Fritz Quartet at Chijmes Hall

13 September 2007
Today, the Fritz Quartet performed for the wedding of Wei Ting and Ling Fung. They had decided to engage us for their wedding after watching our performance at the Esplanade Concourse in May.

After a whole series of emails and phonecalls spanning from May-September, we finally met on the day itself. It was a much looked forward to meeting. The first violinist had injured her knee and was hobbling around (not exactly very glamourous) but it wasn't about to deter the spirit of the quartet. We were situated on the stage, where we played all 3 sets for the night. Our first set began as guests streamed in. Lingfung walked down the aisle accompanied by us playing Pachelbel's Canon in D.

It was an enjoyable experience playing for the guests, who showed their appreciation with warm applause. We also loved the acoustics of the hall! It was also a really sweet and thoughtful gesture of Wei Ting and Ling Fung to set aside a table for us. Playing 3 sets on an empty stomach can be quite painful , so we were really glad that dinner was provided for us!

The Fritz Quartet at CHIJMES Hall

07 November 2006

"It's been a great performance and many of the guests are singing praises." -Katherine, The Event Age Pte Ltd.

The Fritz Quartet collaborated with The Event Age Ptd Ltd, to perform for a Schroders event at the Chijmes Hall today. Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Minister for Education and Mrs Jennifer Yeo, Secretary for Viva Foundation For Children with Cancer graced the event.


Positioned on stage for the opening, we started with Hornpipe from 'The Water Music' by G. F. Handel followed by other refreshing and light classical pieces. The Chijmes Hall, which once served as a Convent’s Chapel, created the perfect setting for our music. The Bach and Mozart pieces worked exceptionally well in creating an atmosphere that is both elegant and invigorating. With the guests streaming in and mingling freely with their champagne glasses toasting in the air, we gradually set the pace of our music to something more lively and animated. Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik with its rhythmic dynamism proved to be the ideal choice to complement the increasing activity at the reception.

After the speech by Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam and the presentation of $100,000.00 cheque to Viva Foundation as part of Schroders community involvement project, the guests helped themselves to the sumptuous buffet provided by Chijmes. With the end of the formal ceremonies, we started playing more broadway and pop songs like Memory from the musical "Cats", New York New York and Over the Rainbow, which provided a more relaxing and pleasurable mood. Occasional perky classical pieces like Pizzicato Polka (of which we played the entire piece by plucking our strings, instead of using our bows) by Johann Strauss added on to the joyous celebration.

It felt great to be on stage playing music for the distinguished guests. It was a splendid and meaningful event, with the celebration of Schroders’s successful years in Singapore, and the charity involved with Viva Foundation. A big thank you to the organizers for engaging our services, and kudos to the AV crew for being helpful and patient in setting up the microphones for sound checks and moving of the chairs up and down the stage.

-max

Bingling and Max, posing for the camera before the event