In the 1970s, I composed music works for the piano and choral and solo singing with piano accompaniment. In 1973, Yamaha Music organised the first-ever original music composition competition, “Search for Our Music,” to encourage the writing of local music in Singapore and Malaya. The competition attracted great interest and attention from writers of jazz music, Christian hymns, and sacred songs, such as Sim Kwang Hui, who was already well known. The submitted music works can be in any style, for solo or group performance, and for any medium of expression: human voice, individual musical instrument, or instrumental ensemble.
I submitted an original song for solo and choral singing with piano accompaniment. The title “Song of the Merlion” tells an original story of the miraculous transformation of a weak lion cub into a king of the sea, a Merlion with a fishtail.
The Merlion is the official mascot of Singapore. It was first used in Singapore as the logo for the tourism board. Its name combines “mer,” meaning the sea, and “lion.” The fish body represented Singapore’s origin as a fishing village when it was called Temasek, which means “sea town” in Javanese. The lion head represents Singapore’s original name—Singapura—meaning “lion city” or “kota singa.”
The symbol was designed by Alec Fraser-Brunner, a member of the Souvenir Committee and curator of the Van Kleef Aquarium, for the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) logo in use from 26 March 1964 to 1997 and has been its trademarked symbol from 20 July 1966. The STB logo was changed in 1997.
After the competition’s first round, which required a live performance at the Victoria Concert Hall, I was among the 12 finalists. I performed the piano parts and was fortunate to have the male voices of the National Theatre Choir to sing the choral and solo parts for me. Several members of the choir eventually became professional soloists and conductors. Among them were Mr. Lim Yaw, the associate conductor for the SSO, and Rev Lee Chong Min, Director and Conductor of the Hallelujah Oratorio Society. In the list of finalists, the handwritten numbers on the right side indicated the order of performance for the final round of ticketed performances. I was given the number (2), the second to perform on stage. Besides a panel of judges including well-known music teachers, well-known musicians, and conductors, the audience was told to select their favourites for the top 3 prizes. A recording was made of the final performance. I was happy and honoured to be awarded the top prize, the Winner of the Competition.