Singapore, 22 August 2023 – The Singapore Chinese Orchestra (SCO) launched an exciting new concert season 23/24 on 22 August 2023 with 14 spectacular ticketed productions, starting from September 2023 to June 2024. Including all ticketed shows that we will be presenting, SCO will be staging more than 100 concerts and activities in the concert hall, at schools and in outreach concerts.
Themed “Affinity”, this new concert season endeavours to appeal and reconnect with audiences through beloved Chinese classics with a new orchestra voice. Together with outreach programmes that touch the hearts of people and communities, SCO is also embarking on two concert tours to China in November 2023 and in end March 2024, to fulfil the SCO mission of inspiring the world with our brand of music.
Terence Ho, SCO Executive Director shared, “We are looking forward to upcoming concert seasons in the new normalcy, to be the preferred orchestra to look out for, and look up to. Together with a new artistic leadership, SCO will forge ahead in seeking greater artistic heights. On top of this, we have two concert tours in this season. Firstly, in November 2023, SCO has been invited to be part of the China Shanghai International Arts Festival. We will be bringing repertoire with unique Singapore flavour, and this is the first time we will bring our signature Young Children’s Concert to the Chinese audience in an outdoor concert. Next year March 2024, the orchestra will be touring Beijing, Tianjin and Suzhou.”
Season concept and theme
“Affinity” is a concert season that was conceived collectively by the artistic leadership of SCO, assembling the artistry of masters and virtuosos, to pay tribute to traditional Chinese classics, while moulding music unique to SCO. We hope to reach out to old friends and welcome new advocates of SCO with our new season, the first since the world-stopping pandemic. Season 23/24 also bears witness to SCO travelling to China on two concert tours, inspiring the world with our brand of music, flying the Singapore flag high.
Consisting of principal conductor, section leaders and musicians from the Musician Advisory Panel (MAP), the programmes in this season have been thoughtfully curated by the artistic leadership led by Principal Conductor Quek Ling Kiong.
Quek shared, “This season has been carefully thought through and discussed with the section leaders and MAP, with the outcome as the whole being greater than the sum of its parts, to harness the profound experience and expertise of these veteran leaders of the orchestra. We will also see a return of world-renowned artists from overseas, in diversified series of programmes, to appeal to more audience, and rekindle stronger affinities with them through the love of music.”
14 ticketed concerts, 5 different concert series
Opening and Closing Gala
- Opening Gala – 8 September 2023
The 23/24 season opens with Affinity on 8 September 2023, featuring our three Section Leaders in three iconic concertos that promises to wow. Firstly, Concertmaster and Section Leader (Strings) Li Baoshun will perform erhu concerto Red Plum Capriccio, while Section Leader (Plucked Strings) and Sanxian Principal Huang Guifang will be featured in Singapore premiere of Aleppo, a sanxian concerto by Composer-in-Residence Wang Chenwei, while Section Leader (Winds & Percussion) and Dizi Principal Yin Zhiyang will perform dizi concerto The Butterfly Dream.
2. Closing Gala – 8 June 2024
The season closes with a special concert titled Encounter: Liang Wern Fook’s Composition Showcase. This concert is co-presented with Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre, and will be part of Cultural Extravaganza 2024. This concert is specially curated by Dr Liang, a pioneer of the xinyao music movement in the 80s.
Masters Series & Virtuoso Series
Masters Series
The new Masters Series features renowned conductors that promises to bring the orchestra to a different level with their interpretation and treatment of music. The Masters Series includes Qu Chunquan & SCO, who last conducted SCO in 2011. He is back after a 12-year hiatus as a guest conductor in this new season. For the first time, this concert on16 March 2024 features six of Qu’s composition works, of which four are premiered locally. Qu is a revered conductor and prolific composer who has been active in the Chinese orchestra scene for over 65 years. There is much to look forward to in this concert - his synergy and camaraderie with SCO after more than 10 years.
Virtuoso Series
The Virtuoso Series showcases 3 concerts that have been specially curated by the SCO Musician Advisory Panel, and also features renowned conductors and virtuoso musicians.
- On 21 October 2023, Under the baton of Moses Gay, Forging Ahead kicks start the first Virtuoso Series concert in this new season, with Shanghai-born George Gao as the soloist showcasing the charms of his own invention – the shaoqin. He will be performing 2 shaoqin concertos composed by Gao himself, with Moses and the SCO. This concert also features the Singapore premiere of acclaimed female Chinese composer Wang Danhong’s Four Seasons in Lingering Garden. Not to be missed!
- On 13 January 2023, SCO presents Enchanting Sceneries – Xu Zhijun and SCO, a programme curated by Yu Jia (Pipa Principal), under the baton of guest conductor Xu Zhijun. Enchanting Sceneries features the unique pipa and tanbur double concerto Impressions of Loulan performed by Yu Jia and tanbur musician Marhaba Nurmamat from the Xinjiang region. This is the first time SCO performed a work with tanbur, and more than 10 years since Xu’s last concert with the SCO.
- On 27 April 2024, SCO shares the stage with international renowned conductor Shao En in Journeying Together: Shao En and SCO, bringing you timeless classics. This repertoire is curated by Guo Changsuo (Sheng Principal). Concertmaster Li Baoshun will be performing the classic masterpiece Autumn Moon over the Han Palace, a diyin erhu concerto, that depicts the lonely and sorrowful fate of court ladies in the palace.
Chamber Charms
Rebranded as “Chamber Charms”, this quaint and intimate chamber concert series features four concerts presented by the four main instrument sections of the Chinese orchestra. These 4 chamber series concerts are specially curated by our three Section Leaders jointly with principal musicians.
- Curated by Yin Zhiyang, Sectional Leader (Winds & percussion) and Dizi Principal, the Night of Percussion will kickstart the series on 22 September 2023, featuring a good mix of traditional percussion works and contemporary pieces that showcase the versatility of the wide range of percussive instruments in the Chinese Orchestra.
- Night of Bowed-Strings is jointly curated by Li Baoshun, Concertmaster and Section Leader (bowed strings) and Zhao Jianhua (Erhu I Principal), and it will be presented on 23 February 2024. You can expect a good myriad of genres, both modern and classical, east meets west in this evening of strings presented by the bowed strings section of SCO.
- Also curated by Yin Zhiyang, the Night of Winds will be performed on 8 March 2024, featuring the charms of the wind instruments in Chinese orchestra. They include the xun (ocarina), dizi, sheng and suona. This chamber concert brings together refreshing music from the east and west!
- Night of Plucked-strings, performed on 31 May 2024, is jointly curated by Huang Guifang Section Leader (Plucked strings) and Sanxian Principal, Qu Jianqing (Yangqin Principal) and Yu Jia (Pipa Principal), showcasing the charms and exquisite timbre by pluck-strings instruments that are unique to the Chinese orchestra.
Family Concerts
In this season, we have 4 concerts that are meant to be enjoyed with family and friends, across generations. These popular flagship SCO concerts are curated and conducted by Principal Conductor Quek Ling Kiong. They include Ancient Moon, Present Light, specially planned for mid-Autumn festival collaboration with Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre on 29 September 2023. For Lunar New Year next year, Rhapsodies of Spring 2024 is back on 26 & 27 January 2024, bringing repertoires welcoming the Year of Dragon, featuring the youthful and energetic Drum Feng Percussion Ensemble and familiar Capital958 DJs as emcee.
The annual flagship Mother’s Day Concert on 10 & 11 May 2024 will see SCO performing with a guest artist, details to be announced soon.
For families with young children, stay tuned to SCO’s Young Children’s Concert on 17 & 18 May 2024, featuring the story from Karung Guni Boy authored by Lorraine Tan, and will be conducted by guest conductor Lien Boon Hua.
Inspiring the world with our Music: SCO China Concert Tour in November 2023 and March/April 2024
SCO is embarking on two concert tours to China during this concert season. In November 2023, the orchestra has been invited to be part of the China Shanghai International Arts Festival (CSIAF), where the orchestra will perform a one-night concert at the Shangyin Opera House titled “Legends of Nanyang”. Principal conductor Quek Ling Kiong will reprise his role as adventurer Quek Quek, bringing the Young Children’s concert to the outdoor stage at Shanghai City Lawn Music Plaza.
Come end of March and early April in 2024, the SCO will go on another concert tour to the cities of Beijing, Tianjin and Suzhou to share SCO’s music with Chinese audience. The SCO has been invited to perform at Suzhou, to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Suzhou Industrial Park, the success story of a joint venture between Singapore and China.
SCO, the people’s orchestra
As a people’s orchestra, SCO also strives to unite people from all walks of life through Chinese orchestral music, and let them experience the vibrancy and energy through different initiatives and programmes. These include more than 80 education and outreach concerts and activities under the educational concert series, Caring Series, Community Concerts, Music Oasis Concerts and Lunchtime Concerts. In this year’s Community Concerts series, SCO will be heading to Tanjong Pagar, Siglap, Queenstown to perform familiar tunes in our neighbourhoods.
SCO also continues to reach out digitally to audiences beyond geographical boundaries, through regular sharing of concert recordings on Facebook and YouTube in the #SCOSoundbites clips, as well as Human Diaries series that introduces the faces in the orchestra. SCO has also released an album in March 2024 “Charms of Nanyang III” on popular music streaming platforms such as Spotify. “Butterfly Lovers”, a Sony Classical album performed with renowned violin virtuoso Joshua Bell, has been released in June 2023 on major streaming platforms. It has garnered attention internationally, by gaining a Top20 spot in the Official Specialist Classical Charts, the first Chinese orchestra that has appeared in this UK chart.
For more information on SCO’s concert season, please download information and materials from: SCO 2023-24 Concert season launch media kit
For more information, photographs, and interviews, please contact:
Media Contacts
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