About 5,500 people laid out their picnic mats or sprawled comfortably on the green lawn as they enjoyed a line-up of classical pieces at The Meadow, Gardens by the Bay, yesterday.

Marking Singapore Press Holdings' (SPH) 35th anniversary celebrations, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Joshua Tan, played some lively and well-loved tunes, including the Capriccio Espagnol by Rimsky-Korsakov, Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 by Liszt and Overture from Music For The Royal Fireworks by Handel.

It was the first of a series of free community concerts to be held this year under the SPH Gift of Music, which was launched in 2005. The other concerts include Opera In The Park by the Singapore Lyric Opera at the Singapore Botanic Gardens on June 15 and a performance by the Orchestra Of The Music Makers at the Paragon mall on July 6.

The July 6 concert will feature a performance of the Raiders March from the movie Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom, which was released in 1984 - the same year SPH was incorporated.

Three other concerts will take place in August, the month in which SPH was formed. For more information, visit http://sph.com.sg/sph-gift-of-music