Developing A Pipeline Of Talent: Speech By President Tharman Shanmugaratnam at Singapore Symphony Orchestra's 45th Anniversary Benefit And Ball On 11th May At Ritz-Carlton Millenia

Mr Goh Yew Lin, Chair, Singapore Symphony Group

Distinguished guests 

1. It is a pleasure to join you today with my wife to commemorate Singapore Symphony Orchestra’s 45^th anniversary. 

2. My congratulations to the SSO, which has become a part of Singaporeans’ lives. Many would have memories of having attended at least one SSO concert, whether  in a concert hall or outdoors. 

3. Meanwhile, the SSO has performed extensively overseas and received acclaim. It has been recognised by publications such as Gramophone and the BBC Music Magazine as among the best orchestras in the world. 

A language that connects

4. But it is not just about winning awards or performing on the world stage. The arts and sports have the power to inspire, challenge, and connect people. 

5. Classical music, across the world’s cultures, stirs emotion and spurs the imagination. There’s the history behind the pieces, but there’s also the spontaneity of the performers. There’s precision, but there’s also a great feeling. 

6. The SSO has to be commended for bringing that feeling into the community. You have gone beyond ticketed performances, to make music accessible to all by regularly holding free concerts. Everyone is familiar with SSO’s outdoor concerts
   
   amidst nature at Singapore Botanic Gardens and Gardens by the Bay. But the orchestra also offers free concerts around the Civic District and in community venues from Woodlands to Clementi. 

7. Each year too, your musicians visit St Luke’s Hospital. And the SSO invites hundreds of beneficiaries from charities to experience the orchestra at our concert halls. For many, it is an unforgettable encounter. It may even be their first time entering a concert hall. 

   1. The SSO has also introduced a variety of concerts targeted at families with young children, as well as school programmes to stir an early appreciation of music. 

Developing a pipeline of young talent

8. None of this would be possible if the SSO did not nurture young talents to continue its mission. And that means giving budding musicians a chance to perform at the highest level, for example, as members of the Singapore National Youth Orchestra, or when the Singapore Symphony Youth and Children’s choirs perform alongside the SSO. 

   1. Tonight, we will have performances by two alumni of the annual President’s Young Performers Concert, also known as PYP: saxophonist Samuel Phua and mezzo-soprano Jade Tan. 

      • Samuel, also a SOTA alumnus, has represented Singapore in numerous international music events, and coaches young musicians as a music educator.

      • Jade, a Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music alumnus has achieved success in her own right, including her appearances with the Singapore Lyric Opera and Orchestra of Music Makers.

   2. In fact, two former PYP performers Chan Yoong-Han and Kong Xianlong are now full-time SSO musicians. 

   3. The SSO also recently appointed Ellissa Sayampanathan as Assistant Choral Conductor^[3]. She will take on not only an expanded artistic role, but also lead the company’s community-based projects. Ellissa is deeply involved in making the arts more accessible, as a music educator in Singapore schools, including our Special Education schools.

   4. Acclaimed violinist Chloe Chua, a past winner of the biennial National Piano and Violin Competition which SSO manages, was appointed SSO Artist-InResidence for the past two seasons after winning the Yehudi Menuhin Competition, and, as we heard, will be touring with the SSO to Australia next year.

9. We have to keep developing that pipeline. We have more young talents in music than we imagined just a few decades ago, and some truly outstanding ones. They emerge when we provide them opportunity. 

   1. The wide range of music co-curricular activities in schools, and the many community and professional music ensembles we have, are critical to discovering them and spurring them to stretch their ambitions.  

   2. Several have then been nurtured through the National Arts Council’s scholarships. Like Samuel Phua himself. And composer Terrence Wong Fei Yang. And conductor Wong Kah Chun, who currently helms the Japan Philharmonic as its Chief Conductor and will also begin his term this September as principal conductor and artistic advisor of The Hallé symphony orchestra in Manchester, UK.

Conclusion

10. As a national orchestra, SSO is pivotal to the ecosystem that both cultivates a love for music in our people, and nurtures the next generation of talented musicians.

11. All this has been achieved not only through the dedication of SSO’s musicians and administrative team, but also the generous support of the community itself and each of you in this room.

    • Your contributions enable the SSO to reach more people through music;

    • to commission local composers to create original symphonic music that we can call our own; 

    • to make Singapore proud by travelling as our national orchestra around the world; 

    • and to inspire more young music talents to believe that their dreams can indeed one day come true. 

12. Once again, my warmest congratulations to the SSO on your 45^th anniversary!