Singapore Symphony Orchestra
The Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is the managing company for Singapore’s flagship orchestra, and its family comprising choruses and the Singapore National Youth Orchestra.
Since its founding in 1979, the SSO has been touching lives through classical music and providing the heartbeat of the cultural scene in the cosmopolitan city-state. In addition to its subscription series concerts, the orchestra is well-loved for its outdoor and community appearances, and its significant role educating the young people of Singapore. The SSO has also earned an international reputation for its orchestral virtuosity, having garnered sterling reviews for its overseas tours and many successful recordings.
The SSO makes its performing home at the 1,800-seat state-of- the-art Esplanade Concert Hall. More intimate works and all outreach and community performances take place at the 673-seat Victoria Concert Hall, the home of the SSO. Since Lan Shui assumed the position of Music Director in 1997, the SSO has performed in Europe, Asia and the United States.
In 2016 the SSO was invited to perform at the Dresden Music Festival and the Prague Spring International Festival. This successful five-city tour of Germany and Prague also included the SSO’s return to the Berlin Philharmonie after six years. In 2014 the SSO was invited to perform at the 120th BBC Proms in London.
The SSO also presents concerts in the Victoria Concert Hall (VCH) featuring chamber music. Top local and international artists take centrestage in the VCH Presents series, which aims to shine different spotlights on chamber music. The Singapore International Piano Festival is the annual four-day weekend festival featuring a solo piano festival each night by well-known international pianists. The VCH Organ Series showcases the Klais organ and the rich diversity of sounds it produces. For audiences who prefer a more casual setting, our atrium performances, particularly on national Car-Free Sundays every month feature local classical musicians playing chamber music.
The Singapore Symphony Chorus (SSC) has come a long way under Choral Director Lim Yau and established itself as one of the finest choirs in the region. The SSC regularly joins the SSO for performances of choral masterpieces, and highlights include Britten’s War Requiem and Bach’s St John Passion. The SSC is made up of volunteers from all walks of life, from Singapore and beyond.
Since its debut performance in 2007, the Singapore Symphony Children’s Choir (SSCC) under Choirmaster Wong Lai Foon has given many successful concerts with the SSO in its Christmas Concerts and in the great choral masterpieces such as Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Mahler’s Third Symphony, Berlioz’s Damnation of Faust, Orff’s Carmina Burana and Britten’s War Requiem. In 2015 SSCC sang Berlioz’s Te Deum alongside the Maitrise de Radio France at the opening of the Philharmonie de Paris.
Visit Singapore Symphony Orchestra website here.
