Singapore, 18 February 2022 (Friday) – Singapore Chinese Orchestra (SCO) makes its long-awaited full comeback this March after 2 years, with the full orchestra back on stage performing to audiences seated together without social distancing.
It was in January 2020, during Rhapsodies of Spring concert, where SCO last had the full orchestra on stage. Against all odds, we have reached a significant milestone after imposing various versions of safe management measures (SMMs) in the concert hall over the past 2 years, to keep all audience members safe.
Following the latest government’s advisory about the easing of safe management measures and doing away with the requirement for safe distancing in mask-on settings, the SCO Concert Hall will now be able to lift its capacity limits, allowing not more than 1,000 audiences in the concert hall. All audience members are to remain seated and masked throughout the live performance; Trace Together-only Safe Entry (phone app and token) is mandatory for all audience members and all audience members must be fully vaccinated to enter the concert hall.
SCO Executive Director Terence Ho said, “For the past two years, SCO have been bringing our music to people through different means, such as digital and hybrid concerts as well as live concerts controlled under the SMM. We are delighted that the government has decided to ease the SMMs further, so we can bring the full 84-member orchestra back to centrestage. We look forward to seeing a audience-filled concert hall after 2 years.”
SCO Lunchtime Concert 2022– 9 March 2022, 12:30pm
Brighten your mid-week blues with some live music at the Singapore Chinese Orchestra’s Lunchtime Concert! Conducted by Associate Conductor Moses Gay, this concert is happening on 9 March 2022 (Wednesday), 12:30pm at the SCO Concert hall. This concert is opened to full audience capacity.
Tickets will be available on SISTIC from 2 March 2022 (Wednesday), 9am.
Ticket prices: Ticketed free admission
Link: https://www.sistic.com.sg/events/lunchtime0322
SNYCO’S Musical Voyage concert – 19 March 2022, 8pm
Singapore National Youth Chinese Orchestra (SNYCO) is back for more in 2022!
Following last December’s First Step concert, SNYCO is going on a voyage this March! Led by Associate Conductor Moses Gay and joined by Guest Conductor Lien Boon Hua, follow SNYCO on a voyage to all the places we yearn to visit. Be awed by the craft of the innovative new generation of young musicians and conductors. Voted by SNYCO members, favourites such as “Capriccio Taiwan”, “Grasslands Fantasia”, “Nocturne to the Victoria Harbour”, “Variations of Harmony Suite” awaits, to fuel your wanderlust. Savour all in a single evening of musical voyage!
Audience members who watch the live concert at the Singapore Conference Hall will be in for a treat! Sit back and relax, as SNYCO members serenade the crowd with their captivating performance. The approximate concert duration is 1 hour long. Full audience capacity allowed.
Tickets will be available on SISTIC from 25 February 2022 (Friday), 9am.
Ticket price: $20 (exclusive of SISTIC charge)
An Evening of Concertos I, II, III
SCO will be making its first full orchestra comeback starting from this Concerto Series, where audiences will be able to watch 80 over musicians back in action together on stage after 2 years! Audiences will be in for a full concert experience for this series of concerts! Do not miss it!
Always striving to uphold the artistic excellence, SCO proudly presents a three-part concertos series this March to June! Titled “An Evening of Concertos”, this series will be featuring renowned SCO musicians namely, Concertmaster Li Baoshun, Dizi Principal Yin Zhiyang, Yangqin Principal Qu Jianqing, Guzheng Associate Principal Xu Hui, Suona/Guan Principal Jin Shiyi, Zhonghu Principal Lin Gao, Sanxian Associate Principal Huang Guifang, Erhu I Principal Zhao Jianhua, Pipa Principal Yu Jia, Sheng Principal Guo Changsuo and Suona Musician Meng Jie. SISTIC Live will be available.
Tickets will be available on SISTIC from 1 March 2022 (Tuesday), 9am.
Ticket prices:
Live concert: $38, $28 (exclusive of SISTIC charge)
Digital bundle: 1 for $15 or buy 3 for $27 (exclusive of SISTIC charge)
An Evening of Concertos I – 26 March 2022, 8pm
Singapore Chinese Orchestra makes its long-awaited return to the stage with the full orchestra and live audience capacity after two years! Under the baton of SCO Music Director Tsung Yeh, Guzheng Associate Principal Xu Hui, Yangqin Principal Qu Jianqing, Dizi Principal Yin Zhiyang and Concertmaster Li Baoshun kicks off the Concerto Series by presenting pieces that showcases a wide range of moods and expressions. Audiences are in for a treat with the various origins of solo pieces, ranging from “Blue Heaven Overture” (guzheng), “The Phoenix Nods” (yangqin), “Lingering Snow on the Broken Bridge” (dizi) and “Poetry of the National Spirit” (erhu). Open your ears to the microcosm of crystalline perfection at their fingertips and enjoy an evening of musicianship on full display.
Audiences will be in for a ride to enjoy pieces that brings different emotions out from you in a single night. The concert begins with guzheng Associate Principal Xu Hui ‘s rendition of Blue Heaven Overture, bringing upon the vitality and energy of spring. Next, Dizi Principal Yin Zhiyang then paints the gorgeous scenery of the frozen West Lake in Jiangnan with the yearning for love through the dizi concerto Lingering Snow on the Broken Bridge. Through an erhu concerto Poetry of the National Spirit, Concertmaster Li Baoshun eloquently narrates the gallant stories of valorous battles fought throughout history by the Chinese. Finally, Yangqin Principal Qu Jianqing presents yangqin concerto The Phoenix Nods, a piece inspired by traditional music of China utilising techniques from Western modern music.
An Evening of Concertos II – 30 April 2022, 8pm
Seize the opportunity to watch the full orchestra perform timeless classics in the Concerto Series II with their decades of skills and experiences, helmed by Resident Conductor Quek Ling Kiong and Associate Conductor Moses Gay this April. Zhonghu Principal Lin Gao will be presenting “Fantasia of the Western Regions”, Sanxian Associate Principal Huang Guifang will tug at heartstrings with “Heroine Liu Hulan” and Suona/Guan Principal Jin Shiyi will perform the two movements from “Warmheartedness”, simply cannot be missed!
Fantasia of the Western Region was the first composition written for the alto erhu, commissioned by SCO in 2002. Zhonghu Principal Lin Gao relates the life journey and rich emotions experienced in the vast plains in the western regions, through the mellow timbre of the alto erhu. Then, through the expressive sanxian, Sanxian Associate Principal Huang Guifang will narrate the valiant battle stories fought during Sino-Japanese War and the war of liberation in the 1940s, through the sanxian concerto Heroine Liu Hu Lan. Finally, Suona/Guan Principal Jin Shiyi will conclude the concert with excerpts from a suona concerto, commissioned by SCO in 1999. Titled Warmheartness, the gracious and welcoming hearts of the northern Chinese people are well expressed through the music, sharing the joy of the bumper harvests, love and the hope of a bright future.
An Evening of Concertos III – 11 June 2022, 8pm
This June, Suona musician Meng Jie, Sheng Principal Guo Changsuo, Pipa Principal Yu Jia and Erhu I Principal Zhao Jianhua concludes the Concerto Series finale, under the baton of SCO Music Director Tsung Yeh. Presenting a host of excellent music works with the full orchestra, stay tune to their rendition of suona concerto “Farewell My Concubine”, sheng concerto “Rainbow”, “Symphonic Poem – Hope”, composed by the doyenne of erhu, Maestra Min Huifen and Qu Chunquan, as well as the pipa piece “The Sword and the Scroll”. Enjoy an evening of widely-loved Chinese musical Classics!
Join SCO for a heartfelt night where the SCO musicians bring alive stories of life and history through their virtuosic performances. The concert begins with Farewell My Concubine concerto, a widely-known and tragic story of the King of Western Chu welcome death with his beloved concubine Yu Ji. Suona musician Meng Jie brilliant performance on the suona adds depth and layers to the multitude of feelings evoked in this piece. Next, Sheng Principal Guo Changsuo’s vivid interpretation of the sheng in the concerto Rainbow, relates the vitality and the mystical relationships of nature. The third concerto presented is titled Symphonic Poem – Hope, an erhu concerto performed by Erhu I Principal Zhao Jianhua, in remembrance of his beloved teacher Maestra Min Huifen. This 1986 concerto was inspired by the celestial sounds heard by Maestra Min when she was critically ill and floating amidst the blue mists. Lastly, witness how highly versatile and expressive pipa can be, where Pipa Principal Yu Jia will be showing two distinct styles that the pipa can portray, through the concerto piece The Sword and the Scroll. Join us in the concert hall for a night of beautiful music!
---
Other upcoming concerts include:
Music Tuesdays: Transcending Time and Space – A Huqin Recital, a concert featuring two young huqin musicians Hu Chung-Chin and Liu Zhiyue, as they bring you on a musical time travel. Catch their charming performance on 12 April 2022 (Tuesday), 7:30pm. Watch it live in our concert hall and digitally on SISTIC Live.
Mother’s Day Concert 2022: To Mum With Love, SCO’s annual flagship heart-warming Mother’s Day Concert returns in 2022. Local songbird Joanna Dong joins SCO for the first time, bringing audiences some iconic tunes! Join fellow young SCO mothers Yang Sin-Yu (Sheng) and Huang Ting-Yu (Cello) as they perform classics. A beautiful performance not to be missed on 7 May 2021 (Saturday), 8pm. Watch it live in our concert hall.
Young Children’s Concert 2022 – DiSCOvering Treasures of Chinese Music – Riddles in the Raindrops, a concert for families with young children on a fun-filled music adventure! Based on the book “Musical Adventures with Quek Quek”, join Quek Quek and explore the world of Chinese orchestra plucked-string instruments on 4 June 2020 (Saturday), 2.30pm and 5pm.
-END-
Annex A
Programme list for SNYCO Musical Voyage:
Capriccio Taiwan, Composed by Su Wencheng
Conductor: Moses Gay
---
Grasslands Fantasia, Composed by Law Wai Lun and Tan Kah Yong, Adapted by Law Wai Lun
Conductor: Moses Gay
Sheng: Foo Cher Jun, Nicholas
Zhongruan: Chew Jing Qi, Selina
Guanzi: Qi Yanwei
---
A Stroll Along the Su Causeway, Composed by Gu Guanren
---
The Ancient Tea-Horse Road, Composed by Li Bo Chan
----
Nocturne to the Victoria Harbour, Composed by Alfred Wong Hok Teung
Conductor: Lien Boon Hua
---
Harmony Suite, Composed by Zhang Zhao
Movement V: Red. Song of Fire (Uighur and Tajik ethnic group)
Movement VII: Orange. Song of the Sun (Yi ethnic group)
Conductor: Lien Boon Hua
Programme list for An Evening of Concertos I:
Blue Heaven Overture, Composed by Chen Zhe
Guzheng: Xu Hui
---
The Phoenix Nods, Composed by Xu Changjun
Yangqin: Qu Jianqing
---
Lingering Snow on the Broken Bridge, Composed by Liu Xijin
Dizi: Yin Zhiyang
---
Poetry of the National Spirit, Composed by Liu Xijin
Movement I: National Calamity
Movement II: The State Memorial
Erhu: Li Baoshun
Programme list for An Evening of Concertos II:
Medley of Sichuan Folk Songs, Rearranged by Wang Chenwei
Conductor: Moses Gay
---
Fantasia of the Western Regions, Composed by Wang Yueming
Zhonghu: Lin Gao
Conductor: Moses Gay
---
Heroine Liu Hulan, Composed by Xiao Jiansheng, Orchestration by Zhang Xiaohu, Xiao Jiansheng, Huang Xiaofei
Movement I: Heart to Yan’an, Putting up a heroic fight
Movement II: Denouncing the enemy, Sacrificing her life with honour
Sanxian: Huang Guifang
Conductor: Quek Ling Kiong
---
Warmheartedness, Composed by Liu Xijin
Movement III: Beautiful Maiden
Movement I: Clamorous First Month
Suona: Jin Shiyi
Conductor: Quek Ling Kiong
----
Programme list for An Evening of Concertos III:
Farewell My Concubine, Composed by Zhu Yi, Orchestration by He Shaoying
Suona: Meng Jie
---
Rainbow, Composed by Liu Wenjin
Movement I: Life
Movement II: Storm
Movement III: Rainbow
Sheng: Guo Changsuo
---
Symphonic Poem – Hope, Composed by Min Huifen, Qu Chunquan
Erhu: Zhao Jianhua
---
The Sword and the Scroll, Composed by Sun Jing
Pipa: Yu Jia
--
About Singapore Chinese Orchestra
Singapore Chinese Orchestra (SCO) is Singapore’s only professional Chinese orchestra. Inaugurated in 1997, the orchestra made up of more than 80 musicians 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.
About Singapore National Youth Chinese Orchestra
The Singapore National Youth Chinese Orchestra (SNYCO) is made up of more than 90 talented musicians between the ages of 10 to 26. SNYCO is managed by the Singapore Chinese Orchestra Company Limited, and is under the purview of the National Arts Council and supported by the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth since 1 April 2015. SNYCO is under the music directorship of Quek Ling Kiong and Moses Gay as the associate conductor. Only the finest musicians are selected to be members through the rigorous auditions held each year. As a National Project of Excellence recognised by the Ministry of Education, SNYCO strives to nurture aspiring musicians into future pillars of Chinese music in Singapore.
--
For media enquiries, please contact:
Oh Hui Yin
Senior Executive (Marketing Communications)
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Tel: 6557 4020 / 9783 4086
Lim Ka Min
Assistant Manager (Marketing Communications)
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Tel: 6557 4037 / 9222 1658
(On leave from 17 February to 28 February 2022)
June Teo
Assistant Director (Marketing Communications)
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Tel: 6557 4039/ 9616 7750