Composition Workshop
Held for the tenth time in the history of the Singapore Saxophone Symposium, the Composition Workshop aims to guide composers to write idiomatically and skillfully for the saxophone!
Participants for the Composition Workshop will be entitled to lessons with Zechariah Goh (Singapore), Tsung Jen Hsieh (Taiwan) and Boonrut Sirirattanapan (Thailand), and have their works professionally read by saxophonists Johann Koh, Luo Tianze, Leslie Wong and Yang Zongao.
Register now at http://sgsax2025.eventbrite.sg/. For more information, please email tcgoh@nafa.edu.sg.
Zechariah Goh
Zechariah Goh Toh Chai is Head of Composition Studies and Principal Lecturer at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, and a composer of music ranging from choir, symphonic band, wind ensemble, chamber music to large scale orchestral works. He worked on his Doctorate degree majoring in Composition under the guidance of Dr. Charles Hoag at The University of Kansas. At the same time, he studied Orchestration and Arrangement for Band under Professor James Barnes. Zechariah was also awarded the prestigious Anthony Cius Prize for outstanding student composer from the University of Kansas for the academic year of 2001 and 2002.
Zechariah is frequently commissioned to write music for symphonic bands and choirs. Since the 1990s, his choral works have been premiered in Singapore as well as winning many international competitions in countries including Austria, Brazil, Germany, Greece, China, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia and USA.
Zechariah has been commissioned by musicians and music groups such as the SYC Ensemble Singers, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Singapore National Youth Orchestra, The Philharmonic Winds, The West Winds, University of Kansas Wind Ensemble, the National Arts Council of Singapore, Tanjong Katong Secondary School, Timothy Reynish, Professor Vince Gnojek, Shane Thio, EDQ Wind Quintet, the Amigo Saxophone Quartet, Shyen Lee, Jennifer Tham, Nelson Kwei, The Singers, The Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts, The Diocesan Boys’ School Choir, The Diocesan Girls’ School Choir, Chamber.Sounds, Victoria Chorale, Victoria Junior College, Tampines Junior College, CHIJ (Toa Payoh), River Valley High School, the Amadeus Choral Society, the CCA Branch of the Ministry of Education, and Ding Yi Music Company.
Zechariah is also an active speaker at international music conferences such as the World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (WASBE), International Society for Music Education (ISME), and Asia-Pacific Symposium on Music Education Research (APSMER). He was also invited to judge international choral and band competitions such as the Voyage of Songs and Taiwan Band Director’s Association Band Competition.
For his artistic excellence in the field of music, Zechariah was conferred the Young Artist Award (Music) in September 2003 by the National Arts Council, Singapore. The award was presented by the President of the Republic of Singapore at the Istana. Zechariah also received the Artistic Excellence Award from COMPASS in 2013, and the Distinguished Alumni Medal from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in 2014.
Tsung Jen Hsieh
Hsieh Tsung-Jen holds the highest artist diploma (Konzertexamen) from the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln in Germany, having studied with Johannes Schöllhorn. He was also awarded Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in composition from the Taipei National University of the Arts, where he had been under the tutelage of professors Meng-Wen Shih, Deh-Ho Lai and Hwang-Long Pan.
He has received numerous awards, including the Ministry of Education’s Literature and Arts Competition Award for the works Spider Web (2005), Wind and Fire (2007) and Spiegel (2010). His piece Love Me, Sea! (2009) won First Prize in the composition competition organised by the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra (NTSO), while other works, such as Missing The Nest Outside Room 216 on Unter Krahnenbäume (2010) and Hidden Behind the Glass (2011) were selected for composition grants by NTSO.
HIs electroacoustic piece Stroll (2009) won Second Prize at the Electronic Music Composition Competition organised by the Computer Space Music Festival in Bulgaria. His piano work A Phoenix Tree on A Raining Night (2010) was selected at Taiwan’s National Theater and Concert Hall – National Composition Selection project.
He has collaborated with various domestic and international ensembles, including France’s Ensemble Intercontemporain, Austria’s Trio Amos, the Taipei Symphony Orchestra, and the Taipei Chamber Singers. He currently serves as a full-time faculty member at the Department of Music, National Taichung University of Education, teaching composition and music theory.
Boonrut Sirirattanapan
Boonrut Sirirattanapan was born in 1972 in Thailand. Since 2003, Sirirattanapan has composed many pieces for computer, live electronics, chamber works, wind symphony as well as symphony orchestra.
His works to date include La gardienne de la mer for Thai ensemble and computer (2003), Vela for wind symphony (2003-7), Saffron Number for brass, percussion, πiano, computer and video (2007), La 3 Rua Reverse for oboe, cello and computer (2009), Episodes of E.O.D. for trombone, piano and video (2010-11), VTIF for electronics (2012), Karawek for clarinet sextet (2008-15), Sacred Tree for saxophone and computer (2015), the music-drama Ajatashatru & Amrapali (2017-18), as well as Glon for ensemble, chorus and electronics (2017). Parts of his work Prospered Night was also performed at the World Saxophone Congress 2018 at Zagreb, Croatia.
His interest in bronze drums and gongs lead to two works – Slow-Motion Flow of a Rural Scene for wind symphony, and Obsession in Metal. His recent project is two ensemble pieces on the Legend of Chiang Rai which incorporates many Northern Thai elements in the sound texture, and also includes bronze drum and gong sounds. One of these two pieces, Wild Boar, was selected to be performed at the World Saxophone Conference in Las Palmas de Granaria, Spain in 2023. He has also composed the music score for Suvarnabhumi Golden Land, a documentary which he also serves as an executive producer as well as head of the project. Last year, Boonrut composed songs and scored the music for the opening show of ICON SIAM Count Down 2025, the show in which Lisa Manoban was the highlight.
His recent works are two music scores for the TV series “Yok Pol Kon Nam Prik” and “Taste Detective 2 by Anusorn”, both of which would be broadcast on ThaiPBS channel in 2025. His concerto Yai Kham for two percussionists and wind symphony will recorded by Kasetsart Wind Symphony Orchestra in the middle of 2025. Besides music composition, Boonrut was recently appointed as a producer for the film production of a documentary about H.R.H. Maha Chakri Sirinthorn and Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency of Thailand (GISTDA) which will be screened at the Thailand Space Expo 2025 at ICON SIAM, Bangkok.
Sirirattanapan teaches composition, sound design, and music production at the Conservatory of Music, Rangsit University, Thailand.