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Orchestral music for the masses

SINGAPORE — Commonality. That’s what the partnership between Temasek Holdings and the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is all about.

Conductor Jason Lai will be leading the Singapore Symphony Orchestra for Temasek’s 40th anniversary celebratory concert series. Credit: Alan Lim

Conductor Jason Lai will be leading the Singapore Symphony Orchestra for Temasek’s 40th anniversary celebratory concert series. Credit: Alan Lim

SINGAPORE — Commonality. That’s what the partnership between Temasek Holdings and the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is all about.

Just what do these two powerhouses of their respective industries have in common? Temasek president Lee Theng Kiat said: “We are very happy to note that the SSO is 35 years old this year — together, Temasek and SSO have shared a history of growing with Singapore.”

To celebrate these anniversaries, the Temasek Holdings and the SSO have come up with a concert series, Sharing The Journey — At Home With The Classics, a three-night “tour” of sorts that begins tonight, which will take the SSO around Singapore.

The shows will feature a special selection of music curated just for the occasion by conductor Jason Lai (picture), who previously conducted for the BBC Philharmonic and is currently the principal conductor of the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory Orchestra, as well as the associate conductor of both the SSO and the Hong Kong Sinfonietta.

The series has been designed to be “highly interactive”, in that Lai will be talking to the audience about the background of the pieces before they are performed. However, don’t expect it to be a boring lesson on classical music.

“It won’t be too much of an educational evening — I’d like to try and draw the audience in, to relax and enjoy the music,” said Lai.

The SSO will be performing a myriad of genres, from movie soundtracks (Star Wars), to musicals (West Side Story), to opera (Bizet’s Carmen Suite). There will also be a few songs about this island in the sun — Lai said Kelly Tang’s Sketches Of Singapore is included in the set list — and he hinted that the audience can expect some familiar favourites.

“But I won’t be telling you which ones they are — the audience will just have to listen out for them!” he laughed. “I put the programme together keeping in mind that we don’t want to scare the audience off by only playing serious classical music —there will be something for everyone.” TINA VILLAREAL

 

The SSO performs at Tay Eng Soon Convention Centre, ITE College Central (Aug 1, 7.30pm), Yong Siew Toh Conservatory (Aug 2, 4pm) and Victoria Junior College (Aug 3, 4pm). Tickets at S$10 from SISTIC. For more details, visit http://www.sso.org.sg

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