SINGAPORE - To celebrate the Singapore Botanic Gardens' 5th anniversary as a Unesco World Heritage Site, the National Parks Board (NParks) has teamed up with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) to hold a virtual concert this year.

While the SSO has held many concerts in the park's Shaw Foundation Symphony Stage, this year's concert can be enjoyed from the comfort of listeners' homes.

The concert line-up includes prerecorded pieces from previous SSO performances and a concerto which SSO musicians recorded from their homes amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Photos and video footage of green spaces, including the Singapore Botanic Gardens, will accompany the seven pieces in this virtual concert, which will be held this Sunday (July 26) from 6pm to 6.45pm.

The concert will be streamed on both NParks' YouTube channel and the SSO's Facebook page, said NParks in a statement on Thursday (July 23).

Violinists Chloe Chua and Karen Gomyo will take centre stage with Bach's Concerto For Two Violins In D Minor, which will also feature harpsichordist Darrell Ang.

Listeners can also look forward to catching past recordings of familiar tunes such as Over The Rainbow and the Waltz Of The Flowers from Tchaikovsky's famous ballet The Nutcracker.

The concert will end with an SSO rendition of Dick Lee's National Day ballad, Home, as arranged by composer Kelly Tang.

"While we are unable to hold a live concert during this period, we are happy to bring a different experience of the SSO concerts at the Singapore Botanic Gardens through this unique virtual concert. We invite everyone to picnic at home and enjoy the beautiful music with sights in our City of Nature," said the group director of the Singapore Botanic Gardens, Dr Tan Puay Yok.