Singapore Chinese Orchestra

Singapore Chinese Orchestra 新加坡华乐团
Orchestra
Singapore Conference Hall
Founded	1996
Concert hall	Singapore Conference Hall
Website	www.sco.com.sg

Singapore Chinese Orchestra (SCO, Chinese: 新加坡华乐团) is Singapore’s only professional Chinese orchestra. Inaugurated in 1997, the 85-musician orchestra took on the twin role of preserving traditional arts and culture and establishing new frontiers through the incorporation of Nanyang music elements in its repertoire. SCO has impressed a broadening audience with its blockbuster presentations and is fast establishing itself among its counterparts around the world. Known for its high performance standards and versatility, the SCO is recognized through invitations to perform at numerous prestigious events locally and internationally. In line with its vision to be a world-renowned people’s orchestra, SCO continues to inspire, educate and communicate through its music.

History

In 1968, an amateur Chinese orchestra was established as part of the National Theatre under the auspices of the Minister of Culture,^[1] and became a performing unit of the People's Association Cultural Troupe, the People's Association Chinese Orchestra. This became a professional orchestra in 1974.^[1] It later changed its name to Singapore Chinese Orchestra and the Orchestra was inaugurated in 1996 as a national orchestra at the initiative of the then-Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong.^[2]

Performances

Since its inception, SCO has impressed a broadening audience with its blockbuster presentations and is fast establishing itself among its counterparts around the world. In 2002, it staged a symphonic fantasy epic Marco Polo and Princess Blue as part of the opening festival of Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay. The following year, SCO produced a musical and visual conversation with Singapore’s most eminent multi-disciplinary artist Tan Swie Hian at the Singapore Arts Festival 2003. The orchestra celebrated Singapore’s 39th National Day in 2004 with a spectacular concert – Our People, Our Music – featuring 2,400 local music enthusiasts at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. In 2005, it produced a mega musical production, Admiral of the Seven Seas, as part of the Singapore Arts Festival 2005. In 2007, SCO was part of the 240-strong combined orchestra that performed at the Singapore National Day Parade. In the Singapore Arts Festival 2008, SCO joined hands with Theatreworks to present the ground-breaking production Awaking, which brought together Kunqu opera music and Elizabethan music. In 2009, SCO made history by becoming the first Chinese orchestra to perform in the opening week of the Edinburgh Festival, and in 2010, performed in Paris as part of the Singapour Festivarts.

Well known for its high performance standards and versatility, the SCO has performed at numerous prestigious events such as the World Economic Forum and International Summit of Arts Council in 2003, and the 2006 International Monetary Fund (IMF) Annual Meeting.

The orchestra also toured Beijing, Shanghai and Xiamen in 1998 and Taiwan in 2000. In 2005, it performed at the Budapest Spring Festival and the Singapore Season in London and Gateshead. In 2007, SCO performed at the Beijing Music Festival, the Singapore Season in the China Shanghai International Arts Festival, and the Macau International Music Festival. In May 2014, SCO was invited to perform at the Shanghai Spring International Music Festival and in Suzhou to celebrate the Singapore-Suzhou Industrial Park’s 20th anniversary. These international platforms provided SCO with the opportunities to showcase its talents, propelling it to the forefront of the international music arena.

In line with its vision to be a world-renowned people’s orchestra, SCO widens its outreach by performing regularly at various national parks, communities and schools. SCO also commissions its own compositions and in 2006 and 2011, organised the Singapore International Competition for Chinese Orchestral Composition that incorporates Nanyang musical elements from Southeast Asia. In 2012, SCO organised Singapore’s first 23-day National Chinese Orchestra Marathon, a spectacular feat that drew the participation of 31 local Chinese orchestras participated with over 44 performances and an audience of 20,000. On 28 June 2014, SCO created history through the second instalment of Our People Our Music by breaking two Guinness World Records with the Largest Chinese Drum Ensemble of 4,557 performers and the Largest Chinese Orchestra of 3,345 performers at the National Stadium, Singapore Sports Hub. It is with this vision that SCO continues to inspire, influence, educate and communicate through its music.

Patron and board of directors

List of musicians

Singapore National Youth Chinese Orchestra

Singapore Youth Chinese Orchestra participating in the Tainan International ChiShi Art Festival.

The Singapore National Youth Chinese Orchestra (SNYCO) is a group of young musicians between the ages of 11 to 25 years old. It has been under the management of Singapore Chinese Orchestra (SCO) since 2003 and held its premiere concert in 2004. Until January 2017, it was named the Singapore Youth Chinese Orchestra (SYCO).^[3]

See also

• Singapore Symphony Orchestra
• Orkestra Melayu Singapura
• Music of Singapore
• Chinese orchestra

References

External links

• Singapore Chinese Orchestra's Official Website