Hi, I’m Shueh-li (pronounced Shelley), an Aussie-born Singapore recording artist based in the U.S. Many know my work as a thereminist, synthesist/synth player and composer, who also sings and plays tin-whistle.
Others know me as a record producer with four albums and multiple singles released to date, and as a show producer with a myriad of concerts I have put together in Singapore and the States.
Most are surprised that I do not have a fav genre; I love them all – jazz fusion, EM, soundtrack, singer-songwriter, pop, progressive R&B, prog-rock, classical. And that somehow I find time to adjunct lecture, present a regular youtube livestream Music & Chat, and track theremin for others!
I’d love to hear from you if you’re considering licensing my music, or would like to commission a project.
From Australia to Singapore …
I was in an area of research that melded real-time graphic generation in live performance utilising extended synthesizer techniques, and, I co-ran a midi studio for film and TV projects, before I left for Singapore.
There, I had the privilege of working in the multimedia industry where I headed the development of a line of award-winning music-edutainment CDs and a java based cyber playhouse for research into interactive online gaming. Volume 1 is on permanent display at the National Museum of Play in Rochester NY. As head, I was responsible for the publicity, sales and survival of the department, besides providing curriculum/game direction, hands-on 3D work, music, voice-over and other asset creation.
A few years later, I decided that what I really wanted to do was to create music, so I co-founded Electric Muse. Electric Muse quickly gained a reputation for being able to provide customized instruments and show design for live entertainment and theatre. The acceptance by the artistic community of me as an authority on various performance genres was my reward!
During this time, I wrote two electronic operas (dramatico works), original music for theatre and even found time to contribute reviews and articles to Singapore’s premier Arts Magazine.
Singapore to USA
In 2004, I decided to go out on a limb again by launching show concept Shueh-li’s Xenovibes. I took this show concept to the U.S. in 2005, with the blessing of the Singapore Straits Times who sent me off as “Singapore’s 1st and only Diva of the theremin”.
Xenovibes came about as a need to address the definition of my sound and my work with the theremin, and to facilitate my love for entertaining and interfacing with musicians from all walks of life. Xenovibes has performed at various international events and I’ve had the privilege of being the first thereminist at some of these. I’ve also had the honor of working with some remarkable musicians on my shows and recordings.
My arrival in the U.S. commenced with a working relationship with John A. Martinez of Fingerfoot Music Productions. John, who participated in the premiere of Xenovibes the Show in Singapore, became Xenovibes’s U.S. core member. This collaboration also spawned the Keller International Music Academie which I co-directed. Our alliance was dissolved in 2010. In 2009 I became the U.S. Writer to South East Asian news-blog SonicFreakz reporting on all things associated with music.
Shueh-li’s Xenovibes
premiered @ Old Parliament House 2004
Shueh-li’s Xenovibes the premiere ~ One of the first events I’ve experienced in Singapore over the past 6 years that engaged a respect firstly for its cutting edge contemporary artistic exploration, and secondly a parallel high entertainment.
Art Monthly, Australia 2004
Current Activities
2010 – I moved to Nashville to take in new sights and sound and to retreat to record new music. My solo debut album was released with a show at the Steinway Piano Gallery in 2012. Steinway in Nashville began hosting my annual concert series of new music known as Shueh-li Presents in Nashville. Majority of these concerts were spotlighted by the Nashville SCENE magazine, who in 2014, claimed me as their Queen of the theremin.
From 2014 – As an expert lecturer in an adjunct capacity, I taught at Singapore Polytechnic, Republic Polytechnic and LaSalle College of the Arts. I also conducted lecture-workshops at Rutgers University, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, and the Nashville Steinway Piano Gallery. Subjects covered were studio production with Logic Pro, synthesis, electronic music, expressive performance, the business of being a creative entrepreneur, the art of story, extended synth techniques and of course the theremin.
From 2020 – I stopped touring and performing live due to the pandemic. To continue having a dialogue with my international audience, I started live streaming Music & Chat with Shueh-li Ong from Singapore. I would perform live online and interview special guests from the entertainment industry, tackling topics that are cherished and cutting-edge.
Education
Shueh-li was a student at the Elder Conservatorium, Australia’s senior academy of music located in Adelaide, South Australia. She studied piano under Stefan Ammer (former professor at Hochschule für Musik Freiburg in Germany), and electronic music with Tristram Cary (co-founder of the Electronic Music Studio LDN). Shueh-li graduated with a Bachelor of Music and a Diploma in Education from the University of Adelaide before heading to La Trobe University in Melbourne Victoria, to undertake the Graduate Diploma in Music Technology program, and thereafter staying on to pursue her Masters/PhD under the mentorship of Dr Jeff Pressing (author of the definitive book on Synthesizer Performance and Real-Time Techniques). Her research topic was Interactive Multimedia Performance Systems and the Impact of Technology on Education.
La Trobe’s excellence in electroacoustic music was recognised by its inclusion in a survey of the world’s top 23 computer music institutions by the Japanese journal Intercommunication 6 (citation).
Shueh-li took a job offer in Singapore before completion of her PhD.
Highlights:
2009/10
Escape, a track from my 3rd album Xing Paths, appears on Jazziz‘s Winter 2009/2010 – Critics’ Choices & Other Voices compilation album. Escape features alongside music of jazz luminaries such as the Branford Marsalis Quartet, Chick Corea, John McLaughlin, Bill Bruford, Earl Klugh, and Christian McBride.
2014
I got a mention in The Guardian, a British daily newspaper, under #9 Laboratorio of 1,264 genres that make modern music.
2014
My theremin playing appears on the theme song of the indie sci-fi video series Thong Girl vs Xolta from Outer Space
2014/2015
I performed at the Switched On: Birth of the Moog Synth exhibit and Moog Birthday Bash in Ithaca NY. I appeared with old friends Trevor Pinch and James Spitznagel of Electric Golem, Malcolm Cecil (TONTO), and Herb Deutsch.
2015
I programmed sounds for the Yamaha Reface DX found on their SoundMondo site.
2015 & 2023
I participated in a SoundPainting event led by Tim O’Dwyer (head of music LaSalle College of the Arts, Singapore). Then 8 years later, conducted by the creator of the method himself, Walter Thompson.
2018
I performed once again at the Asheville Electro-music festival in North Carolina.
2019
I performed once again at the NJProghouse progressive music series. I was supported on bass by Brian Mooney.
2019
I received the kindest of words from Bob Bailey, Exec. Dir. of Sweetwater Academy, after my performance at the store in Fort Wayne.
2019
I received a most flattering review at MoogFest Fringe by Stephen Fortner, Keyboard Magazine
2019
I tracked with the Nashville Symphony at Ocean Ways Studio, for LA producer and winner of multiple Grammys, Gus Borner, and Argentinian artist, Fito Páez (in pic).
2020/21
Páez’s album La Conquista del Espacio won the 2020 Latin Grammys for best pop/rock album, and the 2021 63rd American Grammys for best Latin Rock/Alt album.
