Dubbed Singapore’s King of Swing, Jeremy Ian Monteiro (b. 20 June 1960, Singapore–) is an internationally acclaimed jazz musician. Since the 1970s, Monteiro has performed in Singapore as a resident artiste or with bands, and in many festivals worldwide. Monteiro ...

Multidisciplinary artist Jailani Zai Kuning (b. 1964, Singapore–) is considered as one of the pioneer experimental artists in Singapore who has redefined what it means to engage in multicultural and multidisciplinary art forms. Zai experiments with different art ...

Margaret Tan Hee Leng (b. 1945, Singapore–), popularly known as Margaret Leng Tan, is a pianist and a leading figure in experimental music. One of the best-known Singaporean musicians internationally, she is famed for her skill with unconventional playing techniques ...

Choy Sivanandan (b. 1947, Singapore–4 March 2018, Perth, Australia), better known as Siva Choy, was a musician, humourist and writer. While he was famous for the popular 1991 comedy album Why U So Like Dat?, the multi-instrumentalist was also a pioneer of blues ...

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 ...

PERKAMUS (Persatuan Karyawan Muzik Melayu Singapura; The Society of Singers, Musicians and Professionals of the Malay Industry in Singapore) is a non-profit organisation established in January 1994 to support musicians and composers in Singapore’s Malay music industry. ...

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 ...

Independent (commonly shortened to “indie”) music encompasses a wide range of musical genres, including rock, pop, metal and folk. Indie music is associated with alternative, non-mainstream productions and forms of distribution. Increasingly, the term “indie music” ...

Jacintha Abisheganaden (b. 3 October 1957, Singapore–) is an accomplished Singapore actress, entertainer and jazz singer. The daughter of musician and Cultural Medallion recipient Alex Abisheganaden, Jacintha’s early training in music stood her in good stead for ...

Quek Ling Kiong (郭勇德) (b. 1967, Singapore–) is a percussionist and the resident conductor of the Singapore Chinese Orchestra (SCO). Winner of the National Art Council’s Young Artist Award in 2002 and recipient of the NAC Cultural Fellowship in 2013, Quek is committed ...

Yan Hui Chang (b. 1954, Heyang County, Shaanxi Province, China–) is an internationally acclaimed conductor. He has premiered the works of leading Singapore composers, and his international standing has inspired musicians at home and abroad. For his contributions ...

Lim Yau (born 1952, Singapore) is a prominent orchestral and choral conductor whose long conducting career has included stints as Resident Conductor of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) and Music Director of the Singapore Symphony Chorus (SSC). He is reputed ...

Lynnette Seah Mei Tsing (b. 1957, Singapore–), better known simply as Lynnette Seah, is an internationally acclaimed violinist. She has been a member of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) since its inception in 1979 and is currently its co-leader. An ambassador ...

Tay Teow Kiat (Dr) (b. 1947, Singapore–) is a musician and conductor. Considered a pioneer and the founding father of Chinese orchestral music in Singapore, Tay established and built up various leading Chinese orchestras in Singapore and is a prominent conductor ...

Jennifer Tham Sow Ying (b. 1962, Singapore–) is best known as the conductor of the Singapore Youth Choir (now the SYC Ensemble Singers, or SYC-ES), which she has led since 1986. Trained as a composer, Tham has been actively involved in educating young musicians ...

Teng Mah Seng (b. 1915, Fujian province, China–d. 5 December 1992, Singapore) was a musician, lyricist and composer. He was hailed as the saviour of nanyin music, an ancient form of Chinese opera music that dates back to the seventh-century Tang Dynasty. Teng is ...

Iskandar Mirza Ismail (b. 23 July 1956, Singapore–d. 1 November 2014, Singapore) is a prominent figure in Singapore’s music scene. A multitalented and versatile musician, Iskandar has worked as a composer, arranger, conductor, music director, recording producer, ...

Lee Khoon Choy (b. 1924, Penang–27 February 2016, Singapore) served as a politician and diplomat for almost three decades. Before he retired from public service in 1988, he had held many positions in the government, including member of Parliament (MP) and senior ...

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 ...

Lee Peng Boon (b. 1956, Singapore–), popularly known as Dick Lee, is one of Singapore’s best-known personalities in the arts scene. Besides his creative output as a musician, playwright and designer, Lee is also involved in events management and advertising. In ...