Mr Nelson Kwei is an accomplished conductor, music arranger and vocal tutor in the choral scene. Trained in the demanding art of vocal music since the age of eight, Mr Kwei has a Licentiate in singing from the prestigious Guildhall School of Music. He won the coveted title of “Most Promising Singer” in the Asian Art Song Competition at the age of 20. He was also Singapore’s first choral scholar in 1990, pursuing his studies in advanced conducting at the Royal Academy of Music in London.
In recognition of his significant contribution to the field of choral music, Mr Kwei was honoured in 1993 with the “National Youth Service Award”, the highest youth award in Singapore. In 1999, he was also awarded the “Culture Award” by the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry. In 2001, the Rotary Club honoured him as the “Ambassador of the Arts” for Singapore.
Admired for his ability to bring out the best in his choirs and to infuse his music with colour and character, he has also won prizes for conducting at international choral competitions. In 1998, he was named “Most Outstanding Choir Conductor” at the Musica Mundi Series’ Third International Choral Festival in Pohlheim, Germany. At the Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Choral Competition the next year, he won another conductor prize. In December 2002, he was named “Best Conductor” when he conducted the Victoria Junior College Choir at the 12th International Festival of Advent and Christmas Music in Prague. The choir clinched a Gold award as well as the prestigious Petr Ebn Prize.
Mr Kwei has also been an adjudicator at choral competitions around the world, including the inaugural Choir Olympics in Linz, Austria held in 2000. He was also on the artistic panel at the first Asia-Pacific Choral Symposium held in Singapore in August 2001.
Working closely with the Singapore National Arts Council, Mr Kwei also aims to further develop choral music in Singapore. Presently, he is a freelance choral director and all his choirs have won Gold awards in the Singapore Youth Festival Central Judging and Choral Excellence Competitions since 1987.
Mr Kwei is presently a member of the National Arts Council Advisory Board for Choral Development in Singapore. He is also the chairman of the Choral Directors Society of Singapore. On the international level, he is the First Vice-Chairman of the Asian Youth Choir Council, an international federation for choirs and conductors.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Monday, July 5, 2010
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