The Singapore Symphony Orchestra kick-starts its 2024/2025 season with a variety of exciting performances. In the coming months, relish the opportunity to watch world-class artists such as Sayaka Shoji, Karen Gomyo, Yiwen Lu, Maxim Vengerov, Lara Maigue, Moritz Ernst, Hélène Grimaud and Ingrid Fliter in action with the SSO. The Singapore and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras and Choruses will also perform the choral-orchestral spectacular Carmina Burana in a highly anticipated collaboration.

The SSO will participate in Asia Orchestra Week 2024 on 19 October, its first overseas performance since 2017. Started in 2002, Asia Orchestra Week is organised by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan. Following its previous appearance in Osaka, the SSO is proud to be invited once again as the only international orchestra in 2024. This year’s festival will be held in Kyoto, and SSO Music Director Hans Graf will conduct Beethoven’s mighty Fifth Symphony, Mendelssohn’s Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream andLuciola singapura, a multi-award-winning composition by Singaporean composer Koh Cheng Jin. The renowned Hélène Grimaud will also star in Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G.

“Japan is a nation that deeply values the arts and culture, and it is an honour for the SSO to be invited to perform at Asia Orchestra Week,” says His Excellency Ong Eng Chuan, Singapore Ambassador to Japan. “This is a wonderful opportunity for Singapore to not only showcase the exceptional talent of our musicians on an international stage, but also strengthen our warm relationship with friends in Japan.”

The same programme (without the Mendelssohn) will be performed in Singapore on 16 October at the Victoria Concert Hall for Singapore audiences to enjoy. The SSO will also be participating in a symposium on 20 October at Hulic Hall Kyoto, alongside speakers from the City of Kyoto Symphony Orchestra. They will be discussing the role of arts organisations in Singapore and Kyoto, focusing on educational programmes and how they impact youth.

Violinists David Coucheron and Kevin Lin have been jointly appointed as Co-Principal Guest Concertmasters of the SSO. Norwegian violinist David Coucheron joined the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra as Concertmaster in September 2010. At the time, he was the youngest concertmaster among any major US orchestras. Throughout his career, David has worked with world-renowned conductors such as Robert Spano, Michael Tilson Thomas, Simon Rattle, Mstislav Rostropovich and Charles Dutoit, among others. In addition to regular performances this season, he will also join the SSO on tour in Australia in February 2025. 

Originally from the greater New York area, Kevin Lin currently serves as the Concertmaster of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, and is a highly sought-after concertmaster, previously holding the position of Co-Leader in the London Philharmonic Orchestra and with guest appearances at the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Milwaukee Symphony Orchestras, the Houston Symphony, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London, the Taiwan Philharmonic and the SSO amongst others.  

In August, the Temasek Foundation x SSO National Day Concert will celebrate the works of our musical forefathers and showcase music from the composers of today, including three winning pieces from the NDC 2024 Call for Compositions. Members of the Singapore National Youth Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Choruses, and various school choirs and bands will perform together alongside the SSO, under the baton of Leonard Tan. Held at the Esplanade Concert Hall, this concert will also be livestreamed on the Singapore Symphony YouTube channel.

In September, the annual President’s Young Performers Concert will see two of Singapore’s finest young pianists take the stage. Toby Tan and Adrian Tang will be performing Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini and Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 1 respectively, accompanied by the SSO, and conducted by SSO Associate Conductor Rodolfo Barráez with President Tharman Shanmugaratnam as Guest of Honour.

Classical music superstars Maxim Vengerov and Hélène Grimaud will make their highly anticipated return in August and October respectively. Maxim Vengerov will perform the popular Sibelius Violin Concerto with former SSO Principal Guest Conductor Okko Kamu, and Hélène Grimaud will perform Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G with SSO Music Director Hans Graf. Both artists will also perform recitals. 

Another not-to-be-missed SSO Gala evening is Carmina Burana. Carl Orff’s grandiloquent 1937 oratorio will be presented by almost 300 performers live. Conducted by Jaime Martín, the highly anticipated collaboration between the Singapore and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras and Choruses will feature vocal soloists Siobhan Stagg, Andrew Goodwin, and Christopher Tonkin. This concert serves as a precursor to the SSO’s Australian debut tour across Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane in February 2025.

Young audiences or those new to classical music can look forward to more accessible programmes in the calendar. Appreciate how music has been a vital storytelling ingredient in SSO Pops: Classics at the Movies on 27 and 28 September. Join conductor Gerard Salonga, singing sensation Lara Maigueand SSO violinist Chan Yoong-Han in this cinematic journey of unforgettable scores that have transcended time and memory through film and animation.

Tickets for the SSO Concerts for Children series have also been released, starting with Pirates Ahoy! in September – a seafaring, swashbuckling pirate-themed programmed led by presenter Alasdair “Awesome Al” Malloy and conductor Rodolfo Barráez. For parents looking to introduce their babies and toddlers to classical music, the SSO Babies’ Proms is a popular choice. This well-established programme has entertained generations of kids every year.

Witness the many ways Halloween can come alive in music with SSO Organ Series: A Gothic Halloween. This spooky concert will feature the Male Chorus of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Shane Thio on the celesta and piano, organist Boey Jir Shin, Assistant Choral Conductor Ellissa Sayampanathan, as well as Choral Director and organist Eudenice Palaruan, whose composition Caña will also be performed.

The SSO Chamber Series begins with a pair of concerts featuring SSO Principal Harp Gulnara Mashurova with musicians of the SSO. A Love of French Music is a programme dedicated to the inimitable style, finesse and beauty of French music, and Enchanting Ravel will present music from Ravel and Franck. 

The SSO Baroque Festival also returns with two concerts, Music of the Knight and Water Music Sweet, led by Willi Zimmermann, concertmaster of the Zurich Chamber Orchestra and guest leader of the Berlin Baroque Soloists. The programmes will feature signature gems of Baroque repertoire, such as Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, Telemann’s Don Quixote Suite and Handel’s Water Music.