National Day Awards 2019
SSO pioneer Mr J Y Pillay received the top honour at this year’s National Day Awards, The Order of Temasek (With Distinction).
The longest-serving Chairman of the Council of Presidential Advisers (CPA) and former Chairman of Singapore Airlines (SIA) as well as of the Singapore Exchange (SGX), has strong links to the SSO.
Mr Pillay was there right from the beginning, at the birth of the Singapore Symphonia Company Limited (SSCL), which manages the SSO. Then the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of National Development, he worked alongside the team that Dr Goh Keng Swee had drawn in to bring the national orchestra into being. Mr Pillay went on to serve as a founding member of the SSCL Board from 1979–1996. Today, Mr Pillay remains a staunch champion of the SSO, serving as a member of its Advisory Council.
SSO Conductor Laureate Lan Shui was awarded The Public Service Star [Bintang Bakti Masyarakat]. For generations of Singaporeans, his name is synonymous with the SSO, where the maestro was Music Director from 1997 to January 2019.
“This is the only place in my life I feel so connected with. It's my home. Nothing before has been like it, and nothing after will be like it.
![[L-R] Mrs Lan, Maestro Lan Shui, PM Lee Hsien Loong and Mrs Lee at SSO's 40th Anniversary event.](https://web-assets.sso.org.sg/images/_1920xAUTO_crop_center-center_none/Lan-Shui-with-PM-Lee.jpg)
The Singapore National Day Awards are bestowed by the Singapore government and recognises various forms of merit and service to Singapore. Our warmest congratulations to Mr Pillay and Maestro Lan Shui.
For more information on the National Day Awards 2019, click here