Shueh-li Ong (Mandarin Chinese 王雪莉) is an Australian born composer, producer, arranger and multi-instrumentalist (

thereminist The theremin (; originally known as the ætherphone, etherphone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox) is an electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the performer (who is known as a thereminist). It is named aft ...

synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

sound designer In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the br ...

, performer and vocalist) residing in the United States since 2005. Ong is regarded as a world-renown thereminist whose playing features on “Hurry Up and Smell the Roses” the 2012 solo album by

Tom Brislin Tom Brislin (born October 5, 1973) is an American keyboardist, songwriter, singer, producer, and author. In December 2018, American progressive rock band Kansas announced Brislin as the group’s keyboardist; his playing, vocals, and prominent song ...

, and on album La Conquista del Espacio by

Fito Páez Rodolfo Páez, popularly known as Fito Páez (; born 13 March 1963), is an Argentine rock and roll musician and filmmaker. He was member of the "Trova Rosarina" and is known as "The Troubadour of Argentine Rock", and is considered an important ...

which won the 2021 Grammy for Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album, and the 2020 Latin Grammy for Best Pop/Rock Album.

Education

Ong was a student of piano with

Stefan Ammer Stefan Ammer (born 13 July 1942) is a German-Australian pianist, lecturer, teacher and professor of music. A former professor at Hochschule für Musik Freiburg in Germany, and currently at the Elder Conservatorium of Music in Australia. Biograph ...

and of electronic music with

Tristram Cary Tristram Ogilvie Cary, OAM (14 May 192524 April 2008), was a pioneering English-Australian composer. He was also active as a teacher and music critic. Career Cary was born in Oxford, England, and educated at the Dragon School in Oxford and W ...

while enrolled in a Bachelor of Music degree at the

Elder Conservatorium of Music The Elder Conservatorium of Music, also known as "The Con", is located in the centre of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, and is named in honour of its benefactor, Sir Thomas Elder (1818–1897). Dating in its earliest form from 1883 ...

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. Its main campus in the Adelaide city centre includes many Sa ...

in Australia. She also acquired a Graduate Diploma in Contemporary Music Technology from

La Trobe University La Trobe University is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora, Victoria, Bundoora. The university was established in 1 ...

, Australia, before undertaking postgraduate research under the mentorship of Dr Jeff Pressing; musician, academic, psychologist and

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

music critic. Her area of research was in interactive multimedia techniques, which involved 2D-3D computer animation, generative music and extended synth techniques in live virtuosic performance.

Music career and the theremin

Ong considered the theremin after reaching a juncture in her development as a musician. She had left a position as head of marketing and game development lead with a Singapore company, to direct a music and technology show design company, Electric Muse. She wanted to incorporate other languages and musics into her work. She picked the theremin to represent the history of electronic musical instruments; and to complement other instruments that represented the different facets of her musical and cultural heritage. Electric Muse was formed in Singapore with friend and associate, Michael Spicer; Ong as business development manager/composer and Spicer as consultant. In 1999, Electric Muse produced its first full-length performance, ''A Tale Of Metal And Music'', in the

Singapore Arts Festival Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA) is an annual arts festival held in Singapore. It is organised bArts House Limitedfor the National Arts Council Singapore, National Arts Council. The festival is usually held in mid-year for a stretch ...

Fringe's Late Night Series. This was followed by its sequel, Timega Theory, performed at the

Melbourne Fringe Festival The Melbourne Fringe Festival is an annual independent arts festival in Melbourne, Australia, usually over three weeks from late September to early October. Held since 1982, the Festival includes a wide variety of art forms, including theatre, co ...

, Australia in 2000, then in Singapore in 2001. During this period, Ong also composed for theatre companies; Theatreworks’ production On Mercury’s Wings, and

The Necessary Stage The Necessary Stage (TNS, previously known as M1 Theatre Connect and M1 Youth Connection) is a Singaporean non-profit theatre company with charity status. Formed in 1987 by Alvin Tan, TNS was established with its own mission to create challengi ...

’s production Spoilt. Ong performed with Spicer for the former production, and solo in the latter. After a few years working in theatrical productions and staged concerts, Ong was confronted by requests for her music on CD. So she assembled Shueh-li's Xenovibes; a collection of her eclectic compositions in this first album. Xenovibes mingled Ong’s Asian and Western musical influences in a personal style shaped by her classical and electronic music training in studio and live performance. Ong was joined by Dallas-based drummer John Martinez, Australian keyboardist Michael Spicer, and Singaporean guitarist Jeff Long, at the premier of Shueh-li’s Xenovibes the Show in Singapore on 8 May 2004. Singaporean daily English-language newspaper,

The Straits Times ''The Straits Times'' (also known informally by its abbreviation ''ST'') is a Singaporean daily English-language newspaper owned by the SPH Media Trust. Established on 15 July 1845, it is the most-widely circulated newspaper in the country and ...

, proclaimed Ong as Singapore's first and only diva of the theremin; and a producer, performer, concert administrator and artist all rolled into one. Xenovibes officially became an electronic group thereafter.

Move to America

In 2005, Ong moved to the U.S.A. on a special visa awarded to an

Alien of extraordinary ability Alien of extraordinary ability is an alien classification by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. The United States may grant a priority visa to an alien who is able to demonstrate "extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, educ ...

with the specific purpose of creating new music, working on shows and touring. Martinez joined as core member of Xenovibes U.S.A. Xenovibes made its US debut at the Dallas Museum of Art’s 102nd birthday production. Ong was accompanied by Martinez, Mike McKinney (

The_Jacksons_Live! ''The Jacksons Live!'' (also known as simply ''Live'') is a live album by the Jacksons. It was released on November 11, 1981, by Epic Records. The album was recorded during the band's North American concert tour in fall 1981, known as the Triumph ...

), and Shelley Carrol (

Duke Ellington Orchestra Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was ba ...

) in an ensemble of six. With Martinez, Ong also co-directed a music academy in the United States. Ong moved from Dallas to Nashville in 2010 to take in new sights and sound, and to retreat to record new music. Ong has been interviewed about her work as a record producer, and as a performer, and how she designs from a macro perspective, modulating the theremin with distortion, flanging and heavy delay. Her four albums have received praise around the world for their production value, along with her contributions in the development of new theremin performances. Musicians who have appeared on her albums include

Dean Parks Weldon Dean Parks (born December 6, 1946) is an American session guitarist and record producer from Fort Worth, Texas. Parks has one Grammy nomination. Albums Parks was member of the North Texas State One O'clock Lab Band before moving to Los A ...

, Curtis Randall, and

. Ong is possibly the first thereminist to have performed at the

Dallas Museum of Art The Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) is an art museum located in the Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas, along Woodall Rodgers Freeway between St. Paul and Harwood. In the 1970s, the museum moved from its previous location in Fair Park to the A ...

(2005), Grapevine Opry (2008),

State Fair of Texas The State Fair of Texas is an annual state fair held in Dallas at historic Fair Park. The fair has taken place every year since 1886 except for varying periods during World War I and World War II as well as 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It ...

(2007), NJProghouse (2013), and the

Steinway Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway (), is a German-American piano company, founded in 1853 in New York City by German piano builder Henry E. Steinway, Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg (later known as Henry E. Steinway). The company's growth le ...

Piano Gallery Nashville (2012), and the second at

Moogfest Moogfest was a music and technology festival held annually or bi-annually in Durham, North Carolina, that honors engineer Robert Moog and his musical inventions. It was originally held in New York, New York, and then, after a brief hiatus, it m ...

(2007).

Inverted volume antenna customised by Bob Moog

Ong plays her Etherwave and Epro theremins that were customized by Bob Moog to have the volume antenna inverted. During a photoshoot the E-Pro toppled leading to its volume antenna being damaged. As Bob Moog did not leave any blueprints, Moog Music had to reverse engineer it with hopes they could fix it.

Journalistic Activities

Ong has been a contributor to the Singapore Arts Magazine, and South-east Asian music blog, Sonicfreakz. She is host of youtube livestream “Music and Chat” sharing the behind-the-scenes work of inventors, concept artists, VFX supervisors, composers, synthesists, magazine editors, hit writers and more. “Music and Chat” aired its 1st episode in May 2020 with its initial goal to stay in touch with friends and fans during the pandemic. Peter Zinovieff, Trevor Pinch, Herb Deustch and Beegie Adair each made one of their last public appearances on this livestream.

Personal life

Ong was born in Australia and is a Singapore permanent resident. Ong is currently based in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, United States since 2005.

Discography

Own Works

Singles

* 2021 Jan 2 ''Together'' * 2020 Oct ''The Universe'' * 2017 May 17 ''Delight'' * 2017 Oct 27 ''Jeune et Animée'' * 2013 Jan 1 ''Thriller'' (cover) * 2012 May 28 ''My Summertime Dreams'' * 2012 March 22 ''Ice Rain'' * 2011 August 8 ''A Working Title'' * 2011 June 14 ''Leave Me In Stasis'' (Guest appearance by

on piano) * 2011 May 23 ''Deja vu-Love voodoo'' * 2010 Dec 9 ''I'm leaving you a message''

Albums

* 2012 Aug 4 ''A Working Title - special edition'' * 2009 *''Xing Paths'' (arranged and produced, released under Xenovibes) * 2007 ''Music From Another Land'' (released under Xenovibes) * 2004 ''Shueh-li’s Xenovibes the Premier DVD'' * 2003 ''Shueh-li’s Xenovibes''

Other Recordings

* 2020

- ''La Conquista Del Espacio'' CD heremin on track La Canción de las Bestias* 2017 3RDegree - ''Ones & Zeros: Volume 0'' CD (theremin) * 2014 Indie film - ''Thong Girl vs Xolta from Outer Space'
Thong Girl Vs Xolta from Outer Space
(theremin) * 2014 Little Dipper - ''Last Broadcast'' CD (theremin) * 2012

- ''Hurry Up And Smell The Roses'' CD (theremin, synthesizer, engineer) * 2007 Robert Casteels - ''Taman Suara 2. Pontianak'' (theremin)

Original Shows/Live Performance Credits

* 1999 Metal and Music - Electronic Opera by Ong. Singapore Arts Festival. Also appearing Michael Spicer of

Redgum Redgum were an Australian bush band, folk and political music group formed in Adelaide in 1975 by singer-songwriters John Schumann and Michael Atkinson (composer), Michael Atkinson on guitars/vocals, and Verity Truman on flute/vocals; they were ...

Australia. * 2000 Timega Theory - Electronic Opera by Ong. Melbourne Arts Festival. Also appearing Michael Spicer. * 2001 Timega Theory - Electronic Opera by Ong. National University of Singapore. Also appearing Michael Spicer. * 2004 Shueh-li’s Xenovibes - Singapore. Guest appearance by drummer John Anthony Martinez and guitarist Jeff Long. * 2005 Shueh-li’s Xenovibes - Dallas TX. Guest appearance by bassist Mike McKinney and wind-player Shelley Carrol (

.) * 2005 Xenovibes Fall05 Tour (Dallas TX) - Dallas Museum of Art, Palace Theater and Eisemann Center. Guest appearances by bassist Chuck Smith and guitarist Bill Ham (

Bread (band) Bread was an American soft rock band from Los Angeles, California. They had 13 songs chart on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 between 1970 and 1977. The band was fronted by David Gates (vocals, bass guitar, guitar, keyboards, violi ...

) * 2006 Water Tower’s ‘Out of the Loop Festival’. Guest appearances by bassist George Anderson (

Shakatak Shakatak are an English jazz-funk band founded in 1980 by Bill Sharpe, Nigel Wright, Roger Odell and Keith Winter. An initial white label record, white label release, "Steppin", caught attention by Passion records label owner Les McCutcheon a ...

) and Bill Ham. * 2007 Club Dada, Liquid Lounge, Amsterdam Bar - Dallas TX. Guest appearance by

Bernard Wright Bernard Wright (November 16, 1963 – May 19, 2022) was an American funk and jazz keyboardist and singer who began his career as a session musician and later released four solo albums. Biography Wright was born in Jamaica, Queens, New York. I ...

. * 2007

- B B King, NYC, USA. * 2007 State Fair of Texas - USA. * 2008 EtherMusicFest - Asheville NC, USA. * 2008 Return to Singapore Tour. Guest appearance by keyboardist ‘Face’. * 2008 Grapevine Opry's 21st Anniversary Show, USA. * 2010 Singapore Esplanade (Flipside). Together with the Artsylum Quartet. * 2012 Steinway Piano Gallery (CD release concert). Guest appearance by

Beegie Adair Bobbe Gorin "Beegie" Adair ( Long, December 11, 1937 – January 23, 2022) was an American jazz pianist and bandleader, whose career spanned more than 60 years. Early life Bobbe Gorin Long was born in Cave City, Kentucky, on December 11, 1937. ...

, Elisabeth Small and

. * 2013 NJ Proghouse Progressive Music Series. * 2014 Steinway Piano Gallery Nashville. "Shueh-li Presents". * 2014 Switched On : Birth of the Moog Synth exhibit - History Ctr, Ithaca NY * 2015 Steinway Piano Gallery Nashville. "Shueh-li Presents". Guest appearance by Eric Struthers (

Aaron Neville Aaron Joseph Neville (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer renowned for his distinctively smooth, vibrato-heavy tenor and a genre-crossing career that spans R&B, soul, gospel, jazz, country, and pop. He gained national prominence with hi ...

Quartet) * 2015 Moog Birthday Bash - History Ctr, Ithaca NY. Also appearing

Malcolm Cecil Malcolm Cecil (9 January 1937 – 28 March 2021) was a British jazz bassist, record producer, engineer, electronic musician and teacher. He was a founding member of a leading UK jazz quintet of the late 1950s, the Jazz Couriers,David Borden David Russell Borden (born December 25, 1938, in Boston, Massachusetts) is an American composer and keyboard player of minimalist music. In 1969, with the support of Robert Moog, he founded the synthesizer ensemble Mother Mallard's Portable Mas ...

Herb Deutsch Herbert Arnold "Herb" Deutsch (February 9, 1932 – December 9, 2022) was an American composer, inventor, and educator. Until his death in 2022, he was professor emeritus of electronic music and Musical composition, composition at Hofstra Univer ...

Trevor Pinch Trevor J. Pinch (1 January 1952 – 16 December 2021) was a British sociologist, part-time musician and chair of the science and technology studies department at Cornell University. In 2018, he won the J.D. Bernal Prize from the Society for ...

Original Music (and Performance)

* 1999

TheatreWorks (Singapore) is an independent, non-profit international performance company based in Singapore. It is an Institute of Public Character that aims to develop and nurture professional art skills. As per their website, "It promotes and produces Singapore writ ...

"On Mercury's Wings"- Singapore. * 2001

"Spoilt" - Singapore. * 2003

International Computer Music Conference The International Computer Music Conference (ICMC) is a yearly international conference for computer music researchers and composers. It is the annual conference of the International Computer Music Association (ICMA). History In 1986, the Ins ...

- Singapore.

References

External links

Official Website : Shueh-li Ong

Finding the Perfect Pitch - TheAsiaMag; Through Asian Eyes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ong, Shueh-Li Singaporean musicians Theremin players Australian keyboardists Australian expatriates in the United States Living people Year of birth missing (living people)