Singapore Chinese Orchestra

History

In 1968, an amateur Chinese orchestra was established as part of the National Theatre under the auspices of the Minister of Culture, 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. 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.

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

Patron: Mr Lee Hsien Loong, Prime Minister

Music Director - Tsung Yeh

Tsung Yeh joined the Singapore Chinese Orchestra (SCO) as Music Director in January 2002. Under his direction, SCO expanded its repertoire with innovative works such as Marco Polo and Princess Blue — A Symphonic Epic, Instant is a Millennium – A Musical Conversation with Tan Swie Hian, The Grandeur of Tang, Thunderstorm, Admiral of the Seven Seas and Awaking. In Awaking, he melded Shakespeare and Tang Xianzu’s plays into one, elevating Chinese orchestral music to a higher level.

His perseverance and diligence have brought SCO’s performances to new heights, both musically and technically. Between March and April 2005, he led the orchestra on a tour to Europe at Barbican Center in London, The Sage Gateshead and the Budapest Spring Festival. In October 2007, SCO performed at the Beijing Music Festival, China Shanghai International Arts Festival, Macau International Music Festival, as well as at major concert halls in Guangzhou, Zhongshan and Shenzhen. In August 2009, SCO made history by becoming the first Chinese orchestra to perform in the opening week of the Edinburgh Festival. Tsung Yeh was awarded the Cultural Medallion 2013, the highest award given in the field of the arts in Singapore.

Resident Conductor - Quek Ling Kiong

Quek Ling Kiong was recipient of the National Arts Council’s (NAC) Singapore Young Artist Award (2002) and the NAC Cultural Fellowship (2013). He studied at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music under the NAC Overseas Scholarship, as well as the Lee Foundation and Singapore Hokkien Huay Kwan scholarships. He learned Chinese percussion from renowned master Li Min Xiong and Western classical percussion from Xue Bao Lun. He also explored various Chinese percussion arts with masters such as Li Zhen Gui, An Zhi Shun and Zhu Xiao Lin. After graduating from the Conservatory in 1997, he joined the Singapore Chinese Orchestra (SCO) and became its Percussion Principal.

Quek Ling Kiong’s career in professional conducting took off when he became SCO’s first Conducting Assistant in 2003. In 2004, he became SCO’s Assistant Conductor as well as the Conductor for the Singapore Youth Chinese Orchestra (SYCO). In 2005, he debuted with SCO at the opening concert of the 12th International Conference of WASBE (World Association for Symphonic Band and Ensembles). In 2006 and 2013, he led SYCO to perform at the Tainan International Arts Festival and Hsinchu Chinese Music Festival in Taiwan respectively.

Quek Ling Kiong was promoted to SCO’s Resident Conductor from 1 January 2013.

Assistant Conductor - Moses Gay

Moses Gay began his conducting career as the youngest conductor to lead SCO. In 2011, Moses Gay has started his artistic partnership with SCO in year 2011 as its Conducting Assistant, whilst pursuing a master's degree in Orchestral Conducting at the China Conservatory of Music on a full scholarship under the tutelage of Youqing Yang and Tsung Yeh. He was SCO’s Young Assistant Conductor-in-Residence of SCO since August 2013.

At age 16, Moses Gay conducted for the first time with his school orchestra and received much appreciation and applause from audience. Renowned conductor, Ku Lap Man, who was present at that time commented that Moses will be the next rising star in the conducting circle. In 2009, he was presented with the “Conductor with the Most Promising Potential” award at a conducting masterclass held at the China Conservatory of Music. During his course of studies, he has attended various international conducting masterclasses by famous conductors including Vance George, Mark Gibson, Leon Gregorian, Marc Trautmann. He was also mentored by Alexander Polischuk at the St. Petersburg State Conservatory.

Moses Gay was appointed as SCO’s Assistant Conductor from 1 August 2014.

Other musical positions

Names of all musicians, apart from the principal and associate principal, are listed in alphabetical order.

Singapore Youth Chinese Orchestra

The Singapore Youth Chinese Orchestra (SYCO) 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 premier concert ins 2004.

Music Director

Conductor

Resident Conductor