Singapore Chinese Orchestra rethinks multiculturalism as it turns 30

SINGAPORE – At 30, the Singapore Chinese Orchestra (SCO) is still mistaken by international programmers as an ensemble from China. This is despite decades of efforts spent on forging a distinct multicultural Nanyang-style repertoire since maestro Yeh Tsung’s music directorship started in 2002.

Quek Ling Kiong, 59 – SCO’s first Singapore-born and Singapore-raised principal conductor who has been with the orchestra since 1997 – has a plan to revamp that international image.

Since he was appointed principal conductor in 2023, Quek has been busy beefing up a new touring menu with commissions inspired by Singaporean cultural titans from xinyao legend Liang Wern Fook to the late grandfather of sculptor Ng Eng Teng.

“Singapore is multicultural not only in terms of ethnicity, but (also) in terms of different disciplines. When I work with different art forms and artists, there’s always a new possibility – this, to me, is the spirit of Singapore itself,” Quek tells The Straits Times at his office in the Singapore Conference Hall.

Future tours might not just feature pure music, he says, but also incorporate distinct visuals and videos drawn from the Republic’s vast palette of artistic titans.

The three concerts in Singapore under the Cultural Titans banner wrapped up in June 2026, but Quek is considering turning it into a signature programme that could help launch compositions that, in turn, could tour.

A new five-movement anniversary commission by Law Wai Lun titled Lion City Symphony premiering at the SCO’s closing gala concert on Nov 21 might also have touring potential, says Quek, although he has yet to see the score at the time of the interview.

The SCO’s special 30th anniversary season opened on July 18 and it is offering 30 per cent off tickets to the seven concerts in the season until the end of August. The season – titled Looking Back, Giving Back – also features tribute concerts to SCO’s conductors past and present.

Quek’s affable personality and willingness to take Chinese orchestra music to new audiences through his various personas has earned him the moniker of the “people’s conductor”.

A personal milestone since his tenure was an invitation in 2023 to perform in Shanghai, where he reprised his young children’s concert character Quek Quek. He is also hoping to bring his other beloved labourer persona Ah De overseas, a way of engaging international audiences through the Nanyang story.

In its three decades, the SCO has built a dedicated fan base among seniors and is regularly “planting seeds for the future” through the schools’ performing arts-based learning programmes.

It is the missing generation that Quek wants to court in the SCO’s next chapter – young adults about the same age as the orchestra, who have the spending power but not the kind of exposure nor affinity with Chinese orchestral music as the two generations they are sandwiched between.

“We have to think of a method. I must believe that well-played music has its own magical power, but I must open that door,” says Quek.

In the anniversary season, he shows a willingness to experiment with new ideas – the opening concert’s programme was inspired by the blind box concept, kept secret and selected based on a personality quiz that audiences filled.

The SCO’s recently introduced merchandise line of cute plushies of Chinese orchestra instruments has also attracted many interested new donors.

Started as the People’s Association Chinese Orchestra in 1968, the group restructured and established itself as a professional national orchestra in 1996.

With more students exposed to Chinese orchestra schools, the Singapore National Youth Chinese Orchestra – also led by Quek – has, too, become a talent pool supplying some of the best musicians to the SCO, which has an orchestra strength of 85.

Quek tells the story of how being part of a Chinese orchestra turned him from a defiant boy who liked to play truant into a better, more disciplined person.

In 1997, he joined SCO as its principal percussionist and has gradually risen through the ranks. He thinks of this as the “hidden drive” behind his leadership: “I want to share this good thing with many people.”

On creating a more distinct identity and international reputation for the SCO, Quek says the next step would be to pursue more international collaborations. In particular, he wants to work with the rich musical traditions around South-east Asia, which have soundscapes and colours that resonate well with the Chinese orchestral tradition.

He adds: “The good thing is that the concept of the Chinese orchestra has not been 100 per cent settled. For us, we don’t have this burden and there are a lot of opportunities.”

Book It/SCO30 – Looking Back, Giving Back

Where: SCO Concert Hall, Singapore Conference Hall, 7 Shenton Way
When: July till Nov 21, various timings
Admission: $20 to $90 before 30 per cent discount, which is applicable till end of August; except for A Voyage Of Voices: Moonbound, which is $30; free for outreach and community concerts
Info: sco.com.sg