At the Singapore Symphony Group (SSG), community outreach is a key pillar of what we do – because we believe that music can bring people together, support wellbeing, and inspire meaningful connections with the arts. As we step into 2026, we look back on the ways our music reached beyond in 2025 – creating shared experiences for diverse communities, encouraging inclusivity and empathy, and nurturing future generations of musicians and music-lovers.
Creating shared experiences for diverse communities
Out of SSO’s 44-week calendar of events, approximately 8 weeks are dedicated specifically to community concerts and outreach programmes. These community concerts range from our Lunchtime Concerts in the 673-seater Victoria Concert Hall, to free public concerts on the lawns of the Singapore Botanic Gardens attended by over 8,000 people. Presented in welcoming and accessible environments, these concerts invited everyone to experience live orchestral music beyond the traditional concert setting, creating shared moments of listening and enjoyment.
2025 also marked the first time we delivered the full SSO family concert experience outdoors, bringing our popular hand-on Instrument Petting Zoo to our Music In The Meadow performance at the Gardens by the Bay. Audiences were invited to get up close with orchestral instruments and try them for themselves, guided by members of the SSG team and musicians from the Singapore National Youth Orchestra. The activity was a hit among our audience of over 4,000 and we look forward to bringing this interactive experience to more outdoor concerts in future.
Beyond these larger public performances, we also brought music to smaller, more familiar settings, reaching audiences in ways that allowed for closer engagement. Through a venue partnership with Eunoia Junior College (EJC), the SSO performed for over 800 students and residents from the Bishan-Marymount area in EJC’s auditorium.
It was a joy to see families and first-time listeners engage openly, and we were especially pleased to see SSO musicians connect more personally with new audiences, helping to create a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere around the orchestral experience.
The SSO also extended its reach by bringing the healing power of music into healthcare settings. At Woodlands Health Campus, audiences were welcomed with a hands-on instrument try-out session as a pre-concert activity, before the SSO Brass Quintet performed for close to 300 members of the hospital community in the auditorium. Co-curated by Principal Horn Austin Larson, the programme blended classical works with lighter repertoire, creating a shared listening experience that thoughtfully adapted the concert hall tradition to a healthcare environment.
The orchestra also returned to St Luke’s Hospital for the fourth edition of its outreach programme. It was a priority to ensure that our musical offering resonated with the hospital community, and with the support of St Luke’s programme staff and Principal Music Therapist Dr Tan Xueli, we have been able to refine the programme’s format, repertoire and delivery over the years. These collaborations allowed us to connect with the audience in a deeply human and personal way, creating moments of comfort and fostering a genuine sense of belonging.
Encouraging inclusivity and empathy
Besides bringing music beyond the concert hall, we also welcomed audiences from diverse backgrounds at our programmes and shared the joy of live music performance. In 2025, the SSO welcomed more than 600 beneficiaries from 21 social impact organisations, many attending an SSO concert for the first time. These attendees encompassed beneficiaries as well as caregivers, volunteers and staff, as we recognise that meaningful impact is strengthened through the wider network of care.
Partner organisations echoed the importance of these efforts in expanding access to the arts for families who might otherwise face barriers to attendance:
The SSO Concerts for Children are an invaluable resource for promoting arts accessibility. They provided many of our families with their first SSO concert experience. We are particularly grateful for the accommodations, including the relaxed environment and the high level of performer engagement. The interactive sessions were both educational and highly effective in engaging our children.
A key highlight of 2025 was Stories & Symphonies of Hope, a first-of-its-kind fundraising event presented with the Samaritans of Singapore (SOS) during Mental Health Awareness Month. The event welcomed over 250 guests, including representatives from government agencies, healthcare and educational institutions, and social service organisations.
At the heart of the evening was a panel discussion on music’s role in supporting mental well-being and emotional resilience, complemented by an intimate performance from a SSO string quartet. Works such as Shao Ying Low’s A Day in Paris and Mascagni’s Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana were programmed to mirror the rhythm of a typical workday, creating moments of reflection and deepening the audience’s emotional experience.
The power of music to support emotional well-being is something we witnesses across its outreach and community initiatives. Reflecting on this broader impact, Kok Tse Wei, Deputy CEO (Programmes & Production) of the Singapore Symphony Group, shared with a+ Singapore that an audience member had once written in to say that attending an SSO concert helped them reconsider taking their own life and seek professional support.
What this tells us is that the concert hall is not just a cultural venue, but also a space for healing and belonging. It is why we are committed to inclusive outreach. Our belief is that music has the power to meet people where they are in whatever season of life they’re in.
Through these initiatives and partnerships, we strongly affirm that music can foster connection, empathy, and shared experience across diverse communities. Programmes such as Stories & Symphonies of Hope mark meaningful steps towards a more inclusive and compassionate society, reflecting the orchestra’s ongoing commitment to serving the community through music. Read more about Stories & Symphonies of Hope here.
Nurturing future generations
Complementing our community engagement and inclusivity initiatives, we remained committed to nurturing the next generation of music-makers and music lovers. In 2025, students engaged with the orchestra through tailored immersive programmes that combined live performance, hands-on activities, and behind-the-scenes experiences.
Jointly developed and funded by the Ministry of Education and the National Arts Council, Performing Arts-Based Learning (PABL) is a core learning experience within the lower secondary Music curriculum, progressively rolling out to all secondary schools from 2024 to 2027.
In 2025, the SSO welcomed over 3,000 students from 12 schools across three days (27–29 May) to live performances at Victoria Concert Hall. These sessions connected classroom learning with authentic concert hall experiences, with students engaging directly with the conductor-presenter and musicians through in-concert question-and-answer sessions. On the digital front, many schools continued to (re)subscribe to the SSO’s online learning resources, including PABL (Digital) and Saturday’s Surprisingly Super-Duper Lesson, extending the reach of music education beyond the concert hall.
Designed for band students, the biennial Demonstration Concert for School Bands focused on musical phrasing, ensemble playing, and performance excellence. Presented at the Esplanade Concert Hall, the programme brought together over 1,400 students from 30 schools on 4 March 2025, featuring set pieces from the Singapore Youth Festival Arts Presentation 2025 alongside selected band repertoire selected by SSO musicians and voted on by students through a pre-concert audience polling segment.
In 2025, a new pre-concert mentorship initiative saw 18 students from Saint Anthony's Canossian Secondary School to observe a half a rehearsal session and receive musicianship and performance mentorship from Conductor Leonard Tan and three SSO musicians: Trumpeter Lau Wen Rong, Trombonist Samuel Armstrong, and Flautist/Assistant Principal Piccolo Roberto Álvarez.
Connect with Music! is an on-campus programme that introduces students to instruments, orchestral sections, and musical concepts through storytelling, games, and live demonstrations. In 2025, Connect with Music! visited a full cohort of 1,650 students from Primary 1 to 6 in Anglo-Chinese School (Primary), as well as 800 students across five levels at Bukit Timah Primary School, as well as 800 students across five levels at Bukit Timah Primary School.
The visit to Bukit Timah Primary School also marked the first choral edition of Connect with Music! facilitated by Associate Choral Conductor Ellissa Sayampanathan and performed by a chamber ensemble of choristers from the Singapore Symphony Chorus and Youth Choir, accompanied by pianist Low JinHong. Through quizzes, storytelling, and sing-alongs, students explored the world of choral music, from its rich history and traditions to the joy of singing together.
Watching first-timers experience orchestral music up close – and those moments when people light up or ask unexpected questions – really puts meaning to why we do what we do. A lot of what we do has immeasurable impact in the moment, but we take heart knowing that we've been a part of the formative music experience for students and new audiences, and we hope that'll help to shape and inspire them to look towards integrating the performing arts into their life journeys, as performers or future audiences. These are small but powerful interactions that continue to make the work feel impactful and rewarding.
The SSO Open House welcomed close to 1,000 attendees in 2025, inviting families to explore backstage spaces and take part in interactive musical workshops and activities. This year was also the first edition that featured free, building-wide music exhibits, with five interactive installations across three levels of Victoria Concert Hall.
At the programming level, audience-centred concert formats were curated to broaden access to orchestral music. These concerts offered welcoming entry points through familiar repertoire, storytelling, relaxed and flexible concert formats and presenter-led segments, creating inclusive environments that encouraged engagement across different ages and levels of familiarity.
Together, these programmes adapted presentation and repertoire to engage with audiences of different ages, backgrounds, and levels of familiarity. In particular, we were heartened to find that young audiences are increasingly curious about classical music – even those with little prior exposure quickly get into the groove of the music, where initial hesitation gives way to genuine interest and enthusiasm.
By encouraging self-discovery through colourful storytelling, narration, and music with movement, these programmes help children form meaningful connections with the repertoire. Through early and accessible exposure in family concerts and school engagements, the SSO aims to foster lasting interest and understanding, nurturing the next generation of performers and audiences.
Venue Support
We were also proud to recently announce the relaunch of the Venue Support Scheme, which provides Singapore-based Western classical groups in realising their projects at the Victoria Concert Hall.
For many developing ensembles, limited access to the Victoria Concert Hall can present both financial and logistical challenges – from venue hire costs to navigating the technical and administrative requirements of staging a full-scale concert.
Through this scheme, the Singapore Symphony Group aims to lower these barriers by offering selected ensembles access to the Victoria Concert Hall, alongside support on production and administrative aspects from arts administrators within our Community Engagement Team. Our arts administrators facilitate conversations between the venue and the performing ensemble, offering guidance on best practices for production and overall concert operations. This allows groups to focus on their artistic vision while gaining the experience and confidence needed to realise future projects at a professional level.
By combining venue access with administrative and production support, the scheme enables more performances to take place while fostering longer-term capability and collaboration within the local music community. Find out more about it here!
Looking Ahead
Building on the successes of 2025, the SSO begins 2026 with a continued commitment to connection, care, and community engagement. These initiatives show that music does more than just entertain – it can foster curiosity, offer comfort, bring people together, and ultimately inspire creativity and engagement.
Through each concert, workshop, and outreach initiative, our commitment to sharing music across the community remains steadfast, creating moments that resonate well beyond the final note.
Each year, the SSO’s community outreach initiatives bring the joy and inspiration of music to diverse audiences. Your gift today fuels these initiatives and creates new opportunities to engage our community through memorable musical experiences - make your gift now.