VCHpresents 2022/23 Jan-Jun Season Brochure

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Chair Goh Yew Lin

Deputy Chair Yong Ying-I

Directors

Chang Chee Pey

Chng Hak-Peng Chng Kai Fong

Prof Arnoud De Meyer Warren Fernandez Liew Wei Li Sanjiv Misra Lynette Pang

Prof Qin Li-Wei Geoffrey Wong Yee Chen Fah Andrew Yeo Khirn Hin Yasmin Zahid

Message from the Director of Artistic Planning

It gives us great pleasure to open the doors of the Victoria Concert Hall (VCH) once again to welcome you to the 2022/23 season.

We are thrilled to present recitals that have been making waves around the world. Rising soprano Evelina Dobračeva will captivate with an evening of sublime songs, and the stunning virtuosity of popular Canadian violinist James Ehnes makes a return to the VCH. The Litton Duo, featuring Andrew Litton (piano) and Katharina Kang Litton (viola), takes the stage in November.

SSO Baroque Festival, a crowd-pleaser and staple of VCHpresents, will see Peter Hanson lead the orchestra and take the audience through the likes of Handel and J.S. Bach over the two-day programme.

We present our Organ Series brought to you by Lee Foundation and our Singaporean organists. Catch Phoon Yu as he returns to perform this August and delight in Halloween celebrations with Loraine Muthiah. Ring in the Christmas cheer with Yap Wai Hoong, Evelyn Lim and the Ministry of Bellz as we mark the festive season this December.

We also look forward to Intimate Moments, a series in Mandarin supported by Lianhe Zaobao, where Guan Qi, Associate Principal Viola of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra will play pieces by composers inspired by their homeland.

The highly anticipated relaxation of COVID-19 measures has brought us into this new season. With the concert hall now filled with eager audience, we certainly hope it adds to the richness of your experience with us.

Welcome back to our home.

Hans Sørensen Director of Artistic Planning Singapore Symphony Group

Victoria Concert

The historic Victoria Concert Hall is Home to the Singapore Symphony Orchestra.

Concert Hall

Facing Empress Place on the banks of the Singapore River, the Victoria Concert Hall (VCH) is Singapore’s oldest concert hall and has been Home of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) since 1980. The VCH is host of the VCHpresents series, the annual Singapore International Piano Festival (SIPF) and the biennial National Piano and Violin Competition (NPVC) as well as regular outreach and community performances by the SSO.

Within the hall’s intimate acoustics and beautifully restored interior, each of its 673 seats offers an immediate connection with the artistes on its stage, creating memorable experiences from outstanding classical music performances to young audiences’ first encounters with rhythm and sounds.

Designed by architectural firm Swan & McLaren and built between 1902 and 1905 as a memorial hall in honour of Queen Victoria, the iconic hall was renovated from 1979 to 1980 to serve as a concert venue for the national orchestra. In 1987, the majestic Klais organ, Singapore’s only fully mechanical organ with its 2,012 pipes, was installed in VCH through the fundraising efforts of the then-newly formed Singapore Symphony Orchestra Ladies’ League.

In 2010, VCH underwent a four-year-long restoration by Singapore’s W Architects, with acoustics firm Arup as advisor, before reopening in 2014. During the process, 25 artisans from South India were flown in to restore the intricately carved pillars inside the Concert Hall. The hall’s renewed façade and improved facilities serve to accentuate the historic aura and heartfelt intimacy of the space.

Our learning and access programmes at VCH have engaged and drawn diverse audiences. From light entertainment to experimental theatre, concerts for children to recitals for connoisseurs, the Victoria Concert Hall has something for everyone. Numerous performers have inspired audiences through repertoire ranging from brass chorales to full symphony choirs, from jazz trio to world music ensembles, from string quartets to piano and organ soloists. Activities include free concerts, and tickets start at $4 for schools.

The VCH Rose Studio, an exclusive recording facility, captures the magic on stage, allowing us to share it with audiences outside the concert hall.

Welcome to music, welcome to our home.

The Klais Organ

The Victoria Concert Hall’s Klais organ is Singapore’s only fully mechanical organ, and has strong emotional links with generations of audiences. It was first installed in 1987 through fundraising efforts from the then-newly formed Singapore Symphony Orchestra Ladies’ League.

The Klais organ, built by German organ-builder Orgelbau Klais, replaced the St. Clair organ that had been built in the Victoria Concert Hall (VCH) some 50 years earlier in 1931. The St. Clair organ was named after Major W. G. St. Clair, founder of the old Philharmonic Society and the first editor of the Singapore Free Press, and its façade was retained after the installation of the Klais organ.

In 2010, with the redevelopment of the VCH and Victoria Theatre, the organ – consisting

Visit www.sso.org.sg/klais-organ to find out more.

of a total of 2,012 pipes – was methodically removed piece by piece, repaired and stored in climate-controlled warehouses during the refurbishment period. Many donors and supporters of classical music, notably the Lee Foundation, stepped forward to provide financial support for the restoration.

When the VCH reopened in the second half of 2014, the lovely Klais pipe organ once again took centrestage both visually and musically, providing awe-inspiring and delicate strains of music to old and new audiences. The Singapore Symphony Group started the VCH Organ Series in 2014 as a set of specially curated concerts to showcase the beauty and power of the Klais organ to the people of Singapore.

Light to Night Festival

The Light to Night Festival returns to the Victoria Concert Hall in January 2023!

Enjoy a kaleidoscope of engaging programmes by various arts groups and beautiful art projected on the façade of Singapore’s oldest concert hall.

The Singapore Symphony Orchestra’s VCHpresents series will be putting on performances and tours both online and within the Concert Hall over two weeks.

Jan 2023 Concert Hall, Atrium,

Online Registration

Time Remembered — Bill Evans

“Jazz is not a style, it’s a process” - so said the inimitable, one-of-a-kind Bill Evans.

This homage to one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time and his legendary trio is brought to you by the Thomas Clausen Trio, led by the prolific composer-pianist himself, Thomas Clausen.

The programme includes his own compositions, such as one for his late wife, “For Pi”, a one-of-a-kind ballad echoing Evans’s art, plus pieces from the Trio’s latest release, Back2Basics, including “Edelweiss”, “Nature Boy” and Billy Strayhorn’s “Blood Count”.

Sun, 8 Jan 2023 4pm Concert Hall

THOMAS CLAUSEN TRIO Thomas Clausen, Piano Thomas Fonnesbæk, Bass Karsten Bagge, Drums

Love is in the Air

Love is friendship set to music, so goes the famous saying. Let us take you and your loved one to another level with music to express that where words fail.

CLARA SCHUMANN Piano Trio in G minor, Op. 17

ROBERT SCHUMANN Piano Quintet in E-flat major, Op. 44

Schubert’s Piano Sonatas with Paul Lewis

“Several people assured me that under my hands the keys become singing voices, which, if it is true, pleases me very much.” So admitted Schubert once.

In the hands of renowned English pianist Paul Lewis, whose performances and recordings of Schubert have received unanimous acclaim worldwide, this recital of three piano sonatas will no doubt prove Schubert’s delicate, self-assured poetry in music.

SCHUBERT

Piano Sonata in C major, D. 840

Piano Sonata in A major, D. 664

Sat, 18 Feb 2023 7:30pm Concert Hall PAUL LEWIS, PIANO

KIKKAS

Daniel Moult — Organ Rhythm

Hear a selection by the classical greats before a showcase of English pipe organ ingenuity. Witness footwork virtuosity in Thalben-Ball’s Paganini Variations and end the weekend with a touch of folk and jazz, all performed by “one of the finest organists of our time” (The Organ), Daniel Moult.

J.S. BACH Toccata and Fugue in C major, BWV 566a

MENDELSSOHN Theme and Variations in D major MOZART Fantasia in F minor, K. 608

THALBEN-BALL Variations on a Theme by Paganini for Organ Pedals

WHITLOCK Folk Tune from Five Short Pieces

BRITTON Variations on Gershwin’s I Got Rhythm

With support from the Singapore Chapter of the American Guild of Organists.

Sun, 5 Mar 2023 4pm Concert Hall

DANIEL MOULT, ORGAN

Masterclass: Sat, 4 Mar 2023, 3pm Concert Hall

(To register, please visit singaporeago.org)

Sponsored by

Bringing stories to life with music is a time-honoured tradition. This instalment of the VCHpresents Intimate Moments series features three original stories by Yu Jing, Associate Principal Cellist of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, set to music arranged by husband Jin Ta, Principal Flute of the SSO. Come enjoy the ingenuity of this creative couple and chat with Yu Jing and host Zhang Heyang.

Farewell Concerto

Led by Music Director and veteran Singapore Symphony violinist Foo Say Ming, the re: mix Ensemble and organist Koh Jia Hwei present a fascinating programme of music contemplating the melancholy and desolation of war. The highly under-rated English composer Herbert Howells is represented by his war-time Psalm Preludes for organ, while French film composer Georges Delerue is heard in his sorrowful account of the 1992 epic French war masterpiece, Diên Biên Phu

HIGHLIGHTS

HOWELLS Psalm 34 v. 6 from 3 Psalm Preludes Set 1, Op. 32 VIERNE Épitaphe and Postlude from 24 Pièces en style libre, Op. 31 VITALI (ARR. RESPIGHI) Chaconne* DELERUE Concerto de l’Adieu (Farewell Concerto)*

Sat, 15 Apr 2023 7:30pm Concert Hall

KOH JIA HWEI, ORGAN

RE: MIX ENSEMBLE* Foo Say Ming, Music Director

Schumann Quartet — Debussy, Janáček & Brahms

The three brothers Mark, Erik, and Ken Schumann have been playing music together since their early childhood, and together with German violist Veit Hertenstein form the Schumann Quartet.

Join them with musicians of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra in this attractive programme of three gems from the chamber string repertoire: Debussy’s scintillating Danses for harp and strings, the evocative musings of Janáček’s “Kreutzer Sonata” (after Tolstoy) and Brahms’s heartfelt Romantic warmth.

DEBUSSY Danses sacrée et profane for Harp & Strings JANÁČEK String Quartet No. 1 “Kreutzer Sonata” BRAHMS String Sextet No. 1 in B-flat major, Op. 18

Wed, 10 May 2023 7:30pm

Concert Hall

SCHUMANN QUARTET

Erik Schumann, violin Ken Schumann, violin Velt Hertenstein, viola Mark Schumann, cello

MUSICIANS OF THE SSO

HARALD HOFFMAN

Schumann Quartet — Brahms & Beethoven

These pieces were special favourites. Brahms 1875 Third String Quartet was his last, and also his own personal favourite.

Beethoven’s youthfully vibrant Septet in E-flat from 1799 was enormously popular with the public during his lifetime, to the point that the composer feared it would overshadow his other works.

The Schumann Quartet is again joined by musicians –including winds - of the Singapore Symphony in this second outing.

BRAHMS String Quartet No. 3 in B-flat major, Op. 67

BEETHOVEN Septet in E-flat Major, Op. 20

Thu, 11 May 2023 7:30pm Concert Hall

SCHUMANN QUARTET

Erik Schumann, violin

Ken Schumann, violin

Velt Hertenstein, viola Mark Schumann, cello

MUSICIANS OF THE SSO

HARALD HOFFMAN

open house

Join us at the Victoria Concert Hall for a day of musical fun! From educational programmes in the Concert Hall and Atrium, to backstage and historical tours of the building - there’s definitely something for everyone!

HIGHLIGHTS

Concerts in the Concert Hall & Atrium Backstage tours Music workshops and talks Instrument petting zoo

The Singapore International Piano Festival was established in 1994, when solo piano recitals were a rare event in the country. Now approaching its 29th edition, the festival has become a highlight of the international music calendar and is today Asia’s premier piano festival.

Past editions of the festival have featured the virtuosos Martha Argerich, Yuja Wang, Stephen Kovacevich, Nikolai Demidenko, Pascal Rogé, Piotr Anderszewski, Stephen Hough, Benjamin Grosvenor, Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, among others.

The Composer and the Mouse

In this animated double-bill, the evergreen children’s classic, The Carnival of the Animals, is paired with The Composer and the Mouse, created by Tom Scott. The latter tells the story of a talented yet hapless composer who finds his own musical style with the help of a mouse. A fun introduction to classical music combining film and original music for organ and piano, performed live by the Scott Brothers Duo.

MOZART Overture to The Magic Flute

TOM SCOTT The Composer and The Mouse

GRIEG In the Hall of the Mountain King from Peer Gynt, Op. 23 SAINT-SAËNS The Carnival of the Animals

Sat, 17 Jun 2023 2pm & 5pm Concert Hall

SCOTT BROTHERS DUO Jonathan Scott, organ Tom Scott, piano and animator

Organ Exhibition: VCH Atrium 1pm – 6:30pm

PHOTO: ALOYSIUS LIM

VCHPRESENTS CHAMBER: JAMES EHNES IN RECITAL Violin extraordinaire James Ehnes performing an unaccompanied recital to a full house on 23 October 2022.

VCHPRESENTS ORGAN: WHOSE HILL IS THIS?

PHOTO: JUNYI YONG

Storyteller Rosemarie Somaiah tells a story about two bears and their journey for a home, accompanied by Evelyn Lim on the organ (18 June 2022).

Book Your Tickets

Online at www.sso.org.sg

SISTIC

Call SISTIC at (65) 6348 5555 Visit the SSO box office at the Victoria Concert Hall or any SISTIC authorised agent near you

Please contact our Customer Experience Team at (65) 6602 4245, WhatsApp (65) 8282 3709 or email ticketing@sso.org.sg for assistance.

Admission Guidelines

Chamber, Intimate Moments, Organ Concerts*

Admission age: 7 years old

*Organ: The Composer and the Mouse

Admission age: Recommended for ages 5 and above. No admission for infants-in-arms

SSO Friends Season Pass, SSO Donors Discount 10% off Concessions

Students, senior citizens (55 years and above), full-time NSF men and persons with disabilities (PWDs) enjoy concession discounts on production of identification. Venue ushers may request to view a valid concession pass. Concession tickets are strictly non-transferable.

Schools, Charity Organisations

Students can enjoy world-class performances at the Victoria Concert Hall at subsidised ticket prices as low as $4.

Schools are able to use the Tote Board Arts Grant to subsidise up to 50% (excluding GST) of the final ticket price. Prices before booking fee.

For schools, contact our Customer Experience team at (65) 6602 4245 or ticketing@sso.org.sg

. For charity organisations, write to us at corporate@sso.org.sg

Committees

NOMINATING AND EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Goh Yew Lin (Chair)

Prof Arnoud De Meyer (Treasurer) Geoffrey Wong Yong Ying-I

HUMAN RESOURCES COMMITTEE

Yong Ying-I (Chair) Chng Kai Fong Prof Arnoud De Meyer Heinrich Grafe Doris Sohmen-Pao

INVESTMENT COMMITTEE

Geoffrey Wong (Chair) Sanjiv Misra David Goh Alex Lee

AUDIT COMMITTEE

Yee Chen Fah (Chair) Warren Faernandez Lim Mei Jovi Seet

SNYO COMMITTEE

Liew Wei Li (Chair)

Prof Qin Li-Wei Benjamin Goh Vivien Goh

Dr Kee Kirk Chin Clara Lim-Tan

SSO COUNCIL

Alan Chan (Chair)

Odile Benjamin

Prof Chan Heng Chee Choo Chiau Beng Dr Geh Min Heinrich Grafe Khoo Boon Hui Lim Mei JY Pillay Dr Stephen Riady Priscylla Shaw

Prof Gralf Sieghold Andreas Sohmen-Pao Prof Bernard Tan Dr Tan Chin Nam Tan Choo Leng Tan Soo Nan Wee Ee Cheong

SSO MUSICIANS’ COMMITTEE

Mario Choo Guo Hao David Smith Wang Xu Christoph Wichert Elaine Yeo Zhao Tian

Management

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Chng Hak-Peng Kenneth Kwok (CEO-designate)

ARTISTIC PLANNING

Hans Sørensen (Head)

ARTISTIC ADMINISTRATION

Teo Chew Yen Jodie Chiang Lynnette Chng

OPERATIONS

Ernest Khoo (Head)

LIBRARY

Lim Lip Hua (Head) Avik Chari Wong Yi Wen

ORCHESTRA MANAGEMENT

Chia Jit Min (Head) Peck Xin Hui

PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT

Noraihan Bte Nordin (Head) Fenella Ng Giovanni Harris Ramayah Elango Khairi Edzhairee

Jan Soh (Digital Producer)

COMMUNITY IMPACT

Kok Tse Wei (Head)

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Kua Li Leng (Head) Erin Tan Samantha Lim Terrence Wong

CHORAL PROGRAMMES

Kua Li Leng (Head) Regina Lee Whitney Tan Mimi Syaahira Bte Ruslaine

SINGAPORE NATIONAL YOUTH ORCHESTRA

Pang Siu Yuin (Head) Tang Ya Yun Tan Sing Yee

ABRSM

Patricia Yee Lai Li-Yng Joong Siow Chong Freddie Loh May Looi William Teo

CEO OFFICE Shirin Foo Musriah Bte Md Salleh

PATRONS

DEVELOPMENT

Chelsea Zhao (Head)

Anderlin Yeo Nikki Chuang

Charmaine Fong Elliot Lim Jessica Lee

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS

Cindy Lim (Head)

Chia Han-Leon (Content Lead) Calista Lee (Digital Projects) Sean Tan Myrtle Lee Hong Shu Hui Jana Loh Sherilyn Lim Elizabeth Low

CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

Randy Teo Dacia Cheang Joy Tagore

CORPORATE SERVICES

FINANCE, IT & FACILITIES

Rick Ong (Head)

Alan Ong Goh Hoey Fen Loh Chin Huat Md Zailani Bin Md Said

HUMAN RESOURCES AND LEGAL

Valeria Tan (Head)

Janice Yeo

Fionn Tan Evelyn Siew Edward Loh

ORGANISATION DEVELOPMENT Lilian Yin

P A T R O N SP O NS O R

PATRON SPONSOR

M A T C HE D B Y

MAJOR D O N O R S

MATCHED BY MAJOR DONORS

Mr & Mrs

Goh Yew Lin

SEASON P A R TNER S

Official Radio St ation

Official Community Par tner

Official Outdoor Media Par tner

Riady Group of Foundations

Official Air line

SEASON P A T R O N S

The mission of the Singapore Symphony Group is to create memorable shared experiences with music. Through the SSO and its affiliated per forming groups, we spread the love for music, nur ture talent and enrich our diver se communities. The Singapore Symphony Orchestra is a charity and not-for-profit organisation. You can suppor t us by donating at www.sso.org.sg/donate.

Stephen

SEASON PARTNERS SEASON PATRONS

The mission of the Singapore Symphony Group 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 is a charity and not-for-profit organisation. You can support us by donating at www.sso.org.sg/donate.