The Purple Symphony Turns Esplanade Concert Hall Into a Global Dance Floor
Rarely do you see a conductor orchestrate the audience just as masterfully as his musicians, let alone host the entire evening.
By Rafael Marco Balbin · June 20, 2026
SINGAPORE — The Purple Symphony did not merely ask its audience to sit back and listen. Instead, Singapore’s largest inclusive orchestra demanded that everyone become part of the performance.
The theme of this year's annual concert was "Around the World: A Dance Edition," and the evening was designed as a journey from the moment you stepped into the building. Audience members collected stamps on a commemorative postcard at various stations to mimic moving from one place to another. Upon entry, guests were also handed vibrant scarves in different colors. This simple prop turned the entire auditorium into a sea of color later in the night when the crowd was invited to dance along from their seats.
The Purple Symphony was founded in 2015 by the Central Singapore Community Development Council. They bring together musicians with disabilities alongside volunteers and instructors. Their unique instrumentation joins Western classical instruments with traditional Asian ones like the Zhongyin Sheng, and Gaoyin Sheng.
It was never a hard time for first-time attendees, as the evening began with a thoughtful orientation. A pre-concert presentation charted the orchestra's history and its foundational mission. The presenters explained their goals of taking the orchestra beyond Singapore to international stages in the future.
The core of the performance relies on the orchestra's distinctive buddy system, which was surely one of the things that made the event a success. This collaborative model pairs musicians with disabilities alongside peer volunteers without disabilities. The performers were constantly looking out for and helping one another.
The ambitious program ran quite a bit longer than a standard orchestral showcase. However, the time passed with smiles and laughter. What could have been a dense evening was balanced by the charisma of Maestro Quek Ling Kiong. He regularly stepped away from the podium to pull double duty as the night's host, anchoring the long setlist with lighthearted humor.
His comedic banter between songs provided some necessary breathing room, particularly during his onstage interviews with the musicians. The audience was treated to some really delightful, funny exchanges between the conductor and standout soloists, including flautist Lawrence Gabriel Villar Angel, pianist Siti Sakinah Binte Zainal, and soprano Nur Anisah Daaniys Binte, to name a few.
The program started with the Sabre Dance, followed by selections from The Nutcracker Suite. The orchestra consistently jumped genres to the rhythmic Cha Cham Bo and Guantanamera. The second part began with Mambo No. 5, Evening Primrose (Ye Lai Xiang), before going to their version of Brahms' Hungarian Dance No. 5, and Riverdance. The last three songs were the Baby Elephant Walk, The Lion Sleeps Tonight, and a Dancing Queen finale.