The Singapore Symphony Orchestra’s 8th National Day Concert marked the nation’s 60th birthday on 16 August 2025 at the Esplanade Concert Hall. Beyond the milestone itself, the evening was a reminder of how music connects communities and inspires future generations The concert also began with a minute of silence in honour of the late Maestro Choo Hoey, Founding Music Director of the SSO.
This edition brought together diverse performers who reflect a spectrum of Singapore’s music talent, as well as composers born as early as 1938 and as recently as 2003, weaving them into a programme that spoke across generations. Adding to the significance of the event, an online fundraising campaign on Giving.sg was launched in support of new music commissions, enabling us to keep presenting homegrown artists and bringing more Singaporean stories to the stage.
Under the direction of conductor Joshua Tan, the concert featured the Singapore Symphony Choruses (SSC) and soloists, violinist Jonathan Ong; saxophonist Lin Chien-Kwan; SSO Principal Cellist Ng Pei-Sian; composer, electric guitarist and vocalist Charlie Lim; and vocalist Syakirah Noble.
Maestro Tan, who curated the programme, shared that the concert traced a lineage of mentorship – from founding Music Director Maestro Choo Hoey (who had passed away earlier in the week) to today’s musical talents, and how the seeds sown by guiding figures have quietly grown into an ecosystem now bearing fruit on our stages.
Tonight's concert showcases so many Singaporean talents who have emerged over the years, with each fresh generation being nurtured by earlier pioneers. With this exciting momentum, I think in the very near future, other than being known as an economic powerhouse, Singapore will be known soon as a cultural powerhouse.
All but one piece on the programme were world premieres, giving the evening an electric sense of firsts. Deaf artist-performer Lily Goh conveyed the musical expressions on stage, supported by sign language interpreters Azzam Akbar and Shawn Fang, alongside host Priscilla Fong for the emcee lines.
The concert opened with works that touched on memory and play, such as Kiau Nam by Izharul Haq, recalling the persevering spirit of a Singapore primary school, and Tan Yuting’s Chapteh: Take Flight!, drawing on a familiar Singaporean childhood game. It then moved into reflections on culture and community, with Eudenice Palaruan’s Peribahasa, featuring the voices of the Singapore Symphony Choruses delivering Malay quatrains, and Tan Chan Boon’s Dawn for Violin and Orchestra, featuring violinist Jonathan Ong, which traced a larger narrative of personal and communal stories through the dialogue between soloist and orchestra.
The second half shifted from reflection to imagination. Kam Kee Yong’s Fantasia of Insects offered a playful portrait of the natural world, while Chok Kerong’s Through the Nebula: Concerto for Saxophone, featuring saxophonist Lin Chien-Kwan, ventured into cosmic soundscapes.
The celebration culminated in Between Two Worlds: Three Songs for Voices and Orchestra, arranged by Chok Kerong and performed by guitarist and vocalist Charlie Lim, vocalist Syakirah Noble, SSO Principal Cellist Ng Pei-Sian and the Singapore Symphony Choruses. Weaving Into Dreams, Room at the Table and Home together, the work reflected the concert’s spirit of bringing different voices and stories into harmony. Ng Pei-Sian reflected on the transformation of Into Dreams, which had begun as a duet with Charlie Lim:
I felt extremely surprised and grateful. It never entered my wildest dreams that this song, which was a very special highlight of my life to work on with Charlie, would go further. I thought that was the end of the road. I never expected that my own orchestra would end up playing it and I was quite honoured.
The final chorus of Home became more than a familiar refrain — it was a shared moment of remembrance and hope, closing the evening in a spirit of unity befitting SG60.
Our heartfelt thanks go to Temasek Foundation for supporting this year’s National Day Concert, and to the donors who made it possible to present new works by Singaporean composers:
- Kiau Nam by Izharul Haq — supported by BinjaiTree
- Chapteh: Take Flight! by Tan Yuting — made possible by the people of Singapore
- Peribahasa by Eudenice Palaruan — supported by Robert V. & Vivian P. J. Chandran
- Through the Nebula by Chok Kerong — supported by SG60 Shining Stars & Supernovas
- Between Two Worlds: Three Songs for Voices and Orchestra arranged by Chok Kerong — supported by Quantedge
Beyond premieres and solos, the evening reached into the community as we engaged broader audiences in the musical celebration. We were delighted to join forces with community venues Wisma Geylang Serai and Radin Mas Community Club to livestream the concert; with One Tampines Hub and Heartbeat@Bedok for a delayed broadcast; and with our Media Partner, Mediacorp.
With the support of Temasek Foundation, we also welcomed friends from Be Kind Singapore, Foundation of Rotary Clubs Singapore Active Ageing Centre, The Purple Symphony and The Singapore Association for the Deaf (SADeaf) – enabling us to share the night’s music-making with wider audiences.
In its eighth edition and at the nation’s 60th milestone, the Temasek Foundation × SSO National Day Concert has grown into a key platform for celebrating Singaporean creativity and bringing Singaporean stories to the stage. This SG60 edition, with its multiple premieres and collaborations, offered audiences not only a festive occasion but also a reflection on six decades of cultural growth and the musical threads that continue to shape our shared identity.