Making their long-awaited Australian debut, the internationally acclaimed Singapore Symphony Orchestra are joined by teen violin sensation Chloe Chua for a spectacular performance in the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall. Conducted by artistic director Hans Graf and featuring Australian-born principal cellist Ng Pei-Sian, the SSO will perform Brahms’s final orchestral work, the 1887 Double Concerto for Violin and Cello, Tchaikovsky’s towering fifth symphony, and Luciola singapura, a shimmering new work by young Singaporean composer Koh Cheng Jin.

The heartbeat of Singapore’s cultural scene and its flagship orchestra, the SSO has been dazzling audiences since 1979, bridging the classical traditions of the East and West and developing an international reputation for its musical virtuosity. In 2022, the BBC named the SSO as one of the best orchestras in the world.

The orchestra is currently led by Grammy Award-winning Austrian conductor Hans Graf, an artistic visionary renowned for his spirit of musical curiosity, creative programming and commanding stage presence. Graf has served as Music Director of the Houston Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic, Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine, Basque National Orchestra and Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg.

One of the world’s most gifted young musicians, teenage violin prodigy Chloe Chua has captured the hearts of audiences around the globe since winning the prestigious Menuhin Competition in 2018 – when she was just 11. Chua has been the Artist in Residence with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra since 2022. Her 2023 debut album, a recording of Vivaldi's Four Seasons and Locatelli’s Harmonic Labyrinth, has drawn more than 1.6 million streams on Spotify.

Sydney-born musician Ng Pei-Sian is the star cellist of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. He was named Commonwealth Musician of the Year in 2007, won the Gold Medal and First Prize at the 55th Royal Overseas League Music Competition, and has performed concertos with orchestras across Australia, Asia and Europe. Ng has performed with Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble, Cho-Liang Lin, Renaud Capuçon and Oscar winner Tan Dun.

Multi-award-winning Singaporean composer and Yangqin performer Koh Cheng Jin creates eclectic, spiritual music that transcends cultural boundaries and revels in imaginative storytelling. Her work has been commissioned by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, the New York State Council on the Arts, and the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art. Named for a rediscovered species of firefly, her ingenious composition Luciola singapura is a vivid musical portrayal of bioluminescence.

Thank you to our corporate partners and our Idealist and Cultivator donors who enable so much of what we do. Special thanks to our donors who directly supported this concert and its music education program - Dr Eileen Ong, Ingrid Kaiser, Sheli Lubowski and Patsy Crummer. Together we can ensure the Opera House is Everyone’s House.