Face(t)s of Nature – An Interview with Concordia Quartet | The Flying Inkpot

The Concordia Quartet debuted in 2020 with Edward Tan, Kim Kyu Ri, Matthias Östringer and Theophilus Tan. In 2022, a fresh new Concordia Quartet came to the stage with Martin Peh and Lin Juan taking over from Östringer and Theophilus Tan. Fast forward to today and Wilford Goh has been welcomed to the V1 seat while Edward Tan has exchanged his violin for the viola. Aileen Tang catches up with them ahead of their concert at the iconic Arts House in November.

The Flying Inkpot: With all the changes over the last few years, what is one thing that has remained constant about Concordia? What is, if we can call it this, the essence of Concordia?

Lin Juan: Change often feels like something to be managed or fixed, but we’ve learned to treat each new member not as a disruption, but as an invitation. With every new colleague, we enter the process with openness and curiosity: What makes this musician tick? Where does their musical centre of gravity lie? What values do they bring into Concordia? Rather than protecting a fixed identity, we allow the Concordia to be a living organism. Each member leaves an imprint, and that imprint becomes part of our collective DNA- an ethic of deep listening, of learning from and drawing inspiration from one another. That spirit of mutual transformation is, perhaps, the true essence of Concordia.

TFI: Wilford, what’s it like being the new kid in Concordia? 

Wilford Goh: It’s been rather comfortable for me actually, possibly more so than most people would imagine! The three of them have been very welcoming, and extremely open to trying the many (sometimes ridiculous) ideas I have brought to the table. 

It’s helpful that I’ve known each of them for more than a decade prior, and we’ve worked together in various different musical settings – we’re hardly strangers to one another. I’ve also had the privilege of doing serious chamber music rather regularly in my musical life, and so adapting to the string quartet life didn’t feel too alien either.

That being said, joining a new group always feels like the start of an exciting adventure – the possibilities all lie tantalisingly waiting to be explored. I feel very fortunate to have the rest of my Concordia-mates in this journey to explore all facets of being a string quartet musician, from the repertoire (some of which really is the pinnacle of all classical music) to the intimate relationship and communication between the four of us in the practice room, on stage, and just life in general.

TFI: Edward, besides the instrument and reading alto clef, has it been any different playing the instrument of firewood jokes instead of Violin 1? How did this lateral transfer come about? 

Edward: This lateral transfer didn’t come out of nowhere as I’ve played viola with the group before when the situation called for it – most memorably (for me) when we played Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir de Florence at last year’s Singapore Chamber Music Festival and also for Mozart’s Horn Quintet (which calls for two viola parts rather than two violin parts). So a move to viola was always an option, and that’s how the pieces ended up falling.

Interestingly, if you asked me what part I’d like to play in a quartet prior to joining Concordia in 2020, I would have said “2nd violin” without hesitation – I really like playing one of the inner voices and being the patty in the burger so to speak. So taking on the role of first violin was a bit of a compromise, albeit one that I got used to and learned to get comfortable with! Playing the viola is a compromise in a different way in that it’s an instrument I played for a slightly shorter period of time, but I am finding the process just as rewarding – good chamber music is good chamber music after all!

TFI: Kyu Ri and Juan, how does it feel being the OG of Concordia? Any PTSD from saying goodbye so many times? 

Lin Juan: I believe it is Edward and Kyu Ri who are the OGs, I’m more of the middle child here. 

TFI: Oh yes, you were 2^nd generation!

Juan: Any single change in a quartet is big- everything shifts. Surprisingly enough, the drink orders remain the same- three kopis and one teh. 

Kim Kyu Ri: Goodbyes are always difficult, and I would be lying if I said the transitions with each new member was easy. While it’s true that we have had to say a few goodbyes in our journey, I find it fortunate that we are still under the big umbrella of Resound Collective, and we still meet our ex-colleagues in re:Sound orchestra rehearsals!

I am an introvert, so I did take quite a bit of time to adjust to each new member when they came into the quartet. Not sure if Juan and Wilford remember, but it took me a while to warm up and get used to them during rehearsals. Now I’m the younger sister that constantly gets made fun of, and always gets on their nerves! 😀

Edward: Just butting in here – I’ve been a musician in Singapore for more than 13 years now and I’ve said goodbye to my fair share of students and colleagues for varying reasons – I guess I’ve come to accept that change is a constant, perhaps more so in our field than in others. I really do hope we last for as long as possible, but I do try to enjoy every performance we do to the fullest. As cliche as it sounds, it’s more special because it doesn’t last forever.

TFI: How’s the musical chemistry like between the 4 of you? How much of a challenge is it adjust to the changing dynamics (no pun intended)?

Wilford: We may not always start off on the same page naturally – at least, not yet – but one thing that I appreciate about the way we work is that we are open to disagreeing with one another, but coming together to search for a solution that truly satisfies all our artistic desires without being the sort of compromise of a middle ground that leaves everyone unhappy. From my perspective at least, it also helps that we all get along well enough and respect each other as friends too!

Kyu Ri: Adding on to what Wilford said, we do have our fair share of disagreements during rehearsals. However, we know that these are valid disagreements with no “right answers” to them, so I feel we have a mutual understanding that it’s ok to disagree, and it’s ok not to find a solution on the same day. Most of the time we let our conflicting ideas sit for weeks on end, and sometimes we do find a solution that everyone can fly with, but as new as we are, lots of things are still brewing for the right moment for us to find a solution. The best part I feel is that none of us (I think) take these disagreements personally, and we have a mutual understanding that our musical disagreements stay in the rehearsal room. Once we step out of our rehearsal venue, we are back to joking around with each other!

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: String Quartet no. 14 in G major, K. 387
Antonín Dvořák: Selections from Cypresses, B.152
Henry Purcell: Selections from Fantasias in Four Parts
Benjamin Britten: Three Divertimenti

Tickets for Face(t)s of Nature can be purchased from: https://cp.bookmyshow.sg/en/events/CQFACETS

Fri, 21 Nov 2025, 7:30pm, The Arts House, Chamber 

Concordia Quartet: Wilford Goh, violin, Kim Kyu Ri, violin, Edward Tan, viola, Lin Juan, cello

Read our other interviews with the Concordia Quartet:

Interview with Concordia Quartet

Soaring With The Wind – Interview with Concordia Quartet and clarinettist Ralph Emmanuel Lim

Concordia Quartet, V3 – Interview with Edward Tan, Kim Kyu Ri, Martin Peh and Lin Juan | The Flying Inkpot