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Established in 2002, the Nanyang Polytechnic Symphony Orchestra (NYPSO), comprising both the wind and string sections, has grown in size and repertoire to become the first polytechnic symphony orchestra in Singapore.
The inaugural "SINFONIA" concert presented by the Wind Orchestra was held at the Singapore Labour Foundation Auditorium in December 1995, following their successful public debut at NYP's Graduation Ceremony at Kallang Theatre that same year.
Thanks to the support of NYP's senior management, the Orchestra has enjoyed many opportunities to enrich its musical journey. Their maiden trip out of Singapore was for an enriching 7-days Hong Kong Music Exchange tour and in June 1997, the Orchestra participated in an 8-days Thailand Music Exchange Tour hosted by Chiangmai's Premier Montfort College Band. More recently at the Australian International Music Festival in July 2004, our members were provided the once-in-a-lifetime chance to perform at the Sydney Town Hall, Darling Harbour and at one of the world's renowned arts performance icon venue, the Sydney Opera House.
This Australian trip was a prelude to the NYP Wind Orchestra's participation in the prestigious 15th World Music Contest held in Kerkrade, The Netherlands in 2005. In the 2nd Division Harmony band category, the NYP Wind Orchestra was awarded the Gold Medal for their outstanding performance in the contest.
As with other student clubs in NYP, the Orchestra has been encouraged to engage the community, in this case through music, and do their part for charity. Following the Tsunami tragedy in December 2004, the Orchestra, with the support of staff and students pulled their resources together at “Sinfonia 2005”, to raise more than $20,000 for the communities ravaged by the disaster.
The Orchestra aims to sustain its community service efforts. They have in recent times embarked on a music exchange programme with several secondary school bands, in an effort to collaborate with and promote interaction amongst student musicians.
On November 2007, Mr Leonard Tan joined the Nanyang Polytechnic Symphony Orchestra. Shortly within a year, the orchestra took top honours in the “Symphonic Band” category at the Summa Cum Laude International Youth Music Festival 2008 in Vienna. The City of Vienna also named the orchestra - winner of the Summa Cum Lauda Award in the “Symphonic Band” category
On 18th January, the Symphony Orchestra will be performing their annual concert “SINFONIA 2009” first time at Esplanade with their new resident conductor, Dr Zechariah Goh Toh Chai.
On July 2009, the wind orchestra achieved a gold standard in the "Harmony Band 1st Division" category at the 16th World Music Contest 2009 held in Kerkrade, the Netherlands. The WMC is the world’s largest and consider as the most prestigious musical event devoted to wind and brass band music.