If you’ve been looking for a Saturday night out in Singapore that costs about as much as a hawker dinner for two, the Singapore Chinese Orchestra (SCO) has one coming up. Resonating 30 with Xia Feiyun plays the SCO Concert Hall on Saturday, 17 October 2026, with tickets from S$20.
SCO’s October started with two concerts that have already taken place: a tribute concert on 3 October and a free neighbourhood show on 10 October. Two events remain. The first is that S$20-and-up concert on 17 October. The second is a free joint concert on 31 October. Below you’ll find what’s on each night, what the earlier two sounded like, and how to pay less than the sticker price.
What’s still on:
| Date | Event | Where | Price | What to know |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat, 17 October, 7:30pm | Resonating 30 with Xia Feiyun | SCO Concert Hall | From S$20 | About 90 minutes, with a meet-the-artists session afterwards |
| 31 October, 7:30pm | SCO30: Giving Back in Harmony | SCO Concert Hall | Free | Seats are limited and were released on 1 October |
A Birthday Season, Looking Backwards
Some context first. SCO was founded in 1996 and turns 30 this year. To mark it, the orchestra is running a six-month anniversary season called SCO30, themed Looking Back, Giving Back. The Resonating 30 concerts are the “looking back” half, and each one revisits a maestro who shaped the orchestra’s sound in its early years.
The orchestra has more pull abroad than its heartland reputation might suggest. In 2023, SCO says, its recording of Butterfly Lovers with Grammy Award-winning violinist Joshua Bell entered the Top 20 of the United Kingdom’s Official Specialist Classical Chart. SCO also says it was the first Chinese orchestra to appear on that chart.
Two Wind Solos, One Night
The 17 October concert honours Maestro Xia Feiyun, whose influence SCO says runs through much of its repertoire. The conductor is Yan Huichang, a former student of Xia’s, who has led the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra since June 1997. Singapore already knows him well, because the National Arts Council awarded him the Cultural Medallion (Music) in 2001.
The programme opens with Theme of Pioneers, which SCO says will ring a bell for anyone raised on classic Chinese kung fu movies. The ancient tune The Moon on High follows, in an arrangement by Peng Xiuwen. Then comes the reason to book: the suona concerto Warmheartedness, played by Jin Shiyi, a piece from Northeastern China with a strong operatic streak that SCO premiered back in 1999.
After the interval, sheng principal Guo Changsuo takes on Liu Wenjin’s Rainbow, a three-part work that moves through Life, Storm and Rainbow. Guo played at its 2007 premiere with SCO, so you’ll be hearing the piece from a musician who was there when it began.
That’s two wind instruments in the solo seat on one bill. SCO’s roster lists the suona in four sizes and the sheng in three, so the orchestra clearly takes its winds seriously. The concert runs about 90 minutes, and afterwards the artists meet the audience at the Level 1 Concourse.
Not Sure? Hear It First
If you want to know what SCO sounds like before you commit a Saturday, the orchestra’s own channel has clips worth a listen. Its performance of Dunhuang is a good place to start.
The Night a Piano Concerto Went Yangqin
Two Saturdays ago, on 3 October, Zhang Lie conducted Resonating 30 with Hu Bingxu, a tribute to SCO’s founding Music Director. Zhang currently leads the Nanjing Chinese Orchestra and the Henan Chinese Orchestra. The programme brought back Liu Yuan’s The Legend of Shadi’er from SCO’s 2001 CD.
For anyone who grew up with piano lessons, the piece to hear was Yellow River. Xian Xinghai first wrote it as a cantata, and it later became the famous Yellow River Piano Concerto. Arranger Qu Chunquan reworked it for the yangqin. On the night it was played by SCO principal Qu Jianqing, who also performed the arrangement at its premiere. Sanxian principal Huang Guifang played Heroine Liu Hu Lan.
Music in the Heartlands
Yesterday evening, 10 October, the orchestra left the concert hall and played a free concert at Bukit Merah View Square. Associate Conductor Lien Boon Hua led a programme that included The General’s Command, Dance of the Yao Tribe and a Liang Wern Fook medley. SCO dizi players Ng Wei Xuan and Hu Wen-Hsun also performed The Roof. The concert was organised with the Henderson-Dawson Citizen Consultative Committee. It’s the kind of neighbourhood gig that brings SCO within walking distance of an HDB block.
The Free Night That’s Still Ahead
SCO30: Giving Back in Harmony takes place on 31 October at 7:30pm, back at the SCO Concert Hall. SCO shares the stage with The Purple Symphony, which SCO describes as Singapore’s largest inclusive orchestra, made up of musicians with and without disabilities. It’s the first time the two orchestras have performed together. The Purple Symphony opens with Overture: Symphony in Purple by its Composer-in-Residence Liong Kit Yeng, and the rest of the evening moves on to film and popular music.
- Price: Free
- The catch: Seats are limited. SCO released them to the public on 1 October 2026 at 10am.
- What to do: Check the event’s page on SCO’s website soon to see whether any seats are left.
Doing the Ticket Maths
S$20 is SCO’s starting price. That makes it the lowest tier, so not every seat costs S$20. Here’s what the discounts SCO mentions would do to a S$20 ticket:
| Option | Annual fee | Discount | You pay on a S$20 ticket | Extras |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard ticket | None | None | S$20 | None |
| Silver Friends of SCO | S$80 | 15% (S$3 off) | S$17 | 2 free Category 2 tickets on sign-up, plus 2 more in your birthday month |
| Gold Friends of SCO | S$200 | 25% (S$5 off) | S$15 | 4 free Category 2 tickets on sign-up, plus 2 for your birthday |
| Culture Pass repeat patrons | None | 50% (S$10 off) | S$10 | Applies to your next SCO ticket purchase |
The fine print:
- Culture Pass: The offer is for people who have already used Culture Pass credits at an SCO concert. SCO sends the code to eligible patrons in a separate email. Terms and conditions apply, so read them before you check out.
- Silver and Gold: The 15% and 25% discounts apply to regular concert tickets. Both membership prices exclude GST (Goods and Services Tax) and booking fees.
- Break-even: At S$3 off each S$20 ticket, you’d need about 27 tickets (S$80 ÷ S$3) before the Silver discount alone covered the fee. The membership makes more sense when you count the free seats.
Our pick: If you’re going once, use the Culture Pass code if you have one, or pay the S$20. Silver is only worth it if you’ll attend at least a few SCO concerts a year and will use the free seats. Gold costs S$120 more and gets you two more free tickets and an extra 10% off, which pays off for frequent concertgoers who bring friends.
There’s one more offer, and it’s a donation rather than a discount:
- Give: S$100 or more by 31 December
- Get: The full set of Little Treble Makers plush keychains, while stocks last
- Collect: At the SCO Box Office
- Tax: All donations to SCO get a tax deduction of 2.5 times the amount. Donate by 18 December 2026 for it to count toward Year of Assessment 2027.
The One to Book
If you only make one of these, make it 17 October. Two wind concertos, a kung fu film theme and a chance to meet the musicians for S$20 add up to a strong first SCO night. The 31 October show is free and one of a kind, but you’ll need to move fast to get a seat. Either way, it’s worth adding to your list of things to do in Singapore this October.
🗓️ Date: Saturday, 17 October 2026
⏰ Time: 7:30pm (about 90 minutes)
📍 Location: SCO Concert Hall
🎟️ Tickets: From S$20
🎶 Soloists: Jin Shiyi (suona) and Guo Changsuo (sheng), conducted by Yan Huichang
🤝 After the show: Artists’ meet-and-greet at the Level 1 Concourse
📵 Note: No videography or flash photography
A whole evening built around the suona and the sheng is rare, and this one costs about as much as a cinema trip. Grab seats for Resonating 30 with Xia Feiyun before the weekend fills up. To see where the anniversary season has been so far, look back at what SCO played at the Hu Bingxu tribute and at Bukit Merah View. See you in the stalls!
Visuals courtesy of Singapore Chinese Orchestra.
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