Witness first-hand the virtuosity of Singapore’s finest young musicians at the 15th National Piano & Violin Competition — Singapore’s most prestigious competition of its kind.
Enjoy free access to most rounds in person at the Victoria Concert Hall, or online via livestream on the Singapore Symphony YouTube channel. Ticket sales for the Artist Finals for both piano and violin, taking place on 29 and 30 November, will be launched on 2 October 2025
Learn more
SS O.ORG.SG / NP VC
SUPPORTED
Adrian Tang, First Prize Winner NPVC 2023 Piano (Senior Category)
This competition is generously supported by Christopher and Rosy Ho.
2025
Stephen Hough Piano Concerto + Saint-Saëns Organ Symphony
Fri, 7 Nov 2025
Esplanade Concert Hall
Hannu Lintu conducts Nelson Mass + Mahler 4
Fri & Sat, 14 & 15 Nov 2025
Esplanade Concert Hall
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Go green. Digital programme books are available on www.sso.org.sg.
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The orchestra performs over 60 concerts a year, and its versatile repertoire spans alltime favourites and orchestral masterpieces to exciting cutting-edge premieres. Bridging the musical traditions of East and West, Singaporean and Asian musicians and composers are regularly showcased in the concert season. The SSO makes its performing home at the 1,800-seat state-of-the-art Esplanade Concert Hall. More intimate works, as well as community performances take place at the 673-seat Victoria Concert Hall, the Home of the SSO.
Since its founding in 1979, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) has been Singapore’s flagship orchestra, touching lives through classical music and providing the heartbeat of the cultural scene with its 44week calendar of events.
In addition to its subscription series concerts, the orchestra is well-loved for its outdoor and community appearances, and its significant role educating the young people of Singapore through its school programmes. The SSO has also earned an international reputation for its orchestral virtuosity, having garnered sterling reviews for its overseas tours and many successful recordings. In 2021, the SSO clinched third place in the prestigious Orchestra of the Year Award by Gramophone. In 2022, BBC Music Magazine named the SSO as one of the 23 best orchestras in the world.
From the 2026/27 season, the SSO will be led by Finnish conductor Hannu Lintu, the fourth Music Director in the orchestra’s history after Choo Hoey (1979–1996), Lan Shui (1997–2019) and Hans Graf (2020–2026).
Beyond Singapore, the SSO has performed in Europe, Asia, Australia and the United States. In the 2024/25 season, the SSO performed to full houses at Asia Orchestra Week in Kyoto, Japan, and made its “dazzling – and true-blue – Down Under debut” (Limelight) in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. In May 2016, the SSO was invited to perform at the Dresden Music Festival and the Prague Spring International Music Festival. This successful five-city tour of Germany and Prague also included the SSO’s second performance at the Berlin Philharmonie. In 2014, the SSO’s debut at the 120th BBC Proms in London received praise in major UK newspapers The Guardian and The Telegraph. The SSO has also performed in China on multiple occasions.
The SSO has released more than 50 recordings, with over 30 on the BIS label. Recent critically acclaimed albums include Herrmann’s Wuthering Heights (Chandos) and Scriabin – Poems of Ecstasy and Fire (BIS).
A complete Mozart Violin Concerto cycle with Singaporean violinist Chloe Chua conducted by Hans Graf is released in 2025 on Pentatone.
The SSO also leads the revival and recording of significant works such as Kozłowski’s Requiem, Ogerman’s Symbiosis (after Bill Evans) and violin concertos by Robert Russell Bennett and Vernon Duke.
The SSO has collaborated with such great artists as Vladimir Ashkenazy, Gustavo Dudamel, Charles Dutoit, Joe Hisaishi, Neeme Järvi, Lorin Maazel, Martha Argerich, Diana Damrau, Janine Jansen, Leonidas Kavakos, Lang Lang, Yo-Yo Ma, Mischa Maisky, Gil Shaham, Daniil Trifonov and Krystian Zimerman.
The SSO is part of the Singapore Symphony Group, which also manages the Singapore Symphony Choruses, the Singapore National Youth Orchestra, the Singapore International Piano Festival and the biennial National Piano & Violin Competition.
The Group’s vision is to be a leading arts organization that engages, inspires and reflects Singapore through musical excellence. Our mission is to create memorable shared experiences with music. Through the SSO and its affiliated performing groups, we spread the love for music, nurture talent and enrich our diverse communities.
With deep appreciation to the Rin Collection for their generous loan of string instruments. Musician on annual contract.
Kong Zhao Hui performs on a J.B. Guadagnini of Milan, c. 1750, donated by the National Arts Council, Singapore, with the support of Far East Organization and Lee Foundation.
Chan Yoong-Han performs on a David Tecchler, Fecit Roma An. D. 1700, courtesy of Mr G K Goh. Musicians listed alphabetically by family name rotate their seats on a per programme basis.
Guest Musicians
Stephen Hough Piano Concerto + Saint-Saëns Organ Symphony 7 Nov 2025
First Violin
Kevin Lin
Co-Principal Guest Concertmaster
Lim Shue Churn
Yew Shan
Second Violin
Zhao Yingna Guest Principal
Bobur Eshpulatov
Lee Shi Mei
Yvonne Lee
Ikuko Takahashi
Viola
Ho Qian Hui
Patcharaphan Khumprakob
Cello
Wang Zihao
Double Bass
Olga Alexandrova
Guennadi Mouzyka
Hannu Lintu conducts Nelson Mass + Mahler 4 14 & 15 Nov 2025
First Violin
Kevin Lin
Co-Principal Guest Concertmaster
Lim Shue Churn
Second Violin
Zhao Yingna Guest Principal
Bobur Eshpulatov
Ikuko Takahashi
Yew Shan
Horn
Russell Bonifede
Piano
Nicholas Loh Guest Principal
Beatrice Lin
V iola
Patcharaphan Khumprakob
Double Bass
Joan Perarnau Garriga Guest Principal
Guennadi Mouzyka
Horn
Russell Bonifede
Percussion
Tan Pei Jie
Organ
Joanna Paul
Rodolfo Barráez
Associate Conductor
A natural communicator with infectious charisma, Berlin-based Venezuelan conductor, Rodolfo Barráez, brings remarkable vivacity, sensitivity, and zeal to his artistry. The 2025/26 season sees him continue his tenure with both the Singapore Symphony and the Simón Bolívar Orchestra of Venezuela as Associate Conductor.
Awarded first prize at the 2023 Hong Kong International Conducting Competition, previous competition successes include first prize at the 2018 Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México International Conducting Competition (OFUNAM), and second prize at the 2020 Siemens-Hallé International Conductor Competition in Manchester.
Assistant Conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic starting in the 2023/24 season, Rodolfo Barráez has collaborated extensively with the Orchestra, conducting them at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Hollywood Bowl in performances of Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite and Joshua Bell’s The Elements Project. Rodolfo has also recently conducted the Münchener Kammerorchester on their tour of South America, the Simón Bolívar Orchestra of Venezuela on their tour of China, and the Appassionato Orchestra at the Verbier Festival.
Having completed a Bachelor’s degree in conducting at the Universidad Nacional Experimental de las Artes de Venezuela, Rodolfo also has a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in conducting from the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin. Strongly influenced by his own remarkable education as part of El Sistema under the guidance of José Antonio Abreu and Teresa Hernández, Rodolfo is committed to contributing to music education. In 2019, Rodolfo founded the Falcón Conducting Workshop; an organisation which nurtures and supports the development of emerging conductors through masterclass and workshop series in his hometown as well as worldwide at high renowned institutions.
Named by The Economist as one of Twenty Living Polymaths, Sir Stephen Hough combines a distinguished career of a concert pianist with those of a composer and writer. In recognition of his contribution to cultural life, he became the first classical performer to be given a MacArthur Fellowship and was awarded a Knighthood for Services to Music in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2022.
In a career spanning over 40 years, Hough has played regularly with most of the world’s leading orchestras, including televised and filmed appearances with the Berlin, London, China, Seoul and New York Philharmonic Orchestras, and the Concertgebouw, Budapest Festival and the NHK Symphony Orchestras. He has been a regular guest of recital series and festivals worldwide, including Carnegie Hall, London’s Royal Festival Hall, Salzburg, Verbier, La Roqued’Anthéron, Aspen, Tanglewood, Aldeburgh and Edinburgh.
Sir Stephen Hough opens his 2025/26 season at the Elbphilharmonie, launching the Hamburg Staatsorchester’s season under its new music director Omer Meir Wellber with Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3, for which he has composed a brand-new second movement. Over the following 12 months, he gives more than 60 concerts/recitals across three continents, appearing with leading orchestras in the US, Europe, and Asia. This season also marks the Asian premiere of his Piano Concerto The World of Yesterday—named after Stefan Zweig’s memoir— with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, followed by its Korean premiere with Symphony S.O.N.G. His season also features a series of high-profile recital appearances, including Wigmore Hall in London and Klavierfestival Ruhr in Germany. His Piano Quintet (Les Noces Rouges), inspired by an episode in American novelist Willa Cather’s My Ántonia, and commissioned by the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society in 2024, will receive its European and UK premieres at the National Concert Hall in Dublin and Southbank Centre in London.
Stephen Hough piano
Isaac Lee organ
Isaac Lee is a third-year C.V. Starr Doctoral Fellow at The Juilliard School, where he studies organ with Paul Jacobs. He holds a Master of Musical Arts from Yale University, where he received both the 2022 Robert Baker Prize for performance excellence and the 2023 Director’s Prize for research excellence. In 2024, he was named a winner of the American Guild of Organists Commissioning Project, premiering a new work in collaboration with Singaporean composer Cheng Jin Koh. That same year, he performed alongside Singapore Symphony Artist-in-Residence Chloe Chua in a programme of virtuoso violin music.
Currently, Isaac serves as adjunct faculty at Juilliard, teaching organ literature, theory, and history. He is also the organist at the Church of the Heavenly Rest. From 2021 to 2023, he was the Wilson Family Sacred Music Intern at The Brick Presbyterian Church, and previously held the post of chapel organist at Marquand Chapel, Yale University.
His earlier studies include degrees from the Eastman School of Music and the Royal Danish Academy of Music. While in Denmark, he completed a successful fellowship at Roskilde Cathedral, a UNESCO world heritage site that boasts the historic 1555 Raphaelis organ.
A native of Singapore, Isaac is dedicated to advancing organ music in his home country. Past projects include “Pipe Up!”, an organ chamber music series at Victoria Concert Hall, freelance work with the Singapore Symphony Group, and serving as assistant director for Organ Academy Singapore. He was awarded a National Arts Council grant for his digital project, Organ in the Time of Cholera
Hannu Lintu
Music Director-designate
Hannu Lintu continues to maintain his reputation as one of the world’s finest conductors. This season, Lintu continues his tenures as Music Director of Orquestra Gulbenkian and Chief Conductor of Finnish National Opera and Ballet, as well as beginning his tenures as Artistic Partner of the Lahti Symphony Orchestra and Artistic Director of the International Sibelius Festival.
Last season also saw Lintu’s appointment as Music Director of Singapore Symphony Orchestra from 2026/27, where he will appear this season for several performances. Other highlights include returns to the BBC, St Louis, Toronto, Baltimore and Detroit Symphonies, as well as productions of Strauss’ Elektra and a world premiere of Sebastian Fagerlund’s The Morning Star at Finnish National Opera.
Symphonic highlights of recent years have seen Lintu conduct the Chicago Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Berliner Philharmoniker, Cleveland Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre National de Radio France, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, and London Philharmonic.
As an expert in both operatic as well as symphonic repertoire, Lintu’s recent opera highlights have included Enescu’s Oedipe at Bregenz Festspiele, Wagner’s Der fliegende Holländer at Opera de Paris and Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande at Bayerische Staatsoper, as well as multiple productions at Finnish National Opera and Ballet, including a multi-season Ring Cycle, Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites, and Mozart’s Don Giovanni
Lintu studied cello and piano at the Sibelius Academy, where he also later studied conducting with Jorma Panula. He participated in masterclasses with Myung-Whun Chung at L’Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, Italy, and took first prize at the Nordic Conducting Competition in Bergen in 1994.
Eudenice Palaruan studied at the University of the Philippines College of Music, majoring in composition and choral conducting. He took further training in choral conducting at the Berliner Kirchenmusikschule, Germany. He graduated doctor of musical arts at St. Paul University Manila.
He was a singer, resident composer/arranger, and assistant choirmaster of the Philippine Madrigal Singers. In addition, he performed with the Berlin Spandauer Kantorei, the World Youth Choir, and sang countertenor with the Berlin Monteverdichor.
In addition, he was the principal conductor of the San Miguel Master Chorale. For years, he has been the resident conductor of the International Bamboo Organ Festival, where he performed and recorded significant selections of Latin-American baroque music. With his active involvement in the choralization of Philippine and other Asian indigenous music, he premiered a substantial volume of new Asian choral works. In addition, he was often invited to give lectures on non-Western vocal aesthetics.
Eudenice also arranges for the SSO choruses and the SSC community outreach programmes. In addition, the SSO choruses have premiered new choral works written by local composers and arrangers in Singapore under his direction.
He taught composition and choral conducting in institutions such as the University of the Philippines College of Music, the Asian Institute for Liturgy and Music, and St. Paul University College of Music and the Performing Arts. In addition, he teaches at the Singapore Bible College School of Church Music and directs the SBC Chorale. Eudenice is often invited to adjudicate in international composition competitions and give masterclasses in choral conducting.
Eudenice Palaruan
Choral Director
Wong Lai Foon
Choirmaster
Wong Lai Foon has been a driving force behind the development and growth of the Singapore Symphony Children’s Choir (SSCC) since its inception in 2006. Appointed Choirmaster in 2015 and armed with a mission to nurture young voices and inspire choral excellence, she led in the expansion of the SSCC’s training programme to include six preparatory ensembles, as well as the formation of the Singapore Symphony Youth Choir in 2016.
With repertoire ranging from Baroque to opera to contemporary and popular music, she has directed the SSCC and SSYC in a wide array of concerts, often receiving praise for the choirs’ beautiful tone and sensitivity. She has prepared the choirs in collaborations with renowned conductors and performers such as Stephen Layton, The King’s Singers, and Sofi Jeanin and la Maîtrise de Radio France. The SSCC has also had the distinction of being invited to perform at state functions.
Wong has commissioned and premiered treble choir works by local composers and has also arranged for the SSCC and SSYC. Her efforts to educate and inspire singers extend into the community through workshops, talks, as well as adjudicator, chorus-master and guestconductor roles. Some ensembles that she has worked with include The Philharmonic Chamber Choir, Singapore Symphony Chorus, Singapore Lyric Opera, Hallelujah Singers, and Methodist Festival Choir. She holds a master’s degree in choral conducting from Westminster Choir College, USA.
45th Anniversary Gala
6 Dec 2025, 4.30pm
Victoria Concert Hall
Singapore National Youth Orchestra
Joshua Tan SNYO Music Director
Darrell Ang conductor
Robert Casteels conductor
Leonard Tan conductor
Jacob Cheng violin
The Singapore National Youth Orchestra celebrates 45 years of music-making with a colourful programme showcasing its all-round versatility, from vigorous Glinka to witty Rossini to melancholy Fauré. This gala event conducted by SNYO Music Director Joshua Tan and past conductors also stars SNYO Concerto Competition Winner Jacob Cheng in Ravel’s fiery Tzigane, before finishing with Beethoven’s Fifth.
Tickets from $20
Available from SSO.ORG.SG/SNYO
Concession: 50% off
Singapore Symphony Chorus
Celebrating Choral Excellence
Eudenice Palaruan Choral Director
Ellissa Sayampanathan Assistant Choral Conductor
Ng Sheh Feng Choral Associate
Wong Yang Kai Choral Associate
Shane Thio rehearsal pianist
For 45 years, the Singapore Symphony Chorus (SSC) has brought together passionate choristers from varied backgrounds to create stirring symphonic music that transcends language and culture. More than a choir, the SSC is a vibrant community where lasting bonds are forged beyond the stage.
Committed to artistic excellence, its dedicated members rehearse weekly, performing at celebrated venues like the Esplanade and Victoria Concert Halls. Under the baton of world-class conductors such as Okko Kamu, Lan Shui, Lim Yau, Masaaki Suzuki, and Sofi Jeannin, the SSC has built a rich repertoire featuring masterpieces like Tippett’s A Child of Our Time, Arvo Pärt’s Te Deum, Britten’s War Requiem, and Bach’s St John Passion
The chorus’s unwavering dedication to delivering outstanding performances makes the SSC a leading choral ensemble – a shining example of music’s power to unite people across generations and cultures.
JACK YAM
Bursting with energy and passion, the Singapore Symphony Youth Choir (SSYC) is a lively group aged 17 to 28, who thrive on breaking artistic boundaries and growing as one. Beyond making harmonies, the SSYC is a buzzing community where young voices come together to dive into symphonic choral adventures with the national orchestra.
Performing regularly at the Esplanade and Victoria Concert Halls, the SSYC tackles some of the most exciting and challenging choral works across diverse styles and genres. The SSYC regularly collaborates with visionary conductors including Lan Shui, Hans Graf, and Stephen Layton. Their impressive repertoire features highlights like Scriabin’s Prometheus, Puccini’s La Bohème, Tallis’s Why Fumeth in Fight, and Faure’s Requiem, along with recordings of Borodin’s Polovtsian Dances and Mahler’s Symphony No. 2.
The SSYC offers an unparalleled chance to learn and create memories with the seasoned professionals – setting the stage for the future of symphonic choral music.
Hannu Lintu conducts Nelson Mass + Mahler 4 14 & 15 Nov 2025
Singapore Symphony Chorus
Soprano
Karen Aw
Josephine Budiana
Janice Chee
Alexis Chen
Chia Gin Gin
Elizabeth Daniel
Julie Demange Wodtke
Grace Goh
Vivien Heng
Kaitlyn Kim
Selina Kwek
Rachel Lam
Sun Lee
Jacqueline Liew
Aidah Lim
Liang Xinyu
Lin Wei
Ng Bee Kay
Ng Wing Kei Tracy
Shireen Sanbhnani
Sarah Santhana
Bessie Segarra
Andrea Yenny Sjah
Nelia Soelistia
Stacey Wang Espera
Vivienne Tan
Sarah Tang
Sachiko Tomimori
Gladys Torrado
Wang Yu-Ann
Alto
Grace Angel
Chan Mei Yoke
Joy Chen
Chng Xin Bei
Marie Amelie McKeand
Joanna Deakin
Dieh Xin Xin
Truly Hutapea
Susan Kurniawati
Dorothy Lee-Teh
Wendy Lim
Shoumin Low
Sharon Low
H. Debbie Min
Sylwia Mirucka
Ng Beng Choo
Ng Sheh Feng*
Natividad Solaguren
Ena Su
Ratna Sutantio
Elsie Tan
Tan Seow Yen
Rina Ushioda
Wang Jiunwen
Nadine Yap
Elizabeth Yeo
Tenor
Jean-Michel Bardin
Chong Wei Sheng
Ivan De Jesus
Jonathan Halliwell
Adrian Lim
Elton Lin
Jeroven Marquez
Ronald Ooi
Samuel Pažický
Rac Roldan
Ian Tan
Ben Wong
Yek Kwan
Bass
Ang Jian Zhong
Craig Chambers
Arthur Davis
Andy Jatmiko
Ethan Jerzak
Paul Kitamura
Justin Lee
Andrew Ng
Yen Phang
Teo Siak Hian
Michael Walsh
Wong Hin Yan
Wong Yang Kai*
*Choral Associate
Singapore Symphony Youth Choir
Soprano
Cham Li Teng
Halyn Cho
Goh Chen Xi
Jocelyne Harefa
Emily Hia
Rachael Jong
Laura Lee
Emma Lee-Goh
Melina Leong
Giselle Lim
Ng Yi Poh
Teryn Rim
Desiree Seng
Samyukta Sounderamann
Carine Tan
Christabelle Tan
Tan Caewyn
Janelle Tan
Naddy Teo
Jasmine Towndrow
Raeanne Wong
Shuwen
Chloe Zhou
Alto
Megan Fung
Elizabeth Goh
Trinetra Kumarasan
Zoe Li
Zachary Lim
Ong Sherlyn
Suri Rao
Emily Tan
Tan Yuqing
Tan Yulin
Tenor
Andre Ang
Hann Lyang
Alfonso Yuji Cortez
Jayden Moktan
Oscar Ociepka
Amos Pan
Seifer Ong
Stanley Yuan Chenye
Bass
Leonard Buescher
Bryan Carmichael
Chai Chang Kai
Matthew Chiang
Liu Felix
Loy Sheng Rui
Tan Hee
Joshua Tan
Dominic Tang
Wong Zhen Wei
Hera Hyesang Park
soprano
Praised for her “radiant, seemingly effortless singing” (The Times) and “sense of pure joy and excitement” (OperaWire), soprano Hera Hyesang Park is celebrated for her exquisite voice, magnetic stagecraft, and profound artistic vision. A Juilliard graduate, she blends her Korean heritage with Western traditions, offering performances marked by tonal richness, immaculate technique, and fearless presence.
In the 2025/26 season, Park returns to the Edinburgh International Festival as Servilia La clemenza di Tito, the Metropolitan Opera as Zerlina Don Giovanni, and Boston Baroque as Ilia Idomeneo. She makes debuts with the Malaysia Philharmonic, Singapore Symphony, São Paulo Symphony, and Deutsche Sinfonie-Orchester Berlin, and sings over ten performances as Susanna Le nozze di Figaro with Opera North. Recitals take her to the Seoul Arts Centre, Vilagarcía, Bilbao, Leeds Lieder, and Pembroke College, Cambridge.
Her recent highlights include Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Haydn’s The Creation with Boston Baroque, Despina Così fan tutte at both Edinburgh and Paris, and concerts with the NHK Symphony Orchestra, Wiener Symphoniker, and San Diego Symphony. Operatic credits span Pamina Die Zauberflöte and Nannetta Falstaff at the Met, Rosina Il barbiere di Siviglia and Susanna at Glyndebourne, Musett La bohème at Komische Oper Berlin, and Violetta in Marina Abramović’s 7 Deaths of Maria Callas at Bayerische Staatsoper and Opéra de Paris.
An exclusive Deutsche Grammophon artist, Park has released two acclaimed albums: I am Hera (2020) and Breathe (2024). A winner of Operalia, the Gerda Lissner Competition, and the Hildegard Behrens Award, she is also a former Metropolitan Opera Lindemann Young Artist.
With a voice described as “dark hued” and “attractive throughout her range” by The New York Times, French mezzo-soprano Virginie Verrez is a rising star on the opera and concert stage.
In the 2025/26 season, Virginie debuts with Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia as Siegrune Die Walküre and returns to Teatro alla Scala in the complete cycle of Der Ring des Nibelungen as Flosshilde Das Rheingold and Götterdämmerung, and Siegrune Die Walküre On the concert platform, Virginie performs Berio’s Folk Songs and Respighi’s Il Tramonto with the Orchestra of Welsh National Opera/Carlo Rizzi for the BBC Proms series in Bristol.
Recent concert engagements include Ravel’s Shéhérazade with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra/ Stéphane Denève, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Orchestre National de Lyon/ Nikolaj SzepsZnaider in concerts at Auditori Nacional Madrid and Auditori di Barcelona and with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra/ Nicholas Collon, Debussy’s La damoiselle élue with the Orchestre National de France/Bertrand de Billy and Berlioz’ Roméo et Juliette with the Orchestre National de France and Swedish Symphony Orchestra/Daniel Harding; Schumann’s Das Paradies und die Peri with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra/ Daniel Harding; Beethoven‘s Mass in C with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic/Karina Canellakis; Erika in Barber’s Vanessa with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin/ David Zinman; Haydn’s Nelson Mass with the Orchestre National de Lyon/Omer Meir Wellber; Shéhérazade with the Minnesota Orchestra.
Virginie is a former member of the ensemble of the Wiener Staatsoper and a graduate of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program 2015–2017.
Virginie Verrez
mezzo-soprano
Elgan Llŷr Thomas
tenor
Born in Llandudno, Elgan Llŷr Thomas is a former English National Opera Harewood Artist and Scottish Opera Emerging Artist.
His engagements have included François A Quiet Place (Royal Opera, London), Dr Richardson Breaking the Waves (Opéra Comique, Paris), Don José La Tragédie de Carmen (Buxton International Festival), Lysander A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Nemorino L’elisir d’amore and Rinuccio Gianni Schicchi (Scottish Opera), Prologue / Peter Quint The Turn of the Screw (English National Opera), Gérald Lakmé (Chelsea Opera Group), Prunier La rondine (Opera North), Almaviva Il barbiere di Siviglia (Opéra national de Bordeaux, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées), Tom Rakewell The Rake’s Progress (Swedish Chamber Orchestra), Duke of Mantua Rigoletto (Opera Holland Park) and both Cassio Otello and Steuermann Der fliegende Holländer (Grange Park Opera).
His recordings include Elgar’s Caractacus on Hyperion CD and his debut solo recital album Unveiled with Iain Burnside on Delphian CD.
Current engagements include Prologue / Peter Quint The Turn of the Screw for London’s Royal Ballet and Opera; the premiere of Conor Mitchell’s Bwystfilod Aflan / Unclean Beasts for Music Theatre Wales; Krishna as a Young Man Krishna for Grange Park Opera; and Jack O’Brien Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny for English National Opera. He also sings Beethoven Symphony No. 9 with Boston Symphony Orchestra; Beethoven Missa Solemnis with Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra; Mahler Das klagende Lied with Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra; and performs Daniel Kildane’s Cradle Song and Pulsing with Birmingham Contemporary Music Group at London’s Wigmore Hall.
This is his debut with Singapore Symphony Orchestra.
British bass-baritone Edward Grint is a sought-after concert performer of the baroque repertoire and works with The King’s Consort, London Mozart Players, Orchestra of the Age of the Enlightenment, London Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, City of London Sinfonia, Royal Choral Society, City of London Choir, Gabrieli Consort, and Dunedin Consort. Edward has performed in venues and festivals such as Salzburger Festspiele, Cadogan Hall, Buxton Festival and the Three Choirs Festival.
Edward’s current and future engagements include ABNER in Handel’s Athalia at the Halle Händelfestspiele, Royal Odes and Jesus/bass arias in Matthäus-Passion, Banquet Celeste, Mozart Mass in C minor with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Bach concerts with the Netherlands Bach Society and Rene Jacobs, Ratcliffe in Billy Budd at the Enescu Festival Bucharest, King Arthur with the Early Opera Company, his debut with The English Concert and Harry Bicket at the Wigmore Hall, tours with Les Arts Florissants including Gesualdo Madrigals, Bach Cantatas and Carissimi Cantatas concerts with Collegium Vocale Gent, Irish Baroque Orchestra, and Handel’s Messiah at the London Handel Festival with The King’s Consort.
Important past operatic engagements have included Was frag ich nach der Welt, a staged production of Bach Cantatas for the Schwetzingen Winter Festival, Polyphemus in Acis and Galatea at Opéra de Avignon, Arcas in Iphigenie en Aulide at Theater an der Wien, and Peter in The Last Supper with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, among many others.
Edward studied at the King’s College, Cambridge and at the Royal College of Music. He is a prizewinner of the Cesti Competition Innsbruck and the London Handel Competition.
Edward Grint
bass-baritone
Stephen Hough Piano Concerto + Saint-Saëns Organ Symphony
Fri, 7 Nov 2025
Esplanade Concert Hall
Singapore Symphony Orchestra
Rodolfo Barráez Associate Conductor
Stephen Hough piano
Isaac Lee organ
Kevin Lin Co-Principal Guest Concertmaster
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Reznicek
Overture to Donna Diana 5 mins
Hough
Piano Concerto – The World of Yesterday
20 mins
Intermission
20 mins
Saint-Saëns
Symphony No. 3 in C minor, Op. 78 “Organ”
36 mins
Concert Duration: approximately 1 hr 40 mins (including 20 mins intermission)
ASIAN PREMIERE
Emil Nikolaus von Reznicek
1860 – 1945
Overture to Donna Diana (1894)
Donna Diana is a comedy opera written in 1894 when Reznicek was working as a military Kappellmeister in Prague. Its Viennese premiere in 1898 was conducted by none other than Gustav Mahler. The overture has achieved widespread popularity, despite the opera (a tale about the beautiful Donna Diana who rejects all her suitors) itself being infrequently performed.
The piece begins with a brief, ominous introduction, which quickly gives way to a light romp led by the strings. This boisterous energy simmers down into a background pulse as a second theme takes over; a lyrical singing melody brightened by ornamental turns. Dramatic twists upset the lightness of the exposition, including motivic gestures like a cascade of descending notes, and the occasional trumpet call.
From there, Reznicek spins these themes into a development section. A particularly intriguing moment in it includes a plaintive oboe solo, which gives the second theme a melancholic rendition, continued by a solo clarinet. Perhaps this is a musical hint that the comic opera is not all laughs? Swiftly, the orchestra takes over, recapitulating the two themes in the opening key. The overture’s coda sends us off triumphantly— and somewhat cheekily with an extended cadential gesture— into the rest of the evening.
There was a time when to be a pianist and not a composer, however modest, was a rarity. Indeed, in the nineteenth century it would have been almost unthinkable. And the piano concerto form, from Mozart through to Bartók (via Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Chopin, Liszt, Rachmaninov and Prokofiev), was the public face of such pianist-composers. It was their calling card as they travelled around to play concerts, displaying to audiences both their keyboard skills and their personal, musical voices.
But a twenty-first-century question arises: how does one write a piano concerto in the shadow of so much history and so much genius? There are two traps I think: the risk of regurgitating examples from the past—tired figuration dusted off and redressed for the new season; or else simply inserting the soloist as part of the orchestral texture—a team-player so anxious not to sound derivative that they end up sounding intimidated.
My Piano Concerto began with an email during one of the darker days of the pandemic: would I like to write a score for a movie about a concert pianist writing a piano concerto? As I looked at my blank concert diary, erased and masked, it seemed like a wonderful way to keep me busy. I’d never wanted to write a piano
concerto (how to begin?) but the characters of this film gave me a handle: an ageing Austrian baroness and a young American composer in the 1930s. I wrote a waltz theme of Korngoldian decadence for the former, and took the bright white notes of interwar Americana for the other … and I started writing. The movie ended up going in a different direction but I had a thick pile of sketches on my desk, plenty of material for a concert work.
The concerto opens with the two motifs mentioned above—a naive melody played by violins and flutes, and a chain of rising thirds answering it with clarinet and harp. This latter fragment will later become the second movement’s waltz theme. The music slowly begins to blush with richer harmonies and increasing energy, until the solo piano enters to play an extended cadenza. After a while the ragged, splashing virtuosity dissipates and we hear the second motif as a slow, disarmingly sweet-toothed prequel ‘waltz before the waltz’— with a hat-tip to Bill Evans perhaps.
As this piano solo reaches its softest point, the strings sidle in, playing the sixteen-bar theme of the real waltz in its full, decadently seductive form. There follow seven variations where the pianist is mainly accompanist, providing a sparkle of decorative commentary.
An eighth variation begins with a crankingup of tempo until, back in C major, we hear both themes waltzing together, glistening with glockenspiel. A further acceleration tumbles us into the third-movement tarantella.
Now the waltz theme is squashed into staccato triad chords punctuated by xylophone flashes of the first theme. The energy works itself into a frenzy of agitation, propelling the music to a sudden silence, after which we hear the first theme flaring with fanfares and flourishes. The music increases in emotional intensity until the two themes are heard again, now stretched to a new height of sentimental ardour. A lurch of acceleration returns us hastily to the tarantella and from there, inexorably, to the frenetic, blazing conclusion of the piece, horns blaring and piano gnashing.
‘The world of yesterday’ … a subtitle with several meanings. It is borrowed from Stefan Zweig’s eponymous memoir with its celebration of Viennese culture before the First World War: the world as it used to be; nostalgia both literal and legendary. But this title became a tag for me writing this piece, representing the history of the piano concerto form itself and of the pianists who wrote these works. A world of yesterday indeed.
Camille Saint-Saëns composed his Symphony No. 3 in C minor in 1886. Up until this time, Germans dominated the symphony genre; think Beethoven, Brahms, and the like. In particular, Wagnerian influence was sweeping the region, which greatly displeased Saint-Saëns as he felt it fundamentally misaligned with quintessential French temperament. To counter these forces, he sought to create a great French symphony. This contribution meant a great deal to the composer, who said about the symphony, “I gave everything to it I was able to give. What I have accomplished here, I will never achieve again.”
The symphony was commissioned by the Philharmonic Society of London, an organisation created in 1813 to promote instrumental music in London. Arguably one of its most unique features is the inclusion of organ and piano. Either would be atypical for a symphony, let alone both. This addition does not seem to have been stipulated as part of the commission and was instead part of Saint-Saëns’ vision to innovate on the established symphonic form. Additionally, Saint-Saëns was himself a prolific keyboard player, debuting as a professional pianist at the age of 11 and thereafter working as a church organist for 20 years. Perhaps his affinity for these instruments was another reason for their inclusion in the symphony.
The piece begins with a tentative Adagio, rising to meet an energetic main theme in C minor. This swiftly gives way to a sweeter and more dancelike second theme. This is all the musical material Saint-Saëns needs to construct the rest of the movement, skillfully transforming and stitching
previously heard phrases together. This technique is used throughout the symphony and creates a kaleidoscope of creative variations which lend unity to the whole work.
The organ appears in two main sections of the piece, which are in the second halves of each movement. In its first appearance, it performs the role of accompaniment, steadily supporting a tender melody in the strings. But its second entry is what earns this symphony the moniker “Organ Symphony”: a long, full C major chord amid a tacet orchestra. Clearly, Saint-Saëns intimately understood the instrument’s dramatic range and used it to its full advantage. The work is treated to a majestic conclusion, replete with cymbal crashes and brass fanfare. We revisit earlier themes cleverly woven into the style of the movement, and one final tempo push drives the piece towards a glorious and satisfying end.
Notes (Reznicek and Saint-Saëns) by Wong Yong En | Yong En is a performing arts writer, critic, and classical soprano. She graduated from the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music and is based in Singapore.
by
Presented
From $28
From $48
SSO Gala: Hannu Lintu conducts
Nelson Mass + Mahler 4
Fri & Sat, 14 & 15 Nov 2025
Esplanade Concert Hall
Singapore Symphony Orchestra
Singapore Symphony Chorus
Singapore Symphony Youth Choir
Hannu Lintu Music Director-designate
Eudenice Palaruan Choral Director
Wong Lai Foon Choirmaster
Hera Hyesang Park soprano
Virginie Verrez mezzo-soprano
Elgan Llŷr Thomas tenor
Edward Grint bass-baritone
Kevin Lin Co-Principal Guest Concertmaster
Haydn
Missa in angustiis – Nelson Mass
42 mins
Intermission
20 mins
Mahler
Symphony No. 4 in G major 54 mins
Concert Duration: approximately 2 hrs 10 mins (including 20 mins intermission)
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Introduction
Tonight’s concert pairs two works by master symphonists that, despite being separated by over a century, share intriguing connections in both structure and spirit.
Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass features the human voice at its core, with grand choral forces conveying profound spiritual depth, but eventually associated with contemporary events.
Mahler’s Fourth Symphony, often described as his most “Haydnesque” work, blends and subverts formal symphonic conventions with the composer’s trademark emotional intensity, and ends with a child’s view of heaven.
Both works are deeply shaped by the human voice: Haydn through the full symphonic chorus and solo vocal quartet, and Mahler through the song “The Heavenly Life,” which serves as the thematic anchor of his symphony.
Together, these works invite us to reflect on the relationship between earthly life and spiritual aspiration, where music, and the human voice, becomes a bridge between the temporal and the eternal.
Joseph Haydn
1732 – 1809
Missa in angustiis – Nelson Mass (1798)
In 1798, Europe was riddled with anxiety over Napoleon’s advancing French military campaign. Haydn’s Austria had already lost four major battles the year before. However, his Missa in augustiis (“Mass in a time of distress”) premiered in Eisenstadt just as news of Napoleon’s defeat in Egypt by the British forces led by Horatio Nelson reached Austria. This uplifting news quickly associated the Mass with the famous admiral.
The Mass showcases Haydn’s emotive range, often juxtaposing highly energetic passages
with restrained, contemplative ones. The Kyrie, for example, opens with a frightening plea for mercy, lent gravitas by the organ and timpani, that quickly sweetens into a florid soprano solo. A euphoric Gloria follows, again led by the soprano and echoed by the chorus. A sumptuous bass solo delivers the ‘Qui tollis peccata mundi’; a similar musical choice made by Haydn two years ago for the Paukenmesse (1796). The Credo, a key portion of the Latin liturgy, is set in a stately and assured canon style. The Sanctus begins with an angelic prayer that barely contains the spirited praise
which follows shortly after. Slowly, the strings creep up to introduce a sombre Benedictus, which again bursts into a fanfare-like coda.
The final Agnus Dei treats us to a warm and elegant Adagio opening. Its text is exquisitely set, interweaving all four soloists in a result that is supplicating yet dignified. The Mass concludes with jubilant and contrapuntal ‘Dona nobis pacem’. It is a hugely optimistic ending, calling for peace with great assurance.
I. Kyrie
Kyrie eleison Christe eleison
II. Gloria
Gloria in excelsis Deo Et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis
Laudamus Te, benedicimus Te
Adoramus Te, glorificamus Te
Gratia agimus tibi propter magnam gloriam Tuam
Domine Deus, Rex coelestis
Deux Pater omnipotens.
Domine Fili unigenite, Jesu Christe.
Domine Deus, Agnus Dei, Filius Patris.
Qui tollis peccata mundi, Miserere nobis.
Qui tollis peccata mundi, Suscipe deprecationem nostram.
Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris, miserere nobis.
Quoniam tu solus sanctus, tu solus Dominus, Tu solus altissimus, Jesu Christe.
Cum Sancto Spiritu in gloria Dei Patris, Amen.
III. Credo
Credo in unum Deum, Patrem omnipotentem, factorem coeli et terrae, visibilium omnium et invisibilium.
Glory to God in the highest, And on earth, peace to men of good will. We praise You, we bless You, We worship You, we glorify You.
We give you thanks for Your great glory.
Lord God, King of Heaven, God the Father Almighty.
Lord only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ.
Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father. You who take away the sin of the world, Have mercy on us.
You who take away the sin of the world, Hear our prayer.
You who sit at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on us.
For you alone are holy, you alone are Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ. With the Holy Spirit in the glory of God the Father, Amen.
I believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, Of all that is visible and invisible
Et in unum Dominum Jesum Christum, Filium Dei unigenitum, et ex patre natum ante omnia saecula, Deum de Deo, lumen de lumine, Deum verum de Deo vero. Genitum non factum, consubstantialem Patri; per quem omnia facta sunt. Qui propter nos homines et propter nostram salutem descendit de coelis.
Et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto, ex Maria virgine; et homo factus est. Crucifixus etiam pro nobis sub Pontio Pilato, passus et sepultus est.
Et resurrexit tertia die secundum Scripturas, et ascendit in coelum, sedet ad dexteram Patris, et iterum venturus est cum gloria, judicare vivos et mortuos, cujus regni non erit finis.
Et in Spiritum Sanctum Dominum, et vivificantem, qui ex Patre Filioque procedit, qui cum Patre et Filio simul adoratur, et conglorificatur, qui locutus est per Prophetas. Et unam sanctam catholicam et apostolicam Eccelsiam.
Confiteor unum baptisma in remissionem peccatorum, et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum, et vitam venturi saeculi. Amen.
IV. Sanctus
Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth.
Pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua. Osanna in excelsis.
V. Benedictus
Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini. Osanna in excelsis.
VI. Agnus Dei
Agnus Dei qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.
Agnus Dei qui tollis peccata mundi, dona nobis pacem.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, Only Son of God, born of the Father before all ages, God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one being with the Father; through him all things were made. Whom for us and our salvation descended from heaven.
And became incarnate by the Holy Spirit, from the Virgin Mary, and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried.
He resurrected on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father, He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and His kingdom will have no end.
And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son; with the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified.
He has spoken through the prophets. I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church; I acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins; I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Hosts. Heaven and earth are full of your glory, Hosannah in the highest.
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, grant us peace.
Notes by Wong Yong En | Yong En is a performing arts writer, critic, and classical soprano. She graduated from the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music and is based in Singapore.
Gustav Mahler
Symphony No. 4 in G major (1900) 1860 – 1911
Bedächtig; nicht eilen
In gemächlicher Bewegung; ohne Hast Ruhevoll Sehr behaglich I II III IV
Gustav Mahler is best known today for his ten symphonies. He was an immensely successful conductor in his lifetime but was generally overlooked as a composer up to the 1960s. Mahler was unique in his ability to successfully synthesise innovations and developments from other leading composers into his massive symphonies, demonstrating an incredible mastery of orchestral sonority, all while imbuing them with his unmistakably personal voice.
Mahler’s Fourth Symphony, completed in 1900, shares the folk-poem-inspired roots of his first three symphonies. It is scored for a relatively modest orchestra and is one of his most concise symphonic works. Mahler sought to write a musical “humoresque,” in contrast to the monumental structures of his earlier symphonies. The work contains many lighthearted and sunlit moments, though Mahler tempers these with his characteristic irony and sarcasm.
The Music
The opening of the first movement has been described as one of the most enchanting in the symphonic repertoire. Jingling sleigh bells set the scene, ushering the listener into an innocent, cozy world. Charming melodies follow in quick succession, which Mahler likened to “a dewdrop on a flower that, suddenly illuminated by the sun … bursts into a thousand lights and
colours.” The buoyant atmosphere darkens and builds to a thunderous climax before an ominous (and soon to be iconic) trumpet figuration dispels the storm clouds, and the lyrical melodies return, building to a jubilant close.
In the second movement, Mahler’s disciple Bruno Walter wrote, “Freund Hein strikes up the dance for us; he strokes the fiddle most strangely and plays us up to heaven.” In German folklore, Freund (or Brother) Hein is the personification of death— a Grim Reaper-like figure who leads souls to their final rest. The concertmaster is directed to tune the violin a tone higher and to play it “like a [street] fiddle.” Eerie and ghostly moments alternate with sentimental ones, but Freund Hein’s deathly scythe ultimately has the final word.
The third movement is a magnificent set of theme and variations, which Mahler described as inspired by “a vision of a tombstone on which was carved an image of the departed, with folded arms, in eternal sleep.” Two expansive melodies, one depicting the gentle restfulness of heavenly life, and the other, the restlessness of earthly life, alternate and eventually build to an intense climax, a grand musical depiction of the gates of heaven, before an “ethereal churchlike” fading away.
The fourth movement takes us through these pearly gates into the eternal blue of heaven. Mahler chose to end the symphony with a song, “The Heavenly Life,” drawn from a collection of German folk poetry titled The Youth’s Magic Horn, which he had composed eight years before the symphony itself. As the movement unfolds, we realise, now with the benefit of hindsight, that Mahler had subtly integrated motifs from this song throughout the entire symphony.
The genial clarinet introduces the song, depicting a child’s vision of heaven. It is a carefree one, full of dancing and playing, good music, and good food. It is certainly a beautiful place, where “choirs of angels lift up our spirits to the highest of heavenly joys.”
Wir genießen die himmlischen Freuden, D'rum tun wir das Irdische meiden.
Kein weltlich’ Getümmel Hört man nicht im Himmel!
Lebt alles in sanftester Ruh’.
Wir führen ein englisches Leben, Sind dennoch ganz lustig daneben; Wir tanzen und springen, Wir hüpfen und singen, Sankt Peter im Himmel sieht zu.
Johannes das Lämmlein auslasset, Der Metzger Herodes d'rauf passet.
Wir führen ein geduldig’s, Unschuldig's, geduldig’s, Ein liebliches Lämmlein zu Tod. Sankt Lucas den Ochsen tät schlachten
Ohn’ einig’s Bedenken und Achten.
Der Wein kost’ kein Heller Im himmlischen Keller; Die Englein, die backen das Brot.
Gut’ Kräuter von allerhand Arten, Die wachsen im himmlischen Garten, Gut’ Spargel, Fisolen
Und was wir nur wollen.
Ganze Schüsseln voll sind uns bereit!
Gut’ Äpfel, gut’ Birn’ und gut’ Trauben; Die Gärtner, die alles erlauben. Willst Rehbock, willst Hasen, Auf offener Straßen Sie laufen herbei!
Sollt’ ein Fasttag etwa kommen, Alle Fische gleich mit Freuden angeschwommen!
Dort läuft schon Sankt Peter Mit Netz und mit Köder Zum himmlischen Weiher hinein. Sankt Martha die Köchin muß sein.
The Heavenly Life (from Des Knaben Wunderhorn)
We enjoy heavenly pleasures and therefore avoid earthly ones. No worldly tumult is to be heard in heaven. All live in greatest peace. We lead angelic lives, yet have a merry time of it besides. We dance and we spring, We skip and we sing. Saint Peter in heaven looks on.
John lets the lambkin out, and Herod the Butcher lies in wait for it. We lead a patient, an innocent, patient, dear little lamb to its death. Saint Luke slaughters the ox without any thought or concern. Wine doesn’t cost a penny in the heavenly cellars; The angels bake the bread.
Good greens of every sort grow in the heavenly vegetable patch, good asparagus, string beans, and whatever we want. Whole dishfuls are set for us!
Good apples, good pears and good grapes, and gardeners who allow everything! If you want roebuck or hare, on the public streets they come running right up.
Should a fast day come along, all the fishes at once come swimming with joy. There goes Saint Peter running with his net and his bait to the heavenly pond. Saint Martha must be the cook.
Kein’ Musik ist ja nicht auf Erden, Die unsrer verglichen kann werden.
Elftausend Jungfrauen
Zu tanzen sich trauen.
Sankt Ursula selbst dazu lacht.
Cäcilia mit ihren Verwandten
Sind treffliche Hofmusikanten! Die englischen Stimmen
Ermuntern die Sinnen, Daß alles für Freuden erwacht
There is just no music on earth that can compare to ours. Even the eleven thousand virgins venture to dance, and Saint Ursula herself has to laugh.
Cecilia and all her relations make excellent court musicians. And choirs of angels lift up our spirit to the highest of heavenly joys.
Notes by Christopher Cheong | Christopher heads the SSO’s artistic planning and administration team.
To Our Donor Patrons
We would like to express our deepest appreciation to the following individuals and organisations who support our mission to create memorable shared experiences with music in the past year. Without your support, it would be impossible for the SSO to continue to strive for artistic excellence and touch the hearts of audiences.
This list reflects donations that were made from 1 Oct 2024 to 30 Sep 2025. We would like to express our sincere thanks to donors whose names were inadvertently left out at print time.
The Singapore Symphony Group is a charity and a not-for-profit organisation. Singapore tax-payers may qualify for 250% tax deduction for donations made. You can support us by donating at www.sso.org.sg/donate or www.giving.sg/sso.
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SPECIAL RECOGNITION
A Standing Ovation
We recognise major gifts that help sustain the future of the Singapore Symphony Group. The recognition includes naming of a position in the SSO or in our affiliated performance groups such as the Singapore National Youth Orchestra and the Singapore Symphony Choruses.
F or more information, please write to Chelsea Zhao at chelsea.zhao@sso.org.sg
SSO Concertmaster l GK Goh Chair
In July 2017, the SSO established the GK Goh Chair for the Concertmaster. Mr Goh Geok Khim and his family have been long-time supporters of the national orchestra. We are grateful for the donations from his family and friends towards this Chair, especially Mr and Mrs Goh Yew Lin for their most generous contribution.
Mr Igor Yuzefovich was the inaugural GK Goh Concertmaster Chair. The position is currently vacant.
SSO Principal Cello
The Head Foundation Chair
In recognition of a generous gift from The HEAD Foundation, we announced the naming of our Principal Cello, “The HEAD Foundation Chair” in November 2019. The Chair is currently held by Principal Cellist Ng Pei-Sian.
SSO Principal Flute
Stephen Riady Chair
In recognition of a generous gift from Dr Stephen Riady, we announced in May 2022 the naming of our Principal Flute, “Stephen Riady Chair”. The position is currently held by our Principal Flutist Jin Ta.
SSO Principal Viola
Tan Jiew Cheng Chair
In recognition of a generous gift from the Estate of Tan Jiew Cheng, we announced in February 2024 the naming of our Principal Viola, “Tan Jiew Cheng Chair”. The position is currently held by our Principal Violist Manchin Zhang.
SPECIAL RECOGNITION
Quantedge Music Director
The SSO is delighted to announce the naming of the “Quantedge Music Director” position, currently held by Maestro Hans Graf.
With his spirit of musical exploration, innovative programming, and captivating stage presence, Maestro Graf has consistently inspired audiences and elevated orchestras to new heights. We are deeply grateful for his continued leadership as Chief Conductor in the 2020/21 season and Music Director since the 2022/23 season.
We extend our sincerest gratitude to our anonymous donor for this generous gift of $3 million to mark SG60.
SSO President’s Young Performers Concert 2026 Open for Auditions
Auditions will be held for shortlisted Singaporean instrumentalists performing concertos or concertante works written for their instrument and Singaporean vocalists performing any vocal work with orchestra.
Eligibility: Applicants must be Singapore citizens and 25 years old or younger as of 1 Jan 2026.
Application Deadline: Applicants are invited to submit their online application by 5 Dec 2025, with the following items:
1. Biography including their date of birth, musical background and contact information
2. A high-quality video featuring a recent performance of a complete concerto or concertante work with either piano or orchestra accompaniment, with composer name, duration of each movement and edition (if applicable) of the work clearly labelled.
For application enquiries, please contact: pypc@sso.org.sg
Scan to apply
Application deadline: 5 Dec 2025
2024 soloist Toby Tan Kai Rong piano
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