Orkestra Melayu Singapura (OMS), Singapore’s first Malay orchestra, was set up by the People’s Association (PA) in September 1991. Formed to preserve and promote Malay music in Singapore, OMS is the only orchestra in Singapore to combine modern and traditional ...
Popular music flourished in Singapore during the 1960s, when a number of local bands became extremely popular with their cover versions of British and American songs as well as original compositions. These bands had a strong following and often played to crowds ...
Sejarah Melayu (Malay Annals) is one of the most important Malay historical works, and one of the finest literary works written in Malay, that has been handed down in various versions. There were at least seven versions of this text. Sejarah Melayu is also one ...
Music festivals play an important role in developing audiences and Singapore’s music scene. Grouping music events into a festival results in an intense and exciting audience experience. Music festivals have been staged in Singapore since the early 20th century. ...
Utusan Melayu, a Malay daily printed in the Jawi script, was first published in Singapore on 29 May 1939 by Utusan Melayu Press Limited (UMPL). It was a landmark publication as it was the first Malay newspaper to be wholly owned, financed, written and managed by ...
Sabri Buang (b. 1964, Singapore–) is both a writer and director of theatre and television in Singapore and abroad. In his earlier days, Sabri acted in Malay dramas for both theatre and television, and has built up a body of directorial works in English and Malay. ...
Paul Selvaraj Abisheganaden (b. 27 March 1914, Penang, Straits Settlements–d. 31 August 2011, Singapore) was a musician and conductor, who was awarded the Cultural Medallion in 1986. Born in Penang, Abisheganaden came to Singapore in 1916 at the age of two, when ...
Alex Abisheganaden (b. 31 January 1926, Singapore–) is a musician who received the Cultural Medallion in 1988. He is Singapore’s first home-grown classical guitarist and double bassist, and has dedicated much of his life educating and popularising the performance ...
Founded by Ang Chek Meng, Ng Yu-Ying, Leslie Tan and Lionel Tan in 1992, T’ang Quartet is the first professional string quartet formed in Singapore. Noted for its precision and balance, the quartet’s musical repertoire is a skilful and contemporary blend of both ...
Formal art and music education programmes in Singapore were established by the British colonial government in the 1920s and ’30s respectively. Private Chinese-medium schools also offered art education through courses run by professional artists. After Singapore ...
World of Music, Arts and Dance (WOMAD) Singapore was an arts event that made its debut in 1998 at the Festival of Arts. The first WOMAD to be held in Southeast Asia, the event ran for 10 years in Singapore before it was put on hold in 2007.
Isa Kamari (b. 1960, Singapore–) is a prominent figure in Singapore’s Malay literary scene. He has gained critical acclaim for many of his works, which range from novels and short stories to poetry and essays. He is also a musician, and has crafted scripts for ...
Warta Malaya (also known as Warta Melayu) was the first of the independent Malay dailies of the 1930s. Its first issue was published on 1 January 1930. Published in the Jawi script, this Malay newspaper appeared at a time that saw the proliferation of 81 new Malay ...
The Trailers was a very popular Singapore band in the 1960s. Formed in 1964 by Victor Woo and Eric Tan, the band was a regular feature at live music venues and events, and had released a number of commercially successful records. Among these were some original ...
Rufino Soliano (b. 10 January 1932, Singapore–22 April 2017, Singapore) was an accomplished musician, composer and conductor. He was the former head of the now-defunct Singapore Broadcasting Corporation Orchestra. Soliano had been active in the local music scene ...
Lut Ali (b. 1 June 1957– ) is a well-known actor, television producer, playwright and director of Malay theatre and drama in Singapore. A graduate of Edith Cowan University in Australia, Lut was conferred the National Arts Council’s Young Artist Award in 1993 for ...
Mohammed Saffri Bin Abdul Manaf (b. 3 November 1952, Singapore–) is a scriptwriter, actor, director and comedian. Much of his work has been aired on the local Malay television and radio. A bangsawan (Malay opera) enthusiast, M. Saffri has also written, acted in ...
The Singapore National Youth Orchestra (SNYO) is made up of young musicians from various schools across Singapore, from primary to tertiary levels, including students in international schools. The orchestra is managed by the Ministry of Education and aims to provide ...
Kam Kee Yong (b. Penang, Malaysia–) is a composer, violinist, conductor, artist, and the father of violinist Kam Ning. He is often described as a self-made man, with values of hard work and a pioneering spirit. Kam led the Singapura String Orchestra and the People’s ...
Abdul Ghani Abdul Hamid (b. 13 April 1933, Singapore–d. 13 April 2014, Singapore) was an award-winning writer, poet and artist. Writing primarily in Malay, A. Ghani Hamid, as he was commonly known, had hundreds of poems, short stories, essays, newspaper articles ...