Local Focus: Singapore Symphony Orchestra

Last month, we looked at Esplanade Theatres on the Bay, one of the most established performance venues for music and the arts in Singapore.  While Esplanade welcomes various orchestras and groups year-round, it is home to Singapore Symphony Orchestra’s performances, showcasing classical music presented by our local flagship orchestra.

Founded in 1979, Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is part of the Singapore Symphony Group, which also manages the Singapore Symphony Choruses and the Singapore National Youth Orchestra.  Through SSO and its affiliated performing groups, Singapore Symphony Group aims to spread the love for music, nurture talent and enrich the diverse communities in Singapore. 

2020 so far has seen many postponed and cancelled live performances, and as the number of COVID-19 cases in Singapore stabilises, the National Arts Council (NAC) has been gradually pushing out initiatives to prepare for the ultimate return of music and the arts to be held live for audiences.  In a pilot scheme by NAC featuring new safe management measures, SSO’s musicians performed live on 8 October for an audience of 50 at Victoria Concert Hall, featuring Haydn’s ‘Emperor’ String Quartet and Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir de Florence.

While Singapore prepares to welcome phase 3 and shifts in our day-to-day lives, the pandemic has shown that innovation is necessary for music and the arts to remain continuously accessible and relevant in our society.  Apart from live stages, it is important that communities can reach and enjoy music and the arts through other avenues, such as online platforms. 

SSO’s digital season SSOPlayOn! has been bringing an exciting line-up of online concerts the past few months, and will be continuing with a trio of digital performances led by SSO’s new Chief Conductor Hans Graf, streamed on SISTIC Live.  Presenting programmes such as a pairing of Richard Strauss’s Metamorphosen with Mozart’s “Gran Partita” Serenade, Beethoven’s Third Symphony, Mozart’s Second Violin Concerto and more in the coming months, SSO will also be holding fortnightly live concerts in association with the vOilah! France Singapore Festival 2020.

Audiences can obtain tickets for these online concerts starting from $10, on a pay-as-you-wish basis.  All ticketed online concerts will be streamed on SISTIC Live and will remain available to watch for 2 weeks after the online premiere.

Before the pandemic, Chamber Music and Arts Singapore also presented live performances held in Esplanade, featuring works of Schumann, Brahms, Beethoven, Mozart and other great classical composers.  While the final of our trilogy of Mozart36 projects, which was to be held earlier this April, was regrettably postponed to 2021, we are continuously working to bring classical chamber music to you through live performances (hopefully soon ~!), as well as right now through The Glasshouse. 

If you have yet to check out The Glasshouse, do drop by and explore our virtual sphere specially created to encourage meaningful engagement with music and the arts for personal inner growth ~ 

We are all working smart to continue to bring music and the arts to you, even with physical distances in between us ~ let’s stay positive about our future, whilst keeping conscientious and healthy !