Classical Music 
From Singapore Hotels & Singapore Lifestyle
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Singapore Symphony Orchestra
Classical music in Singapore is dominated by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO), established in 1979 under the patronage of then Deputy Prime Minister Dr Goh Keng Swee. He had remarked that it was "a scandal" Singapore had no professional symphony orchestra. The inaugural programme played by 41 musicians, many of them expatriates, featured Ives' Unanswered Question and Schubert's Unfinished Symphony. Twenty years later, an ensemble of over 100, about 75 of them Singaporean, celebrated the orchestra's anniversary with a recording of the complete symphonies of Alexander Tcherepnin and three ballet suites from Tchaikovsky. It played as its first commission, a Concerto for Percussion and Orchestra by Chinese composer Chen Yi, with Scottish percussion diva Evelyn Glennie as soloist.
The increase in the proportion of Singaporean players in the orchestra resulted from two strategies: firstly, a scholarship to fund the training of Singaporean musicians at leading conservatories abroad with the commitment to serve in the orchestra for eight years thereafter; and secondly, foreign musicians who were encouraged take up permanent residency.
The orchestra gives more than 100 concerts a year in the Victoria Concert Hall, completed in 1805 as the town's Assembly Rooms, and refurbished as the home of the orchestra at its inauguration. Disregarding orchestral convention elsewhere, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra's season runs from January to December, with a break in June to coincide with school holidays and to free the concert hall for the annual Singapore Arts Festival. Repertoire tends to be mainstream, and most concerts comprise the standard overture, concerto and symphony.
Of course, the orchestra did not rise out of a vacuum. Prior to 1979, a number of semi-professional and student ensembles were active, and amateur music making continues to be an important part of the environment.
Given the short history of classical music at professional level in Singapore, and the strong traditions for training and performance elsewhere, a handful of talented Singaporean musicians have chosen to make their careers abroad. Lee Pan Hon served for many years as leader in the Bournemouth Symphony, and Jensen Lam is Principal Violist in the orchestra in Madrid. Pianist Koh Joo Ahn lives and teaches in Vienna, and Lim Jing Jing, recipient of the Young Artists' Award in 1997, teaches piano at the Central Conservatory in China. Yet others, with a career as soloists in mind, see Singapore as too small to sustain this ambition and have chosen to make their homes elsewhere. Pianist Seow Yitkin, in Great Britain, represents the first generation of those who chose this path. Violinist Seow Lee Chin is based in Chicago and has an active international career. Margaret Leng-Tan, internationally acclaimed exponent of the prepared piano adn the works of John Cage, is also in the United States. And the pop-violin diva Vanessa Mae, who is half Singaporean in her parentage, is based in Great Britain.
There is general acceptance and respect for their decision to work away from home, and Singapore takes pride in the achievements of sons and daughters overseas. All have either performed with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra as guest soloists or been invited back for the "Home Coming" concert series supported by the National Arts Council (NAC).
Singapore Chinese Orchestra
The second major ensemble is the Singapore Chinese Orchestra, with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Long as patron. Inaugurated in 1997 with 40 musicians, it was 62-strong by 1999, 75 percent Singaporean. It gives about 20 concerts a year of mainly traditional repertoire, and many concerts feature distinguished soloists from China. There are also arrangements of regional tunes, and a "New Expressions" programme of new compositions.
Malay and Indian Music
Malay and Indian music are promoted by the People's Association (PA) and the Indian Fine Arts Society (IFAS). Many Malay musicians are active in pop, and classical Indian music is sustained, together with Indian dance, by a core group working with visiting talent, in performances and classes for young pupils for whom music and dance is an integral part of education.
Efforts to bring the separate teams together in fusion compositions have been sporadic, and Singaporean composers have yet to make a significant impact, although the Singapore Arts Festival regularly features local compositions. Leong Yoon Pin's work was recorded by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) and his opera Bunga Mawar staged by the Lyric Theatre, both with support of the Singapore Arts Council. The "New Music Forum" supported by COMPASS, the performing rights agency, was spearheaded by conductor Lim Yau, who also recorded the works of Phoon Yew Tien in China.
