SINGAPORE SYMPHONY ANNOUNCES 2019/20 CONCERT SEASON

SINGAPORE SYMPHONY ANNOUNCES 2019/20 CONCERT SEASON
An “orchestral soundtrack” for Singapore; latest SSO season features 32 artist debuts, new Singaporean works, and violinist Rachel Barton Pine as SSO Artist-in-Residence

SSO 2019/20 Artist-in-Residence:
Violinist Rachel Barton Pine

Artists:
[32 artist debuts] Gautier Capuçon, Joseph Calleja, the Jussen brothers, Seong-jin Cho, Martin Grubinger, Karl-Heinz Schütz, and more (see Annex A)

[Returning] Leonidas Kavakos, Wang Jian, Tasmin Little, Albert Tiu, and more

Guest Conductors:
SSO Principal Guest Conductor Andrew Litton leads four concerts in the season

[8 debuts] Mario Venzago, Stephen Layton, Krzysztof Penderecki, Shi-yeon Sung, and more

[Returning] Thomas Dausgaard, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Yu Long, Hannu Lintu, Hans Graf, and more

New Commissions & Singaporean Artists:
Newly-commissioned works from Joyce Koh, Tony Makarome and Lee Jinjun

Singapore artists include Akilesh VMS, Jeremy Monteiro, and Kevin Loh

SSO Friends Pass:
Launch of brand new season pass for concertgoers

The SSO 2019/20 concert season features both familiar and new music, with a slate of exciting guest conductor and artist debuts, new commissioned works, and the announcement of the orchestra’s latest Artist-in-Residence.

CEO of the Singapore Symphony Group Chng Hak-Peng commenting on the season’s offerings:

“The SSO’s 2019/20 season poses the question, ‘What is our place in the world?’ Contemporary concerns form the backdrop of the season. Singapore’s debate on the meaning of the bicentennial of 1819 and our national identity, and climate change. This has inspired us to explore our community’s sense of history, and the ‘space’ we inhabit in geographical, cosmic, and cultural terms. The three themes for this season are “British Journeys”, “Voice of a City”, and “Nature and the Universe”.

“In addition we continue to offer repertoire to meet the different needs and wants of our wide-ranging audience. For those who can’t get enough of the perennially popular composers, there are works from the likes of Beethoven, Haydn and Mozart. For explorers of new sounds, we perform contemporary music within and outside our Red Balloon series. Choral lovers can also look forward to operatic arias from Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja, as well as other choral works by Beethoven and Faure.”

Three themes to SSO Season 2019/20:

A set of concerts looks at Great Britain and the sea-faring journeys that started and ended there – from the works of European musicians who were inspired by their travels to London and Scotland, to those of British composers in the 19th to early 20th century writing about their travels and the world around them.

1. STEVEN OSBORNE PLAYS MOZART 25 & 26 JULY 2019
2. SCOTTISH FANTASY • RACHEL BARTON PINE 26 OCTOBER 2019
3. ELGAR VIOLIN CONCERTO & ENIGMA VARIATIONS 1 NOVEMBER 2019
4. AKIKO SUWANAI PLAYS MOZART 28 & 29 NOVEMBER 2019
5. PHILIPPE QUINT • THE RED VIOLIN 5 MARCH 2020

In another set, the SSO follows the Voice of a City through music inspired by and composed in the cosmopolitan cities of Singapore, Leipzig, Dresden, and New York.

1. SSO NATIONAL DAY CONCERT 10 AUGUST 2019
2. MASATO SUZUKI – INSPIRED BY LEIPZIG 6 SEPTEMBER 2019
3. KAHCHUN WONG & KARL-HEINZ SCHÜTZ 19 OCTOBER 2019
4. NADIA SIROTA • NICO MUHLY VIOLA CONCERTO 1 MAY 2020

The concerts also explore Nature and the Universe with pastoral- and cosmic-themed works including two film concerts celebrating the aurora borealis and marking the 50th year of Man’s landing on the moon.

1. RED BALLOON SERIES: MOONRISE AND AURORA 30 AUGUST 2019
2. CHORUS OF THE PLANETS 8 NOVEMBER 2019
3. THE JUSSEN BROTHERS PLAY MOZART 22 & 23 NOVEMBER 2019
4. SSO POPS: THE MUSIC OF STAR WARS 19 & 20 DECEMBER 2019
5. MARTIN GRUBINGER • THE TEARS OF NATURE 29 FEBRUARY 2020
6. RED BALLOON SERIES: PENDERECKI CONDUCTS PENDERECKI 8 MAY 2020

This season, the orchestra announces its latest Artist-in-Residence, American violinist Rachel Barton Pine, who will perform in two concerts at the Esplanade Concert Hall, conducted by SSO Principal Guest Conductor Andrew Litton and returning Polish conductor Michał Nesterowicz, respectively. Known for her philanthropic work and inspiring life story, Pine will also give a talk at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory Forum series.

Four Singapore premieres feature in this season’s lineup: Zhou Tian’s Cello Concerto “Flowing Sleeves”; Penderecki’s Horn Concerto and “Adagio”; Salgado’s Aurora Triptych; and George Enescu’s Pastorale Fantaisie for small orchestra, where the last will also be an Asian premiere.

The SSO will unveil four newly-commissioned works, one each from Joyce Koh and Tony Makarome and two from Lee Jinjun – where the latter three works will premiere at the SSO National Day Concert on 10 August 2019. Singaporean musicians who will perform with the SSO this season include Akilesh VMS, Jeremy Monteiro, Kevin Loh, Nawaz Mirajkar, Samuel Phua, and Tama Goh.

In addition, audiences can look forward to music by some of the most exciting Asian composers today, including Zhao Lin, Zhou Tian, and Chen Qigang.

This will be SSO’s first season since former Music Director Lan Shui stepped down in January 2019 after a 22-year career with the national orchestra. The SSO appointed its new Director of Artistic Planning Hans Sørensen, also in January 2019, who will plan the 2020/21 concert season. The orchestra is currently on a global search for its Chief Conductor.

Launch of New “Friends Season Pass”

After a year’s hiatus, SSO has launched a new Friends programme aimed at strengthening the orchestra’s friendship with regular concertgoers through savings and privileges. To become Friends, patrons can purchase the brand new SSO Friends Season Pass, available for 3, 6 or 12 concerts and enjoy savings of up to 25%. All Friends will enjoy exclusive perks like meet-the-artist sessions, the convenience of online ticket redemptions, as well as additional discounts for Singapore Symphony Group activities. For list of entitlements, please see the Annex B.

Tickets for Youth and Charities:

The SSO continues to focus on making concert experiences affordable and accessible. Tickets in Categories 3 to 6 are kept affordable with the support of Temasek Foundation Nurtures. The SSO Young Symphony Explorers programme, supported by donors such as Swire and Santa Lucia Asset Management, extends discounted or complimentary tickets to youth and students. Free tickets are also available for charities in Singapore.

Contact for schools: ticketing@sso.org.sg
Contact for charities: sharing_music@sso.org.sg

ANNEX A

Artist Debuts for SSO 2019/2020 season: 32 in total

ANNEX B

SSO Friends Season Pass