by Leong Yoon Pin (Singapore: Metro Philharmonic Society, 1998), album insert. (From National Library Online)
26. Leong Yoon Pin, Love Quatrains (Singapore: Pro Music Enterprise, 1993), accessed 28 December 2016, NUS Libraries.  
27. Tan, “Music To His Years.”
28. Abisheganaden, Notes Across the Years, 68–69.
29. Ting, Leong and Tan, “Singapore,” 100.
30. Leong, interview 4 June 1994, Reel/Disc 2 of 4, 16; Leong Yoon Pin: Symphonic Works of Singapore.
31. Jaime Ee, “GK Goh Chief Pledges S$60,000 for SSO Scheme,” Business Times, 25 April 2000, 9. (From NewspaperSG)
32. Leong, “Composer Leong’s CD a First.” 
33. Teresa Ooi, “Ministry Objective To Improve the Quality of Education,” New Nation, 20 August 1974, 4. (From NewspaperSG)
34. Leong, interview 4 June 1994, Reel/Disc 2 of 4, 14, 18.
35. TributeSG, “Leong Yoon Pin.”
36. Leong, “Composer Leong’s CD a First.” 
37. TributeSG, “Leong Yoon Pin.”
38. Liang Rongping 梁荣平, Mulan shi 木兰诗 [Story of Mulan] (Singapore: Pro Musica Enterprise, 1955), score. (Call no. Chinese RCLOS 782.430264 LRP)
39. Leong Yoon Pin: Symphonic Works of Singapore.
40. Leong Yoon Pin: Symphonic Works of Singapore.
41. æˆ‘愿意是急流及通俗合唱曲十首 = Like a rapid stream and ten light choral works by Leong Yoon Pin.
42. Leong Yoon Pin: Symphonic Works of Singapore.
43. Tan, “Music To His Years.”
44. Leong Yoon Pin: Symphonic Works of Singapore.
45. Leong Yoon Pin: Symphonic Works of Singapore.
46. Tan, “Music To His Years.”
47. Tan, “Music To His Years.”

Further resources
G. Chew, “Music in the Making,” Esplanade: The Arts Magazine (July–August 2000), 28–29. (Call no. RSING 791.095957 E)

Kong Kam Yoke, Leong Yoon Pin (梁荣平): The Shy Composer, 20 August 2010.  (From National Library Online)

Phan Min Yen, “Israeli Conductor Who Asked for Singapore Music,” Straits Times, 9 February 1994, 8. (From NewspaperSG)

Phoon Y. T., “Leong Yoon Pin,” in Selves: The State of the Arts in Singapore, ed. Kianwoon Kwok, Arun Mahizhnan and Thirunalan Sasitharan (Singapore: National Arts Council, 2002), 204–05. (Call no. RSING q700.95957 SEL)



The information in this article is valid as at 2011 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.