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 ...

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. ...

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 ...

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” ...

David Lim Kim San (b. 7 May 1933, Singapore–) has a diverse career in music which spanned over four decades, including educator, administrator, producer, advocate, vocalist and conductor. Lim’s contribution to the school band and choral movements began in the 1960s ...

Alexander S. Abisheganaden (b. 31 January 1926, Singapore–d. 7 March 2023) was among the most prominent guitarists in Singapore. A recipient of the Cultural Medallion for music in 1988, Abisheganaden dedicated much of his life to teaching and popularising guitar ...

Shui Lan (b. 1957, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China–), also known as Lan Shui, is an internationally acclaimed conductor. He was appointed music director of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) in 1997 and has been credited with transforming the SSO into a ...

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 ...

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 ...

Leong Yoon Pin (b. 5 August 1931, Singapore–d. 13 April 2011, Singapore) was a composer, conductor and educator. Described as the doyen of Singapore composers, Leong was well known for his choral compositions, many of which were locally commissioned and performed ...

Tea dances were a popular social event in Singapore from the 1920s to the 1960s where patrons socialised over music and drinks. In the 1960s, tea dances organised by clubs became the centre of the rock ’n’ roll culture in Singapore. Such tea dances eventually died ...

Zubir Said (b. 22 July 1907, Bukittinggi, Minangkabau, Sumatra, Indonesia–d. 16 November 1987, Singapore), also affectionately known as Pak Zubir (pak means “father” in Malay) or Mr Mari Kita (the first two words of the Singapore national anthem), was the composer ...

The Singapore government has commissioned national songs since the 1980s. The early songs featured strong nationalistic themes and resembled advertising jingles. Since then, national songs have taken on a pop sensibility and become a showcase for local musical ...

Xinyao (新谣) is a genre of music that typically refers to Mandarin ballads composed, written and performed by youths in Singapore. Started in the late 1970s, xinyao was at its peak in the 1980s and propelled many local singers and singer-songwriters to stardom, ...

Dikir barat is a style of Malay choral singing popular in Singapore and Malaysia. With a flexible format that incorporates singing, poetry, movement and music, dikir barat is a form of entertainment that cuts across various segments of society.

The angklung is a musical instrument of Javanese origin, made of bamboo.

Wayang kulit is a form of traditional theatre in Southeast Asia. It involves a puppet shadow play performance with origins that are possibly linked to the Indian shadow play. There are many forms and types of wayang kulit in Asia. Those performed in Peninsular ...

Snake charmers are street performers who “hypnotise” and coax their snakes to “dance” and sway to the music they play on their flutes. Snake charming is a traditional Indian folk art. In Singapore, this art is mainly performed by Indians although some Malays and ...

Phan Wait Hong (潘月红) (b. 1914, Shanghai, China–d. 1 September 2016, Singapore) is a key figure in the history of Beijing opera in Singapore. She came to Singapore from Shanghai at the age of 14 and rose to become a lead actress in a professional company that toured ...