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Sulwyn Lok
Music Director-Composer
ようこそ! Welcome to my palette from around the world.
Hello! Here, I bring together my work as a film and orchestra composer with my roots as a traditional Chinese instrumentalist and conductor. The menu has intense epic cues, good jazz vibes, soaring melodies, and an experimental side with folk instruments.
After the audio reel, I invite you to check out the videos of some of my most fun projects.
You will get to see different Asian instruments coming together in new ways, as well as trailers of some of the films I worked on.
Thank you for listening to my music!
SET SAIL (inspiring Asian flutes 笛子 and Venu with orchestra)
1:01
SPRING LOVE (bossa with 琵琶 Pipa | Winner of Universal's UCompose competition)
0:44
ALL IN ME (power ballad with strings)
0:26
CABLE CAR (jazz Flute)
0:49
ANA IS HERE (dark drama)
0:30
ESCAPING FATE (orchestral emotional final boss)
1:23
ONE CHAPTER MORE (Accordion good vibes jazz)
1:12
SECRETS OF THE HEAVENS (fantasy orchestral theme)
1:12
SKY OF BLOSSOMS (Chinese strings 琵琶、古筝、扬琴 and orchestra)
0:35
MORNING OF THE WORLD (Cello, 二胡 Erhu, 琵琶 Pipa, Gamelan with electronic tensions)
1:14
BEER! (funky 唢呐 Suona boss battle)
0:51
未 TO BE (Chinese flute 笛子 duet)
1:04
SUNSET (nostalgic 阮 Ruan and Harp)
5:00
SYMPHONY OF LIFE (uplifting 唢呐 Suonas and orchestra)
1:45
BODHI (Best Original Music, National Youth Film Awards | zen Chinese flute 大笛)
0:45
NO DELUSIONS: WUKONG (epic orchestral Asian)
0:52
IN TIME TO BE (experimental with traditional instruments)
0:34
THE CHILD OF TIME (town edition)
1:32
THE CHILD OF TIME (memories edition)
1:18
WAY OUT RIGHT NOW (chill electronic)
1:03
SWEET IMPRESSIONS (emotional EDM)
1:19
Biography
Described as “magical” and having “plenty of beautiful sounds to savour” (The Straits Times), the music of Singaporean composer and music director Sulwyn Lok (he/him non-binary) draws from his two homes of New York City and Southeast Asia for a unique global cultural palette. Writing music for Hermès, Samsung, and other international brands, as well as scoring films that premiered at the Cannes, Busan, and other film festivals, he advocates the human connection in music regardless of art or commercial works.
Winner of Universal Music's UCompose competition and Best Original Music at the National Youth Film Awards (Singapore), his body of works in film and media is complemented by artistic commissions including the arts councils of New York and Singapore, the Singapore Chinese Orchestra, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, and Ding Yi Music Company. He also enjoys writing music for video games, children, and theatre, which earned him a nomination at the Marvin Hamlisch International Music Awards (Musical Theatre category).
Apart from composing, Sulwyn explores music as a way to connect people. Funded by the Singapore International Foundation, he conducted artistry sessions for Afghan refugees in Indonesia with Project Artitude, sharing knowledge and experiences through music and art. He works regularly with The Purple Symphony, Singapore's largest inclusive orchestra comprising musicians with and without disabilities, crafting parts that empower musicians of different abilities, and also conducts and teaches composition workshops at the Music Society of Myanmar Festival and Competition, bringing together people of different races.
Fully sponsored by the Singapore Digital Scholarship, Sulwyn graduated from New York University's Master of Music Theory and Composition: Screen Scoring program. He also graduated as valedictorian from the National University of Singapore YST Conservatory of Music with a Bachelor’s in Audio Arts and Science.
Associate editor of "Anthology of Singaporean Ruan Compositions", Sulwyn is also resident composer of the Singapore Ruan Ensemble and Reverberance; executive member of the Singapore Chinese Music Federation Youth Chapter; co-founder of Poco Productions, Southeast Asia Music Academy Online, and the Victoria Chinese Orchestra; and a member of the Society of Composers and Lyricists (USA).
Want to know more?
Education
- Master of Music Theory and Composition: Screen Scoring, New York University (2021 - 2022) (fully sponsored by the Singapore Digital Scholarship under the IMDA)
- Bachelor of Music: Recording Arts and Sciences, National University of Singapore YST Conservatory of Music (2015 - 2019) - Valedictorian and First Class Honours (fully sponsored by the NUS Kent Ridge Merit Scholarship)
Awards and Festival Premieres
- Winner, Universal UCompose Production Music Competition 2021
- Best Music, British Web Awards 2024 (for Quarter Life Crisis, with Alexandra Funes)
- Best Original Music Award, National Youth Film Awards 2019 (for Bodhi《菩提》)
- Cannes Film Festival, Adam (composer), 2019
- Busan International Film Festival, Chasing Paper (composer), 2018
- LA WEBFEST, Quarter Life Crisis, 2024
- 1st Prize, National Chinese Music Competition (Ensemble Open Category) 2014
- 1st Prize, Composition Competition by the Carleton College Chinese Music Ensemble, 2020
- Marvin Hamlisch International Music Awards (Musical Theatre category) nominee, 2022
Notable Art Projects
Here, Hear (New York State Council on the Arts grant award) — a multi-movement site-specific work exploring the Asian New Yorker identity and the silent residents of NYC in the form of Asian artworks and artefacts in The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Morning of the World (funded by the National Arts Council, Singapore) — a multimedia production bringing together Indonesian gamelan, Chinese instruments, and track, to ponder about our world resetting.
Waves, Towards the Lands We Call Home (Singapore Chinese Orchestra commission) — a world symphonic poem for humanity and a prayer for peace, influenced by the journeys of early Chinese immigrants.
Into the Moonlit Yonder (Reverberance commission) — a journey across yearning, loss, finding oneself, inner conflicts, and seeking sanctuary, expressed as a concerto cycle for Chinese wind and percussion instruments.
Selection of Recent Works
2024
- Composer and Music Director of feature film, "We Can Save the World!!!"
- Composer and Music Director of 新加坡华族舞蹈剧场 Singapore Chinese Dance Theatre's 10th Anniversary Production
- Commissioned by the Singapore Chinese Orchestra for Legacy II《承 II》and for the Young Children's Concert 2024: Karung Guni Boy
- Composer of Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre and Ding Yi Music Company's instrumental theatre 器乐剧 "Hua Mu Lan"《花木兰》(director: Danny Yeo / writer: Neo Hai Bin)
- Composer of the Singapore Chinese Orchestra's radio musical 音乐广播剧 "A Singaporean's Chinese New Year" 《新加坡华人新年》at Rhapsodies of Spring 2025
- Composer of commercials and events for:
- Hermès
- United Overseas Bank
- Changi Airport Group
- Singapore Cable Car
2023
- Awarded the prestigious commissioning grant by the New York State Council on the Arts to conceptualise and compose a multi-movement site-specific suite inspired by Asian art works and artefacts of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (premiere planned for 2025/2026)
- Commissioned by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra to open the National Day Concert 2023
- Associate Editor of "Anthology of Singaporean Ruan Compositions"《新加坡阮咸原创作品曲集》(unveiled by DPM Heng Swee Keat)
- Composer of Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre and Reverberance's instrumental production "Into the Moonlit Yonder"《望月寻春风》
- Composer of Reverberance's instrumental production "Legends: Heaven and Earth"《传说之：开天辟地》at the Esplanade
- Composer for series pilot, Quarter Life Crisis
2022
- Composer of The Finger Players and Ding Yi Music Company's theatre production "The Zodiac Race" 《十二生肖》at the Esplanade
- Composer of Reverberance's instrumental production "Legends: The Beginning"《传说之：人之初》at the Esplanade
- Composer of "The Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove" 《竹林七贤》commissioned by the Singapore Chinese Orchestra
Positions and Residencies
- Society of Composers and Lyricists, New York Chapter
- Singapore Chinese Music Federation Youth Chapter (artistic affairs)
- Resident composer, Singapore Ruan Ensemble 新加坡阮咸印象室内乐团
- Resident composer, Reverberance 回响吹打团
