Bone Marrow Donor Programme (BMDP) Presents: The Piano Music by RYUICHI SAKAMOTO & JOE HISAISHI with VICTOR KHOR

Thursday, December 04, 2014

Bone Marrow Donor Programme (BMDP) Presents: The Piano Music by RYUICHI SAKAMOTO & JOE HISAISHI with VICTOR KHOR

Singapore’s Piano Prodigy Victor Khor Awed 350-strong Crowd at Singapore Legendary Nightspot Zouk

It was a night where the popular nightspot Zouk transformed into a classical music concert hall and all this was for a good cause to raise awareness for the Bone Marrow Donor Programme (BMDP).

This concert event, The Piano Music By Ryuichi Sakamoto & Joe Hisaishi with victor Khor kicked off BMDP's maiden foray into the realm of music and the arts to reach out to the public.

Photo Credit : Bone Marrow Donor Programme

Happy to be part of this meaningful event with Tini Wong. Thanks Migme for the invites.

Welcoming speech by Ms Jane Prior, President of Bone Marrow Bonor Programme

Jane Prior, Honorary President and CEO of the BMDP, sharing about the significance of reaching out to a wider public for potential donors to meet the rising demand of bone marrow matches, as well as to educate them about the cause.

"With the average of fifty bone marrow requests we get per month, there is always a constant and urgent need to reach more people and urge them to support our cause. We believe that people from all walks of life can make a difference to a patient's life. As music and the arts are universal languages that move and bond people, we hope to get our message across in such intimate ways and use the medium of the arts to establish that connection to more potential heroes."

The first half of this classical concert was mainly on Hisaishi's music, with six pieces performed solo with just the piano. Victor's performance was given an additional visual effects with the hologram of Singapore's top ballet dancer, Kwok Min Li, dancing alongside.

Photo Credit : Bone Marrow Donor Programme

Victor Khor with the notable young talents from the Young Musicians' Foundation Orchestra (YMFO) and guest Taiwanese conductor. Together, they've put up a fine performance.

Photo Credit : Bone Marrow Donor Programme

Victor Khor, was the first Singaporean to be awarded a scholarship to the prestigious Moscow Conservatory, and with regards to the two chosen composer's pieces, he mentioned, "Hisaishi and Sakamoto's piano music give great insights to our modern world, in terms of psychological and musical aesthetics, and also gives so much pleasure to its listeners. Their music has the power to fire up the audience's imagination and lift the spirit of individuals, which is what I think the BMDP does for the patients it helps."

Photo Credit : Bone Marrow Donor Programme
From left to right: Victor Khor and Dr, Woffles Wu

Well-known plastic surgeon Dr. Woffles Wu was amongst other movers and shakers from the different industries who shown up in support of this event and the BMDP cause .

The final piece was "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence" by Ryuichi Sakamoto. This was one of my favourite music piece.

So I went to take a video for the full performance.

And I met an interesting guy who wanted me to send him the video, so I told him I'll put on YouTube and he drew a caricature of me behind his name card. Nice but a bit smudge. Thank you for drawing the cartoon side of me. Heehee.