Impact at a Glance

In 2023, the Community Engagement team at the Singapore Symphony Group (SSG) partnered with researcher Dr Jean Liu to evaluate a pilot programme aimed at enhancing the concert-going experience for secondary school students, many of whom (~50%) were attending a professional symphony performance for the first time. This initiative targeted schools that had not previously attended SSO concerts and achieved a participant demographic that broadly reflected Singapore’s diversity in terms of ethnicity and housing. Notably, the study saw higher representation from students living in 1- to 3-room HDB flats and rental housing.

The findings were both insightful and encouraging. Despite their unfamiliarity with classical music, students reported a high level of enjoyment, with a median concert rating of 7 out of 7. The top reasons that the concert was memorable to them were the music being performed and the performers themselves. More significantly, even a single concert experience was found to positively influence mental well-being and social connection among participants. These results were based on regular subscription concerts, rather than programmes tailored specifically for youth audiences.

The study underscores the potential of classical music—even in its traditional concert hall format—to resonate with and enrich the lives of young people from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds. For SSG, this research affirms the broader social value of its musical offerings and reinforces the importance of inclusive outreach.