BY STEPHANIE ESLAKE
When Anna Sing found out she would be performing with Ray Chen and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, she simply couldn’t believe it.
It’s not a figure of speech: Anna truly believed she’d been selected by mistake.
“I thought surely, they’ve emailed the wrong person,” Anna says, having been named a winner of the Play with Ray competition. But when the emerging Australian violinist finally allowed the remarkable news to sink in, she couldn’t contain her excitement. Elated, she rang up her parents and music teacher.
“My teacher told me later that I gave him a fright because of how I sounded when he picked up!” she says.
Anna (below) – along with fellow violinists Przemysław (Przemek) Prucnal (21), and Yongren Yuto Lim (11) – will perform a movement of J.S. Bach’s Concerto in D Minor for Two Violins with Ray Chen and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.
The Play with Ray competition, which the renowned violinist created to give emerging musicians “a chance to do something that they otherwise might not have”, is presented in collaboration with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Sydney Opera House.
A game-changer in live classical music
The Australian launch of Play with Ray takes place on 25 July following the program’s successful debut in 2019 with the LA Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl.
Anna’s huge response to her acceptance matches the scale of the competition itself: applicants spanning 6 to 63 years old – across 56 countries – were up against her. And each one of these musicians was in some way moved to take a chance, perhaps inspired by Ray’s “rock-solid technique and lush sound” (Kurier), or his “electrifying, beautiful, and expressive” sound (CutCommon). Perhaps they wanted to learn from his “innate musicianship and poetic sensibility” (Limelight), or his “caramel-toned passion” (Gramophone).
But one of the most unique parts of this program is that Ray will teach his players through live experience – and audiences will have the chance to watch in real time. When you attend Play with Ray as a concertgoer, you’ll catch a rare glimpse into something truly special: the alchemy of two artists conjuring music with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, together for the first time; their backgrounds and careers more diverse than those who would usually share a stage. With Yongren, you’ll witness an 11-year-old performing with a former child prodigy-turned-international star — Yongren’s “hero”. With Przemek, you’ll hear an early career musician weaving his way through Bach alongside his “idol”. When you watch Anna, you’ll watch a student of medicine playing a duo with an artist so accomplished – yet so open to collaboration and connection through music – that he could change how she approaches her very future in music.
Play with Ray is a life-changing concert for those involved, and a game-changer for the industry itself. Ray has not gained global recognition purely for his knock-out technical prowess (though he possesses this in spades). He has found his way under the skin of audiences who desperately seek something new – something beyond the traditional concert experience – and he’s raising goosebumps as he goes.
As with his start-up Tonic, a “music practice platform designed to make classical music accessible, connected and fun” – and his social media channels that connect with hundreds of thousands of subscribers and yield tens of millions of views – Play with Ray is yet another innovation that brings classical music into the 21st Century. And whether you’re performing or sitting in the Sydney Opera House as a spectator, it’s an innovation worth being part of.
“I couldn’t take my eyes and ears off him”
Anna first decided to take a chance to Play with Ray because, let’s face it, “who wouldn’t want to?”. Ray has reached millions of listeners across the world through live and online performances. He has released recordings with Sony and Decca, and featured in hit TV series Mozart in the Jungle. Those who have seen him in real life – with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Berlin Radio Symphony, New York Philharmonic, or another world-class group – are likely to have walked away with the unforgettable experience of hearing an artist who “redefines what it means to be a classical musician in the 21st Century”.
On what she admires about Ray’s musicianship, Anna says “it’s his stage presence”.
“I’ve been to a few of his concerts and he’s such a captivating performer, I couldn’t take my eyes and ears off him.
“Whenever he’s playing or talking about music, he just has so much joy, enthusiasm, and humour. It’s totally infectious, and I love that he’s so passionate about encouraging music education.”
Ray’s passion for education is one reason he wanted to open the door to “a diverse amateur musician community”, as he told CutCommon last year. Play with Ray is not about showcasing established soloists who already tour the world’s stages — it’s about providing a platform to emerging artists so they can “share their unique stories”, too.
Anna is a student at the University of Melbourne where she learns medicine – not music. She enjoys playing in orchestras made up of fellow doctors and health professionals. In 2016, she was awarded the Australian Strings Association Paul McDermott Violin Scholarship. To Anna, Play with Ray could make a groundbreaking contribution to her musical life.
“It’s really inspiring and motivating, and I couldn’t be more grateful for this opportunity – especially for giving me more confidence to potentially pursue music in the future.”
Experience the universal language of music
Przemysław (Przemek) Prucnal was equally energised when he found out he would be playing a Bach duet with Ray and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. The Feliks Nowowiejski Academy of Music student received the outcome of his application via email in the early hours of the morning when he was “reluctantly and slowly waking up for the morning’s classes”.
“As soon as I read the information that I was selected, I immediately jumped to my feet. I have never got up as fast as I did then,” he says.
Przemek (above) first dreamt of the opportunity to Play with Ray in 2019. He wasn’t chosen in the inaugural Los Angeles round – but with determination, he practised hard and tried again. “And here I am!”
The award-winning emerging violinist is a true fan of Ray: he listens “endlessly” to the star performer’s recordings of Bach’s Chaconne, and Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky’s violin concertos (the latter of which Ray will also perform with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra this July).
“I love that in Ray’s playing, I can always find a story, a certain mood, or a feeling communicated through his interpretation, which is in great balance between what the composer wanted and how Ray feels the music,” Przemek says.
It’s exactly what Przemek hopes to get out of his time with Ray and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.
“Being able to watch how Ray works, communicate with people, and then share the same stage with him is priceless and very special. Everything I’m going to learn will stay with me for the rest of my music career.
“I believe that with good preparation and communication, rehearsing in Sydney will be natural and we all will understand each other very clearly through the universal language of music.”
Be part of the excitement
In addition to the performance of Bach’s Double Violin Concerto – which will be led by conductor Tianyi Lu – the three musicians will take part in a masterclass with Ray.
Przemek says he will use the feedback from his “idol” to prepare for future violin competitions, while Anna hopes Ray’s “pearls of wisdom” will help her develop confidence as a solo performer in large venues.
Anna is equal parts nervous and enthusiastic about her concert with Ray.
“I think what will help most is trusting in Ray, and the incredible musicians and staff of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, to support and encourage me throughout.”
Performance jitters are inevitable for Przemek also – and he’s using strategies to turn that stress into excitement. This includes visualising the performance in his mind, practising the music in front of others, and even wearing his concert jacket in the rehearsal room.
“It’s very important to accept nerves and the feeling they cause — and honestly, I wouldn’t like to get rid of them! They help me concentrate on the task and give me superpowers.
“I could never play in a calm environment the same staccato as I am able to do during a performance!”
At 11 years old, violinist Yongren Yuto Lim will also be counting on his experience to inform his performance with Ray. This concert marks Yongren’s Australian debut; he first picked up his instrument as a 4-year-old and has since received his performance diploma from Trinity College in the United Kingdom, achieving up a string of international music awards in the meantime.
“Ray Chen is my hero,” the young musician said in a statement.
“I admire him not only for his violin skills, but also what he does to inspire the world.”
That inspiration includes shared dreams, and as this Singapore violinist (below) highlighted: “As a child, Ray travelled to Sydney to take violin lessons, and at that time dreamt of playing at the Sydney Opera House.”
“I’m so grateful to Ray and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra for the opportunity to perform with them!”
Join a welcoming community with Ray and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra
Play with Ray is an extraordinary opportunity for these three talented players. But Ray considers it an opportunity for himself, too.
“Practising is a lonely experience. But the community is the main reason that people remain musicians – to have that joy of sharing, right?” Ray said in a statement.
“The idea around Play with Ray is basically to create this opportunity to share the stage.”
Though the application process was competitive, Ray isn’t out to compete with these duo partners on stage. His choice of the Bach Double Violin Concerto was influenced by his value for collaboration: “It’s usually the first piece that you encounter where you are playing with somebody else, a real duet – it’s the first piece that is proper chamber music. So it sticks in people’s minds who have learned the instrument.”
As he prepares to play this music live at the Sydney Opera House, Ray acknowledges the opportunity he is providing is a rare one.
“Not many artists do that, especially at a soloist level. I thought it’d be a fun thing to do to create a sense of community.”
The impact on this community-building has already begun. When she steps off the stage after Play with Ray, Anna says she wishes to “bottle up my feelings and keep reliving them: the feeling of doing something so big for the very first time, and the excitement of finding out; the incredible gratitude I feel for this opportunity and everyone who’s made it possible; the drive it’s given me to go further with music; and the feeling of being so welcomed by Ray and everyone in the Sydney Symphony Orchestra”.
“Music can be so tough sometimes, whether it’s being self-critical in the practice room or not succeeding in auditions, and I’ll always think back to this experience as my inspiration and encouragement that anything is possible.”
Hear these musicians Play with Ray and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the Sydney Opera House, 7pm July 25.
Ray will also perform as soloist in audience favourites including Piazzolla’s The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires.
Images supplied. Anna captured by Sam Chiu Chloe Teo. Ray performing Max Richter with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra captured by Daniel Boud. Above: Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the re-opening of the renewed Sydney Opera House captured by Daniel Boud.
