SSO live December concerts to include the first-ever SSO Christmas Fundraising Concert at Esplanade
UPDATE: For Tues, 15th Dec: Pre-Event Testing (PET) no longer required. Audience capacity reduced to 250.
For Weds, 16th Dec: Mandatory PET for attendees. In supporting Singapore’s efforts to allow resumption of large-scale events with a live audience, PET remains in place for this concert with an audience capacity of 400. We seek your understanding and greatly appreciate your support in this trial - you play a vital part in the nation's progress to allow more live events safely.
On 15 & 16 December 2020 the Singapore Symphony Orchestra will return to Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay for its first live concert there since 5 March 2020. In the first ever SSO Christmas Fundraising Concert, Associate Conductor Joshua Tan will conduct the SSO Strings in seasonal music by Vivaldi, Bach and Vaughan Williams for an audience of 400 on each night. The concert will be a welcome hour of contemplation, peace, and joy, to mark the holiday season.
Proceeds from the fundraising concert will help the orchestra address its immediate funding needs. The COVID-19 pandemic has deeply affected orchestras around the world, and the SSO is no exception. Corporate donations and income from ticket sales have dropped dramatically and the shortfall has not been made up by its online concerts.
These are difficult times for the orchestra. Tickets for this fundraiser will start at $98, 2.5 times tax deduction is available for Singapore tax residents.
The Christmas fundraising concert will be part of the pilot trial for the mandatory use of pre-event Antigen Rapid Test (ART) as one of the safe management measures for larger scale indoor live performances. As part of this pilot trial, the ART(s) and confirmatory Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests (if required) will be provided free of charge to audience members. Details about the pre-event testing requirement and how to get tested will be emailed to audience members nearer to the date of the performance.
In addition, audience members will be required to have the TraceTogether app or token. The concert will feature a number of enhanced safety measures, including safe distanced seating in zones, deep cleaning of the venue, SafeEntry check-in, temperature screening and no intermission.
Two smaller-scale concerts, each with 70 seats on sale, will take place in December, both at the Victoria Concert Hall. On 4 December, Joshua Tan conducts the orchestra in Miracle of Music – Celebrating Bach II featuring two Bach Violin Concertos (performed by the SSO’s Chan Yoong-Han and Associate Concertmaster Kong Zhao Hui) and Telemann’s Don Quixote Suite.
On 12 December, musicians from the SSO perform a programme of chamber works in VCHpresents Chamber: Sounds for a Summer Evening, made up of Debussy’s Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp, Beethoven’s String Quintet in C major, Op. 29 and the world premiere of Grassfield in the Summer Night for Bassoon and Three Flutes by SSO Principal Flute, Jin Ta.
Both concerts will include the enhanced safety measures mentioned above, but audience members will not undergo pre-event testing.
Tickets for all December live concerts will go on sale at 10am on Tuesday 24 November.
Miracle of Music - Celebrating Bach II
Singapore Symphony Orchestra / Joshua Tan, Associate Conductor / Chan Yoong-Han, violin / Kong Zhao Hui, violin
Fri / 04 Dec 20 / 7.30pm
Victoria Concert Hall
Pure inspiration distilled into sound, Bach’s music is a leap from earth to heaven. Join SSO veteran violinists Chan Yoong-Han and Kong Zhao Hui in two of Bach’s violin concertos, timeless treasures of classical music. “To make divine things human and human things divine; such is Bach, the greatest and purest moment in music of all time.” - Pablo Casals.
FORMAT: This will be a live concert held at the Victoria Concert Hall.
FeaturingSingapore Symphony Orchestra / Joshua Tan, Associate Conductor / Chan Yoong-Han, violin / Kong Zhao Hui, violin
ProgrammeViolin Concerto in A minor, BWV 1041^ | Johann Sebastian Bach (J.S. Bach) |
|---|---|
Violin Concerto in E major, BWV 1042* | Johann Sebastian Bach (J.S. Bach) |
Don Quixote Suite | Georg Philipp Telemann (Telemann) |
Sounds for a Summer Evening
Chan Yoong-Han, violin / Zhao Tian, violin / Guan Qi, viola / Gu Bing Jie, viola / Ng Pei-Sian, cello / Jin Ta, flute / Miao Shanshan, flute / Evgueni Brokmiller, flute / Christoph Wichert, bassoon / Gulnara Mashurova, harp
Sat / 12 Dec 20 / 7.30pm
Victoria Concert Hall
In the evenings when our thoughts turn to the end of day, the fuss and flurry of life dissolve to the sound of music. The sound of three flutes and a bassoon float over the Grassfield in the Summer Nights, written by our Principal Flute Jin Ta, while the beguiling combination of flute, viola and harp by way of Debussy promises enchantment and contemplation. Finally, be recharged by the unmistakable wit and vigour of Beethoven.
FORMAT: This will be a live concert held at the Victoria Concert Hall.
FeaturingChan Yoong-Han, violin / Zhao Tian, violin / Guan Qi, viola / Gu Bing Jie, viola / Ng Pei-Sian, cello / Jin Ta, flute / Miao Shanshan, flute / Evgueni Brokmiller, flute / Christoph Wichert, bassoon / Gulnara Mashurova, harp
ProgrammeGrassfield in the Summer Night for Three Flutes and Bassoon 夏夜的草坪 (World Premiere) | Ta Jin (Jin Ta) |
|---|---|
Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp | Claude Debussy (Debussy) |
String Quintet in C major, Op. 29 | Ludwig van Beethoven (Beethoven) |
SSO Christmas Fundraising Concert 2020
SSO Strings / Joshua Tan, Associate Conductor / Kong Zhao Hui, violin
Tue / 15 Dec 20 / 7.30pm
Wed / 16 Dec 20 / 7.30pm
Esplanade Concert Hall
UPDATE: For Tues, 15th Dec: Pre-Event Testing (PET) no longer required. Audience capacity reduced to 250.
For Weds, 16th Dec: Mandatory PET for attendees. In supporting Singapore’s efforts to allow resumption of large-scale events with a live audience, PET remains in place for this concert with an audience capacity of 400. We seek your understanding and greatly appreciate your support in this trial – you play a vital part in the nation’s progress to allow more live events safely.
Ticket holders can download the list of clinics here, and present this letter to the staff on duty. An FAQ for this concert can also be found here.
Welcome music into your lives again, live at the Esplanade Concert Hall! Join us in heralding the holiday season through musical peace and joy. Reinvigorate the air with Baroque Christmas concertos and traditional carols, including a new arrangement by Singapore composer Avik Chari. The SSO Christmas Fundraising Concert is a necessary first for us - help us keep music alive, help us deck the halls with melodies again.
All ticket proceeds are counted as donations to Singapore Symphonia Company Limited.
FORMAT: This will be a live concert held at the Esplanade Concert Hall.
FeaturingSSO Strings / Joshua Tan, Associate Conductor / Kong Zhao Hui, violin
ProgrammeNoëls pour les Instruments (“Carol for Instruments”) | Marc-Antoine Charpentier (Charpentier) |
|---|---|
Christmas Concerto | Francesco Manfredini (Manfredini) |
Winter from The Four Seasons^ | Antonio Vivaldi (Vivaldi) |
Carol of the Bells/God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen^ (arr. M. Riley) | Traditional |
Aria (Air on the G String, arr. Stokowski) | Johann Sebastian Bach (J.S. Bach) |
Fantasia on Greensleeves | Ralph Vaughan Williams (Vaughan Williams) |
A Christmas Dance “Sir Roger de Coverley” | Frank Bridge (Bridge) |
Dawn (arr. A. Chari) | Traditional |
NOTES FOR EDITORS
Important Note on the PET Pilot Trial at SSO Christmas Fundraising Concert
To enable more economic and social activities to resume in a safe manner, including larger scale events, the Ministry of Health (MOH) is piloting the use of pre-event testing to reduce the risk of a COVID-19 positive case being present at an event. This complements the suite of safe management measures that have been put in place, including mask-wearing, safe distancing, group size and capacity limits, which remain core measures to reduce the risk of transmission.
This performance is part of the pilot trial for the mandatory use of pre-event Antigen Rapid Test (ART) as one of the safe management measures for larger scale indoor live performances. Audience members will need to undergo a pre-event Antigen Rapid Test (ART) before being allowed to enter the venue. Details about the pre-event testing requirement and how to get tested will be emailed to audience members nearer to the date of the performance. As part of this pilot trial, the ART(s) and confirmatory Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests (if required) will be provided free of charge to audience members. For more information on pilots for pre-event testing, please see this fact sheet.
ABOUT THE SINGAPORE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Founded in 1979, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is Singapore’s flagship orchestra, touching lives through classical music and providing the heartbeat of the cultural scene. In addition to its subscription series concerts, the SSO is also known for its outdoor and community appearances. The orchestra also presents intimate chamber performances in the SSO Chamber Series and SSO Organ Series, the annual Singapore International Piano Festival (SIPF) and the biennial National Piano and Violin Competition (NPVC) at the Victoria Concert Hall, Home of the SSO. The SSO is part of the Singapore Symphony Group, which also manages the Singapore Symphony Choruses, and the Singapore National Youth Orchestra. 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.
The Singapore Symphony Orchestra was nominated and clinched third place in the prestigious Gramophone Orchestra of the Year Award 2021. In 2022, BBC Music Magazine named the SSO as one of the 21 best orchestras in the world.
Visit Singapore Symphony Orchestra’s website and find out more.
Follow Singapore Symphony’s Orchestra Facebook page, Instagram
and YouTube page
ABOUT CHIEF CONDUCTOR, HANS GRAF
Hans Graf assumed the title of Chief Conductor of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra in July 2020. His collaboration with the SSO has been described as an “inspired partnership” (The Straits Times). Graf was formerly Music Director of the Houston Symphony (2001–2013), the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine, the Basque National Orchestra and the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg. He has appeared with most major orchestras in the US and Canada, including a close collaboration with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. In Europe, Graf has conducted the Vienna Philharmonic, the London Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra among many others. Graf’s semi-staged production of Berg’s Wozzeck with the Houston Symphony won the GRAMMY and ECHO Klassik awards for best opera recording. In 2014 he was awarded the Österreichischer Musiktheaterpreis for Richard Strauss’s Feuersnot at the Vienna Volksoper.
For press enquiries, please contact:
Elizabeth Davis
T +65 6602 4239
elizabeth.davis@sso.org.sg