I am a composer/arranger and pianist from Singapore who has won several awards in the local, national, and international arena. I recently formed a Symphonic Rock Band called the 'Scarlet Eclipse', and we will be having our debut performance in November 2007. Most importantly, I write and perform with passion; my music overflows from the heart and deeply penetrates the soul!
I recently graduated with a Law Degree from King's College London, and am currently pursuing a Postgraduate Diploma in Singapore Law at the National University of Singapore.
Check out www.soundclick.com/davydchong or www.soundclick.com/scarleteclipse to find out more about me and my band!
Latest News
My band will be performing in the upcoming 1st COMPASS Musical Extravaganza held at the Chamber of the Arts House (Singapore) in 11 November 2007.
About Me
I received the Diploma in Music (Songwriting) from the World Music Foundation in 2004. Prior to this, I completed my Grade 8 in both Piano (1999) and Music Theory (2000) for the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM). I formed a Symphonic Rock band in June 2007 called the "Scarlet Eclipse" in Singapore, and am the composer, arranger and keyboardist.
I started composing music seriously at the age of 16. As a student of Victoria Junior College (VJC), I helped to pioneer its Piano Ensemble in 2000. I took part in the VJC Music Festival 2001, and one of my first compositions “I’ve Lost You” enabled me to clinch the 2nd prize in the “Creative Song Writing Category”. These achievements became the impetus that led me to aspire towards realizing bigger dreams.
With added confidence, I actively sought out more platforms to showcase my compositions. In the following year, I took part in the Bethesda Eternity Talentime 2002, where I performed the piece “Hopeless Tears”. Not only did I clinch the 2nd prize with my solo performance, I also secured the “Best Showmanship Award” for the event. The audience’s response to my music encouraged me so deeply that I decided to cut an album on my own by the next year.
Hence, in 2003, I produced my debut album entitled “Hopeless Tears” independently, and released it at the “Eighty-8” Concert organized by the VJC Piano Ensemble, which I performed as an alumnus annually. To date, more than 200 copies have been sold in Singapore.
As I began to garner more support and earn myself a reputation, more avenues to perform opened up to me. I began performing on many occasions, and was even invited as the guest pianist for the “Singapore Armed Forces 9th Division Silver Jubilee” at The Fullerton Singapore, a major military event.
My big break came when I won the Channel NewsAsia “Get Rea!” Song Writing Competition 2004, one of Singapore’s biggest songwriting events of the year. I received much media attention through this event, as my piece “Make It Through” was broadcast on radio, and telecast on the programs “As Rea! As It Gets” and “Get Rea!”. Currently, it is the theme song for “Get Rea!”, a reality-based current affairs show. I performed this song later at the “Eighty-8” Concert, where I released my singles album entitled “Make It Through”.
And hot on the heels of that, my song “You’re My Everything” catapulted me into the international arena where I emerged as one of the top 5 (Finalist) in the Pop Category for the Song of the Year (SOTY) contest in America in June 2004. Recently, in March 2007, the song 'Pan-Demonium' which I did in collaboration with Andrew Liew, was selected by Crescent Music & Media, a national commercial music and media consultant company based in Charlotte, NJ (USA), to be catalogued and marketed to the recording, film and commercial advertising industry in America.
My interest is now veered towards composing for musicals and film. I recently composed/arranged for MERDEKA: The Rock Musical (an original musical by Marcus Lim), a major student production staged at the Greenwood Theatre in London from 28 February - 2 March 2007, and which also received rave reviews from our local press such as The Newpaper (Singapore), The Straits Times (Singapore), and The New Straits Times (Malaysia). So far, three songs from the musical received honours: 1) 'Dancing in the Dark' won 'Special Mention' for the MusicAid International Music Awards 2006 under the 'Best Compostition' category; 2) 'Pan-Demonium' was selected by Crescent Music & Media, as stated above; and 3) 'Can I Never Leave My Past Behind' (alias Hopeless Tears) was performed recently (with Marcus Lim) at The Met Opera Singing Contest on 1 September 2007 organised by Golden Village Cinemas, partnered with Canon, where it clinched 1st Prize for the competition.
Finally, I'd like to thank Jesus Christ for being the author of all my inspiration.