Melbourne and Singapore Symphony Orchestras Will Unite For Virtual Concert

Despite the 6000km geographic barrier, Melbourne and Singapore Symphony Orchestras will unite for a second concert performance in their ongoing cross-cultural partnership.

The virtual concert Musical Friendship will premiere on Friday 6 August 2021, heralding the National Day of Singapore (9 August), which commemorates Singapore's independence from Malaysia in 1965. The virtual performance demonstrates the two orchestras' musical friendship. This will feature a performance of the Allegro Spiritoso from J.C. Bach's joyous Symphony for Double Orchestra in E-flat Major, Op. 18, No.1, one of only three symphonies that J.C. Bach scored for two orchestras.

The twenty-piece orchestras, conducted by Brett Kelly in Melbourne and Joshua Tan in Singapore, will also perform Lumen Prime Aurore, a recently commissioned partner piece from celebrated Australian composer Mary Finsterer.

Sophie Galaise, Managing Director of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra welcomed the second concert collaboration, as part of its first four-year (2019-2022) cultural partnership with the Singapore Symphony Group.

"Regardless of distance or the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic, it is essential that we maintain connections with our colleagues from around the world. Together, the Melbourne and Singapore symphony orchestras celebrate our friendship, share in the unifying power of music, and provide uplifting moments of joy that defy boundaries," said Ms Galaise.

Chng Hak-Peng, Chief Executive Officer, Singapore Symphony Group said: "We are excited to produce another cross-border digital production between the two orchestras. Even if the pandemic prevents any live interactions, this digital collaboration is the two orchestras' way of staying connected with each other and with our audiences."

In the lead up to the release of Musical Friendship, MSO's talks and ideas program, Ears Wide Open, will host Symphonic Diplomacy, a far-reaching discussion that will explore who is leading the soft power agenda and where the future for international creative diplomacy initiatives is headed. Chng Hak-Peng and Sophie Galaise will join the discussion alongside other distinguished panellists.

Musical Friendship will be available on Singapore Symphony Orchestra's Facebook page and Melbourne Symphony Orchestra's YouTube channel from 9.00pm AEST / 7.00pm SGT on Friday 6 August.

MSO's Ears Wide Open will host Symphonic Diplomacy on Wednesday 4 August at 6pm as a free event on the MSO YouTube channel.

Musical Friendship and Symphonic Diplomacy are proudly supported by the Australian Government through the Office of the Arts. In 2020, the SSO and MSO collaborated on their first virtual concert, Songs from Home.