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Chong Voon Lim (born 1958 in
Ipoh Ipoh (, ) is the capital city of the Malaysian States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Perak. Located on the Kinta River, it is nearly north of Kuala Lumpur and southeast of George Town, Penang, George Town in neighbouring Penang ...
, Malaysia) is a Malaysian-born Australian-based musical director, keyboardist, producer, and session musician. Lim attended St. Michael's Institution for secondary education. He relocated to Melbourne, Australia in 1977, where he attended Geelong College, and then completed a
mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...
course at the
University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...
from 1978 to 1981. Lim has toured with
Jermaine Jackson Jermaine LaJuane Jacksun (né Jackson; born December 11, 1954) is an American singer, songwriter and bassist. He is known for being a member of the Jackson family. From 1964 to 1975, Jermaine was second vocalist after his brother Michael of the ...
and
John Farnham John Peter Farnham (born 1 July 1949) is a British-born Australian singer. Farnham was a teen pop idol from 1967 until the mid-1970s, billed as Johnny Farnham. He has since forged a career as an adult contemporary singer.McFarlane (1999). Enc ...
, after Farnham's long-time collaborator
David Hirschfelder David Hirschfelder (born 18 November 1960) is an Australian musician, film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cu ...
left to concentrate on film scores. He has toured and been music director and producer for
Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British and Australian singer and actress. With over 100 million records sold, Newton-John was one of the List of best-selling music artists#100 million to 119 million record ...
since 1998 and is patron of the Olivia Newton-John Foundation. Lim is a consultant for the musical instrument company
Roland Corporation is a Japanese multinational manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, electronic equipment, and software. It was founded by Ikutaro Kakehashi in Osaka on 18 April 1972. In 2005, its headquarters relocated to Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefect ...
, producer of an album for Tommy Emmanuel and wrote music for the
2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...
in Sydney, was musical director and composer for the closing ceremony of the Melbourne
2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006, were an International sport, international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Melbourne ...
. He was also musical director for the stage version of ''
Dirty Dancing ''Dirty Dancing'' is a 1987 American romance film, romantic drama film, drama Dance in film, dance film written by Eleanor Bergstein, produced by Linda Gottlieb, and directed by Emile Ardolino. Starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, it tel ...
'', '' Don't Forget Your Toothbrush'' and
Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and actress. Frequently referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Princess of Pop", she has achieved recognition in both the music industry and fas ...
's Intimate and Live Tour. In the 2018 Queen's Birthday Honours Lim was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for "significant service to the performing arts as a musician, composer, producer and musical director, and to the community".


Career


2000 Sydney Olympics

Lim composed several pieces of work for both the 2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony and the 2000 Summer Olympics closing ceremony. He composed "Nature", an opening ceremony piece, as well as "Journey of Angels", which was played during the placing of the flags. Lim also produced two works for the Opening Ceremony including "Heroes Live Forever", as well as "Dare to Dream", which was sung by
Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British and Australian singer and actress. With over 100 million records sold, Newton-John was one of the List of best-selling music artists#100 million to 119 million record ...
and long-time colleague and friend
John Farnham John Peter Farnham (born 1 July 1949) is a British-born Australian singer. Farnham was a teen pop idol from 1967 until the mid-1970s, billed as Johnny Farnham. He has since forged a career as an adult contemporary singer.McFarlane (1999). Enc ...
. The closing ceremony also included production by Lim, such as "Under the Southern Skies", which was performed by Nikki Webster. He also produced " We'll Be One",also sang by Webster during the opening ceremonies, as well as arranging "
Dancing Queen "Dancing Queen" is a song by the Swedish group ABBA, released as the lead single from their fourth studio album, '' Arrival'' (1976). It was written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Stig Anderson. Andersson and Ulvaeus also produced the ...
" sung by
Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and actress. Frequently referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Princess of Pop", she has achieved recognition in both the music industry and fas ...
at the Closing Ceremony. All of Lim's original scores of his compositions can now be found in the
National Archives of Australia The National Archives of Australia (NAA), formerly known as the Commonwealth Archives Office and Australian Archives, is an Australian Government agency that is the National archives, official repository for all federal government documents. It ...
in Canberra.


Mainstream Events

Lim was the musical director of the Australian segment during the closing ceremony for the
2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002, were an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Manchester, England, ...
in Manchester and also directed the record of "
Don't Dream It's Over "Don't Dream It's Over" is a song by rock band Crowded House, recorded for their 1986 self-titled debut studio album. The song was composed and written by New Zealand frontman Neil Finn and released in October 1986 as the fourth single from ...
" sung by Sarah Blasko and was produced by Paul Kelly at the
2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006, were an International sport, international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Melbourne ...
in Melbourne. Lim also composed musical scores for the opening ceremony of the 2006 Asian Games held in Doha. From 2010 and the six years following, Lim was the musical director for the
Melbourne Cup The Melbourne Cup is an annual Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race held in Melbourne, Australia, at the Flemington Racecourse. It is a 3200-metre race for three-year-olds and older, conducted by the Victoria Racing Club that forms part of the ...
Opening Ceremonies, and was the musical director of the
2015 AFC Asian Cup The 2015 AFC Asian Cup was the 16th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international association football, football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It was held in Australia from 9 to 31 January 201 ...
in Melbourne. Lim also continued these successes globally, where was an arranger for the
2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games (), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014 (; ), were an international multi-sport event celebrated in the tradition of the Commonwealth Games as governed by the Commonwea ...
in Glasgow. More recently, Lim has worked on National Sporting Event entertainment such as musically directing the
2020 AFL Grand Final The 2020 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football match contested between and at the Gabba in Brisbane, Queensland, on Saturday 24 October 2020. It was the 125th annual Grand Final of the Australian Football League (formerly the Vic ...
and
2021 AFL Grand Final The 2021 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football match contested between and the at Perth Stadium, Optus Stadium in Perth, Western Australia, on Saturday 25 September 2021. It was the 126th annual AFL Grand Final, grand final of the ...
half time show, in which he also arranged for and conducted the
Queensland Symphony Orchestra Queensland Symphony Orchestra (QSO) is an Australian symphony orchestra in the state of Queensland. The orchestra is based in the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's building in South Bank. The Orchestra is funded by private corporations, the ...
in 2020. Lim was also the musical director for the 2020-21 Big Bash League season in Tasmania, as well as the musical director and producer of the Opening entertainment for the
2021 Australian Open The 2021 Australian Open was a Grand Slam tennis tournament that took place at Melbourne Park, on 8–21 February 2021. It was the 109th edition of the Australian Open, the 53rd in the Open Era, and the first Major tournament of the year. It w ...
and 2022 Australian Open Women's Semi and Grand Final.


John Farnham

Lim began working for John Farnham in 1994, working as his musical director. Since this beginning, Lim has been a long-standing band and crew member, musically directing almost every tour and event that Farnham has conducted. These include: In 2016 Lim also produced
John Farnham John Peter Farnham (born 1 July 1949) is a British-born Australian singer. Farnham was a teen pop idol from 1967 until the mid-1970s, billed as Johnny Farnham. He has since forged a career as an adult contemporary singer.McFarlane (1999). Enc ...
and
Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British and Australian singer and actress. With over 100 million records sold, Newton-John was one of the List of best-selling music artists#100 million to 119 million record ...
's Christmas album '' Friends for Christmas''.’


Television

From 1999 to 2008 Lim was the musical director for the Australian
Logie Awards The TV Week Logie Awards (known colloquially as The Logies) is an annual ceremony celebrating and honouring the best shows and stars in Australian television, sponsored and organised by the magazine ''TV Week''. The event is telecast live and ...
, which is broadcast nationally each year. Since 2004 Lim has worked as musical director for the Australian version of ''
Dancing with the Stars ''Strictly Come Dancing (widely known as Dancing with the Stars)'' is an international television franchise based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing,'' itself a successor to the show ''Come Dancing'' (1950–1998) ...
'', running for 15 consecutive seasons. Lim musically directed for the Australian talent show '' It Takes Two'', which ran for three seasons from 2006 to 2008 and has been music director of the Victorian Schools Spectacular since 2011. In 2020 Lim also musically directed and arranged for
Amy Shark Amy Louise Billings (born 14 May 1986), known professionally as Amy Shark, is an Australian indie pop singer-songwriter-guitarist and producer from the Gold Coast, Queensland. During 2008 to 2012, her early solo material was released and perfo ...
at the
ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...
.


Directing and composition

Lim began his musical directing career in Australia in 1997, when he directed and composed a group of works for the opening of the Atrium
Crown Melbourne Crown Melbourne (also referred to as Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex) is an integrated resort consisting of a casino and hotel located on the south bank of the Yarra River, in Melbourne, Australia. Crown Melbourne is a subsidiary of C ...
, which still plays to this day. This included not only works of Lim's production, but also live conducting with the
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) is an Australian orchestra based in Melbourne. The MSO is resident at Hamer Hall. The MSO has its own choir, the MSO Chorus, following integration with the Melbourne Chorale in 2008. The MSO relies on fun ...
. In 1998 Lim co-produced the original I Still Call Australia Home Qantas Advertisements with Lindsay Field. In 1998 Lim secured the role of musical director for ''Grease'': The Arena Spectacular, which returned for a second season in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. Lim has also continued to direct and compose in the Asia-Pacific region, including Citrawarna in
Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...
, Bali Agung for the Bali Marine and Safari Park, and Pearl of the Seas in the Jakarta Aquarium. From 2000, Lim continued to direct shows in Australia, including the Motown Tour in 2009 (feat The Four Tops, The Temptations, Martha Reeves, The Miracles, Mary Wilson) to The Mission Estate Concert with the
Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra The Auckland Philharmonia (formerly Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, APO) is a symphony orchestra based in Auckland, New Zealand. Its principal concert venue is the Auckland Town Hall, and it is also the accompanying ensemble for Auckland stage ...
in 2014, Dirty Dancing: The Classic Story on Stage in 2015 to Disney Under the Stars in 2015 (featuring David Campbell,
Ricki-Lee Coulter Ricki-Lee Dawn Coulter (born 10 November 1985) is an Australian singer-songwriter, television and radio presenter. She was born in Auckland, New Zealand, raised in Gold Coast, Queensland, and began performing at age 15. Coulter rose to fame in ...
,
Harrison Craig Harrison Craig (born 7 September 1994) is an Australian singer who won the The Voice (Australia series 2), second series of ''The Voice (Australia), The Voice Australia''. Craig was coached in the program by British singer Seal (artist), Seal. ...
and Lucy Durack). Lim was also the co-creator and musical director of Rolling Thunder the Musical. In 2017 Lim directed his first Good Friday Appeal Super Show in Melbourne, becoming an annual occurrence.


Discography


Charted albums


Production discography

In 2001 Lim produced Nikki Webster's " Strawberry Kisses", which peaked at number two on the
ARIA Charts The ARIA Charts are the main Australian record chart, music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA beca ...
for seven consecutive weeks. It was certified gold by
ARIA In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air (music), air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrument (music), instrumental or orchestral accompan ...
in its second week, and was shortly after certified platinum. Lim went on to produce David Campbell's third and fourth studio albums '' The Swing Sessions'' and '' The Swing Sessions 2'' in 2006 and 2007 (both certified platinum), also producing Campbell's tenth studio album '' Back in the Swing'' in 2019. In 2011 Lim Produced Sarah McKenzie's first and second studio albums ''Don't Tempt Me'' and '' Close Your Eyes'', which were both nominated for Best Jazz Album at the ARIA Awards, with ''Close Your Eyes'' winning the ARIA for that year. He also produced her studio album ''Secrets of My Heart'', which was recorded in New York.


Tours

In 1998 Lim was the musical director for
Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and actress. Frequently referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Princess of Pop", she has achieved recognition in both the music industry and fas ...
's Intimate and Live tour in support of her album '' Impossible Princess''. Lim went on in 1999 to musically direct
Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British and Australian singer and actress. With over 100 million records sold, Newton-John was one of the List of best-selling music artists#100 million to 119 million record ...
's One Woman's Journey Tour in the United States. In 2015, Lim was the musical director of the All You Need Is Love Tour, going on in 2017 to direct the Elvis The Wonder of You Tour in Australia.


Awards


ARIA Music Awards

The
ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...
is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of the
music of Australia The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions o ...
. , - ,
2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
, Sarah McKenzie's '' Close Your Eyes'' , Producer of the Year ,


Helpmann Awards

, - , 2019 , Rolling Thunder , Best Composer ,


References


Sources

* ''
Australian Musician ''Australian Musician'' is an online Australian music magazine, formerly published as a free quarterly print magazine. History ''Australian Musician'' was launched by the Australian Music Association in December 1995 as a quarterly, colour pub ...
'', issue 14, Winter 1998


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lim, Chong Living people Australian keyboardists Malaysian emigrants to Australia Members of the Order of Australia 1958 births