SCO Concert Hall in Singapore, Singapore

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SCO Concert Hall, Singapore, Singapore

A distinctive Chinese orchestra that is fast establishing itself among similar counterparts in the world, the Singapore Chinese Orchestra (SCO) is the only professional Chinese orchestra in Singapore. Inaugurated in 1997, the 72-strong Orchestra has the patronage of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and finds its performing home at the Singapore Conference Hall.

Since its inception, the SCO has constantly impressed its ever-broadening audiences by a number of blockbuster presentations. 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. In the following year, it engaged in a musical and visual conversation with Singapore’s most eminent multi-disciplinary artist Tan Swie Hian in the Singapore Arts festival 2003. The Orchestra further celebrated Singapore’s 39th National Day with a spectacular concert – Our People, Our Music – featuring over 2,300 local music enthusiasts at the Singapore Indoor Stadium which is by far, unprecedented in this region. In 2005, it produced a mega musical production, Admiral of the Seven Seas, as part of the Singapore Arts Festival 2005. The Orchestra again displayed its versatility with its collaboration with the Singapore Dance Theatre in the Singapore Arts Festival 2006.

Touted for its high performing standards, the SCO had performed under invitation at various major occasions including the World Economic Forum and International Summit of Arts Council in 2003 and the recent International Monetary Fund (IMF) Annual Meeting. On the overseas front, the Orchestra toured Beijing, Shanghai and Xiamen in 1998 and Taiwan in 2000. Under Music Director Tsung Yeh, it was invited to perform in Budapest, London and Gateshead in 2005. These overseas exposures had launched the SCO further into the international music arena.

Dedicated to its vision of becoming an orchestra for everyone and building new audiences, the SCO has reached out to the masses through its outreach and outdoor concerts at national parks, schools and Singapore heartlands. To allow individuals from other races to appreciate its music, the SCO further commissions its own compositions and organised its first music composition competition in 2006 that incorporate music elements from Southeast Asia region. It is in this vision that the SCO continues to inspire, influence, educate and communicate with its thousand notes.

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