Sinfonica II: new Singapore music, and school band students on stage with VENTUS

On Sunday, 24 January 2027, VENTUS returns to the SOTA Concert Hall for Sinfonica II. This concert brings two things together on one stage: new music written in Singapore, and the young musicians who will one day play it.

Three new works, written for school bands

We will premiere three new pieces by Singapore composers Germaine Goh, Syafiqah Adha and Zaidi Ramli.

What makes these pieces different is who they are written for. Each one is designed to be playable by a secondary school band. We want there to be more Singapore music that a school band can pick up, rehearse and perform well.

So VENTUS plays the premieres first. Band directors and students in the audience get to hear what these pieces can sound like, and we hope many of them end up on school music stands in the years ahead.

Your SYF piece, played with VENTUS

The rest of the programme comes from you.

Every school band in Singapore picks its own choice piece for the Singapore Youth Festival Arts Presentation, and often several schools choose the same piece. In October we will run a public poll asking which pieces bands are preparing for SYF 2027. The seven pieces that the most schools are working on will go into the Sinfonica II programme.

Here is how students take part:

• For each of the seven pieces, we invite the band director of every school preparing that piece.
• Each band director nominates 2 to 3 student leaders from their band.
• Up to 10 students play each piece alongside VENTUS on the night.
• Students attend at least 3 VENTUS rehearsals in January.

For a student, this means sitting in a section next to experienced players, hearing how they listen, breathe and blend, and then playing their SYF piece in a concert hall before they perform it at SYF.

A session for band directors

Alongside the student rehearsals, I will run a separate session for band directors on conducting and presenting their SYF piece. It is open to any band director from a participating school.

What to expect at the concert

Sinfonica II runs at 4pm, with VENTUS on stage for the whole programme and student musicians joining us for the SYF pieces. I will conduct every piece.

If your child plays in a school band, this is a chance to hear the music they are working on played by a full wind orchestra, and in some cases to watch them play it too. If you are a band director, it is a preview of three new Singapore works your band might play next.

Tickets and how to stay updated

Early bird tickets are $24 for the first 150 tickets, then $30. Ticket sales will open on BookMyShow.

The poll opens in October. Follow VENTUS on Instagram at @ventus.band for the poll link, school invitations and ticket news.

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