If you’re strolling around Orchard Road and happen to hear a tune that sounds like one of Kenny G’s greatest hits – but not quite – you’ve probably just passed Michael Lee, a silver Orchard Road busker who’s been wowing crowds with an ancient woodwind instrument for almost a decade.
Though the instrument in question is Chinese in provenance – it’s called a sheng and was once a mainstay in royal courts – he typically defers to more popular contemporary melodies, reproducing their sound with his sheng’s hodgepodge of bamboo and metal pipes.
His personal favourites? Songs by Teresa Teng for the Mandarin-speaking crowd, along with the inimitable pop-jazz tunes of the American saxophonist, leading to his nickname of “the Singaporean Kenny G”.
Though it was first given in jest, it’s a moniker he’s grown to appreciate after years on the busking circuit.
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Orchard Road busker's life of playing the sheng
The silver tells SilverStreak that he performs at Orchard Road every day, though the exact spot differs depending on the slot he managed to snag. Like other buskers in Singapore, he needs to bid for performance locations and timeslots, though you’ll usually catch him in the evening at around 4 to 8pm.
Today, Michael’s setting up in front of Ngee Ann City. As we chat, he unpacks a sheet music stand, an amplifier and a donation box from a trolley, before leafing through a heavy portfolio of songs.
He’s in no hurry – the musician has got the area to himself for the next three hours. In any case, he’s already spent 40 minutes lugging his equipment from a room he’s rented nearby.
With a final flourish, he whips out his sheng – an instrument custom-made in Beijing over four decades ago. Though it’s not the only sheng he possesses, this is his favourite, as he says it produces “the best sound” out of any in his arsenal.
The silver’s busking stint comes after a long career in the music industry. He’s been part of professional orchestras in Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan, with further periods teaching music in the various countries he’s lived in.
But even before plunging into his globetrotting occupation, Michael’s preoccupation with music was apparent even during his childhood days in Singapore.
The flute, the clarinet and the erhu are all instruments in his repertoire, but Michael says that it’s always been the sheng which has held his fascination.
His ardour for the sheng came about from a chance encounter with some performers at a community centre near his childhood home.
"The sound was rich, and it didn’t look like anything else there."
From Singapore to the rest of the world
That encounter kickstarted Michael’s passion for the sheng. He taught himself how to play it, and by 1975, took part in the now-bygone Singapore talent competition, Talentime. He ended up winning first place.
The following year, he joined the Singapore Chinese Orchestra full-time – a feat which he says was rare at the time – but left after a year when he was invited to join an orchestra in Hong Kong, where he would stay for the next seven years while juggling teaching music lessons at a nearby university.
Along the way, he was promoted to section leader of wind instruments, before climbing again to principal musician with another shift to a Taiwanese orchestra. By 1989, he was made Kaohsiung Chinese Orchestra’s concertmaster leading a team of 80 musicians.
After three years in the position, he decided to start his own orchestra group and studio in Taiwan, which he dubbed the Eagle Chamber Orchestra. With around “five to six other members”, he travelled around Taiwan hosting concerts at schools and charity events. While he says that money “wasn’t easy to earn”, he managed to make ends meet for the most part by selling CDs of their hits on the side.
The senior eventually decided to call it quits and headed back to Singapore, where he cycled through several gigs – producing music, teaching at schools and running his own resale business – before landing on his current busking gig.
Orchard Road busker hopes to hold “grand finale performance”
It’s been a decade since, and Michael tells us that he’s got “absolutely no regrets” with the path he’s taken in life.
Although he has written his own songs, he reserves those for concerts, where “people are coming to listen to you and your music”.
"But my number one enemy is rain. If it rains, I pack up and go home – no point staying. You’ll just be playing for yourself."
However, the silver was faced with the precarity of busking full-time on Orchard Road when he was recently forced to take a month-long break.
"My lung power is good, so I can still play quite easily."
It is perhaps health scares like these that’ve led Micheal to consider hanging up his sheng for good come 2028 when his busking license expires.
"It's just a dream now – I still have to go and plan for it and bring the idea to them, but it will be a great legacy to leave behind."
Editor’s note: Since the interview was published, Michael clarified that he’ll be taking a temporary break from busking. Stay tuned for updates!
