By Chia Kei Yin (24S03C) and Rhea Sharma (25S06A)
When you think of a music composer, who comes to mind?
It’s likely that you’re thinking of Beethoven, Bach, Mozart. Though their music has remained timeless through the ages, these composers themselves are ancient and quite distant from our current reality.
What if I told you that RI has our very own composer?
Meet Chia Ren Cher. The MOE Music Elective Scholar from 23S06B has received numerous awards from 2020-2022 in various competitions. He achieved the 1st prize in the youth category of 16 different international composition competitions around the world.
During Raffles Institution’s Bicentennial event, he composed a captivating nine-minute string quintet called “Resonance, Op.6”. Ren Cher was conferred the Raffles Institution Creative Arts Award 2023 in recognition of his outstanding contributions towards the arts scene in school.
Apart from performing, he actively serves the community with his talent by volunteering extensively with the Kids’ Philharmonic as a violin instructor. Additionally, he conducts or plays the yangqin with community Chinese orchestras.
Falling in Love with Music
Ren Cher ventured into the world of music at the tender age of 6. Joining a community orchestra to play the Yangqin was the first step in his journey. His interest began after that, with his mother being a strong source of encouragement.
“Being a typical Asian parent, she sent me to lessons where I picked up [the] violin and composing following that.”
There have been many ups and downs in this journey but when asked, Ren Cher had these 3 words to describe his feelings towards music: “Very brain draining (and fun)!”
As a composer, making music is a fun process. However, at times he ends up sitting in front of a computer for hours without ending up writing a new musical piece. Getting inspiration is often a brain-draining process as it can come from anywhere and at any point of time. Turning the inspiration into a composition is another challenge.
“It’s like when you finally solve a Math question after hours of trying it. That’s the same feeling composing.”
The sweet taste of success comes from that very moment when everything falls into place and his composition can finally be heard by an audience.
From the Practice Room to the Stage
Performing was another key highlight in his journey. Ren Cher’s favourite concert hall is undoubtedly the Esplanade due to its acoustics as well as the aesthetically-pleasing round shape. A number of his performances have been held there and he has grown quite comfortable with the familiar ambience.
His pre-performance ritual includes wiping his sweaty hands on his pants due to the nerves and mentally preparing himself to focus on the piece instead of the large audience. During his A-Level examination, he and the teachers shared a humorous moment where they looked at each other for a few seconds. Comically, instead of a large crowd, there were only 3 examiners and him in an enormous lecture theatre.
“I looked at them and they looked at me and then I laughed”. That soothed his nerves and helped him relax before performing.
Occasionally, his nerves reach an all-time high and his hands sweat, his body turns cold and he can’t hold his yangqin sticks or violin bow properly because of trembling hands. However, as the music goes on, he channels his focus on putting forth his interpretation of the piece and delivering his best.
“I think the part I look forward to when performing is getting it done and with it because it can get quite scary.”
Within minutes, the final note is played. The curtains close. A sigh of relief. His favourite post-performance activity is asking for feedback as his friends never fail to cheer him up with “Oooh I like your performance” even if there may have been mistakes. Ren Cher takes the opportunity to ask what went well and how he can improve—an important step in polishing himself for the next performance.
His Forte for Composing
Ren Cher’s passion for music doesn’t simply stop at performing—he composes his own original pieces too. “I started at 8, but [only] got serious at it when I was 14. Wow, I didn’t have a childhood,” he jokes.
At the time, he was performing in the Kids’ Philharmonic, and the inspiration for him to start composing came from a simple question.
“If composers can write pieces, why can’t I?”
His biggest inspirations? Ludwig van Beethoven. “He is known to be an innovator in music; his music is very stylistic,” he explains.
He also likes Johannes Brahms for his symphonies and the lyrical quality of his music. “It’s just nice to listen to. I use it to draw inspiration when writing lyrical sections.”
Last but not least, Ren Cher is a big fan of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. “I like that era (referring to late-romantic music) and most of my pieces have influence from that era. Like wow, this [Tchaikovsky] guy was on something,” he says exuberantly, “Maybe it’s something about him being Russian.”
Next, Ren Cher detailed to us the life cycle of his compositions—from inspiration to completion. “When commissioned to write a piece, it starts with inspiration—I can’t write anything till I get it, so I will sit there and think of a nice tune and then put it into my writing software [MuseScore], and try to visualise the form and structure of the piece.
“I’ll start composing, get stuck, go out to get some inspiration, write again, get stuck again, and then just repeat the process,” he shares, which was his writing process for an original piece performed at RI200. Funnily enough, the effort he put into the composition, from composing the piece from scratch to communicating back and forth with his teacher for feedback, all culminated in one word: “good”. It was the only word in the email that he received from the school administration when he submitted his completed composition.
For some commissioned pieces he had written, Ren Cher had to compose parts for instruments he had never played before. How? His trusty friend, Google, comes to his aid. Firstly, he would figure out the layout and fingering of the instruments he has to compose for so he would know what is or isn’t possible on the instrument. Next, he would consult friends he knew could play the instrument for advice. “It helps to have more friends,” he says with a knowing smile.
When asked if he prefers composing commissioned pieces or pieces he personally wanted to write, Ren Cher shares that “it depends”. While personal pieces give him more wiggle room for experimentation and freedom and expression, commissioned pieces give him a challenge. For example, for “Resonance”, he had to adapt the school song to match the storyline of a skit that Raffles Players were putting up for the concert.
He admits, “I wasn’t sure of the process [of creating “Resonance”]. Do I compose after getting the script [of the skit], or before?” Thankfully, Players sent him the storyline so he had something to work with.
To Ren Cher, the favourite pieces he has written are his most recent ones: his ‘‘A’ Levels Music piece, “Undulations, Op. 8” and “Resonance”.
I look back [on my old compositions] a lot when I’m bored. I’ll open up the folder, listen to my older compositions and think, ‘wow, this is cringe’.
Ren Cher, about reflecting on his past compositions
But what is Ren Cher’s niche? “I would describe my style as fusion. I experiment with different genres of music, like classical and jazz.”
He also likes incorporating different instruments, including both Western and Chinese instruments, in his compositions. For “Undulations”, he composed for violin, cello, yangqin and gaoyinsheng (which he says looks like a “machine gun”).
Currently, he is working on his third string quartet (the link here leads to the first string quartet he wrote), which he started right after he finished ‘A’ Levels. “I knew I couldn’t finish it before NS, so when I went to NS, I brought manuscript paper and pencils with me into camp to write during breaks.” During their break times, Ren Cher would ‘play’ music in his head and compose instead.
Academics or Music?
You might be wondering how Ren Cher managed to juggle music and academics all at once while he was still in JC. It certainly was no easy feat.
Before JC, he usually practised for about 2-3 hours per day. However with the greater academic workload at JC, it was reduced to one hour per day. This did not deter his spirit as he continued to give his best, especially since Music was part of his subject combination—of Physics, Chemistry, Math and Music, the last of which was taken at a H3 level.
In addition to his heavy academic workload, Ren Cher had a rather unusual timetable due to his unconventional subject combination. This meant he would return home quite late each day.
“My Mondays would end at 5pm. There was a four hour chunk [of lessons] in the morning, then we had PW at the end. Then I went to Y6, and Mondays would still end at 5pm, because I had H3 [Music],” he said.
However, he managed to simultaneously pursue his love for music by developing a strategy: he would watch all his lectures and complete his tutorials early to free up the next 1-2 weeks, and compose during this period of time or during any spare time he had.
But once he reached the second half of Y6, he stopped composing to study. Though before his brief hiatus, he made sure all the compositions he was commissioned to do had already been completed.
Tuning Young Minds at the Kids’ Philharmonic
Apart from composing commissioned works, Ren Cher also shares his gift of music with the larger community. In a rather full-circle moment, Ren Cher ended up volunteering at the Kids’ Philharmonic after he ‘graduated’ from it. “I was in the [orchestra] for 8 to 9 years so I was familiar with the orchestra and conductor,” he shares.
The students he mentored were aged 5 to 10, and they used smaller violins and instruments. “They had violins at full size, 3/4, 1/2, 1/4, and 1/8 [the usual] size for the tiny kids. And they had stickers on the violin and bow [to guide their finger placement].”
“Volunteering there gives a different perspective. When I went back to teach, I felt what my teacher must have been feeling when we didn’t listen to him. However, coaching a group of eight-year-old kids to play a piece—though not very well—is a nice feeling.”
Off-key Notes in his Journey
Although Ren Cher states that he didn’t face any “life-changing struggles”, he has had to overcome many “small ones” regarding both composing and performing. Firstly, as many of us can relate to, he would sometimes lose motivation to practise and get distracted. “[Sometimes, I would] not compose when I need to, because I’m sitting there playing Genshin Impact,” he admits.
Secondly, balancing his studies, composing and social life was a challenge. “When tests come [around], I can’t compose. But sometimes I would get inspiration in that time period, so I need to stop studying for a while, take out my computer, compose a bit and mull about how much time I’ve lost because I’m doing something unrelated to the test.”
Thirdly, he had to overcome the bane of every student’s existence: procrastination. “I get sabotaged by it quite a lot. Sometimes because I do things last minute, I submit compositions that are not up to my own standard. But I’ll get too lazy to change them, so they remain cringe forever,” he says with a laugh.
Words of Advice
While Ren Cher recognises that composing would be difficult to do in university, he still wishes to pursue his passion. His final advice to those who wish to pursue music beyond JC? “Music is an unconventional career, but it doesn’t mean you should just pursue [careers like] medicine or law et cetera. Don’t give up.”
For our other feature on Talents Beyond the Classroom, read Syaza’s story here.
