ABOUT US |
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The Philharmonic Orchestra Society, formerly the Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra is a project initiated by Maestro Lim Yau in 1998. The orchestra comprises of young adults who have a keen and serious interest to learn, to develop, to train, and to perform, as ensemble musicians. In 10 years, TPO has evolved into one of the flagship symphony orchestras in Singapore, performing both rarely heard gems as well as popular masterpieces. |
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The orchestra opened its 2002 season with a program of Mozart’s Overture from Cosi fan tutte and Brahms’s Symphony No. 1. A project The Seasons of Vivaldi and Piazzolla in collaboration with violinist Foo Say Ming followed that September. The performance of Piazzolla-Desyatnikov’s Four Seasons of Buenos Aires in that same project was a premiere in Singapore. \\r\\n In 2003, the orchestra undertook the challenging and exciting task of staging the Beethoven symphony cycle in collaboration with Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, based on Jonathan Del Mar’s edition. Schumann’s problematic symphonies were next on the list in 2004. The inquiry into Schubert’s symphonies (which included the Unfinished and the Great) in September 2005 marked the orchestra’s continued commitment to the inquiry into the canonic symphonic repertoire. In 2006, the orchestra presented a series of two concerts commemorating the birth anniversaries of Mozart and Shostakovich (Mozart and the Woodwinds, Farewells – the last symphonies of Mozart and Shostakovich, and From Linz to Lengingrad). In March 2007, the orchestra presented a sold-out concert The Offended 18th Century in Esplanade recital studio. In the 2007/2008 season, the orchestra became the first in Singapore to perform the complete symphonic cycle of the Finnish composer, Jean Sibelius, in its Northern Exposure project. In 2009, following the Papa Haydn and You series, presenting selected symphonies of Franz Joseph Haydn, “Father of the Symphony”, TPO will start exploring the possibility of combining music with theatrical elements and full scale productions. The successful execution of The Soldier’s Tale this July provides ample evidence that this idea could be further developed. The orchestra is also known for its commanding standard as a pit orchestra. It has received good reviews for its work as a pit orchestra when engaged by the Singapore Dance Theatre and Singapore Lyric Opera. It has provided the music of Mozart’s Requiem (1999), Puccini’s Madame Butterfly (2003), Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty (2004), and Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker (2005) for the Singapore Dance Theatre, while opera productions in which the orchestra has appeared include Verdi’s La Traviata (1998 and 2008), Bizet’s Carmen (1998), Strauss Jr.’s Die Fledermaus (1999), Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana (2000), Leoncavallo’s Pagliaci (2000), Verdi’s Macbeth (2001), Puccini’s Madame Butterfly (2005), Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro (2006), Rossini’s Barber of Seville (2007) and Puccini’s Turandot (2008). The orchestra has also been engaged by Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay on several occasions. In August 2003, the orchestra was featured as the “live” orchestra in Richard Einhorn’s Voices of Light, which is music set to the 1928 silent film, Joan of Arc. It was also the accompanying orchestra for K.D. Lang’s concert here in February 2005, for Omara Portuondo in November in 2005, and for Aska Symphonic Concert Tour in April 2008. Earlier in December 2001, the orchestra was engaged by the National Arts Council as the accompanying orchestra for the concerto section at the National Music Competition. The orchestra repeated the engagement in 2003. Using insights from current research in ‘early music,’ this orchestral project seeks to breathe new life to musical works. It does this by a constant negotiation of canonic repertoire and contemporary works. It is as such that The Philharmonic Orchestra Society seeks to be a platform of music playing of a high uncompromising standard. |