The Orchestra
The Metropolitan Festival Orchestra (MFO) is Singapore’s only fully-independent professional symphony orchestra. With its roots in the acclaimed Singapore Festival Orchestra (SFO), resident orchestra of the Singapore Arts Festival from 2007 to 2012, the MFO was founded in 2013 as the spiritual successor of the SFO.
The MFO is inspired by its philosophy that the orchestra is a powerful tool for bringing people together through the experience of music, and is constantly breaking new grounds through its forward-looking programmes. Bringing together some of the best professionally-trained musicians in Singapore and the region, the MFO is known for its spirited camaraderie, technical brilliance and musical versatility.
The MFO also believes that orchestras and musicians are a model and inspiration for what can be achieved in society through combining mastery of the self with mastery of collaboration. Mobilising its musicians in innovative and sustainable ways that unlock their ability to play a powerful role in society, the MFO envisions a society where everyone is empowered through music to live, work and grow better, no matter who they are and what they do.
Notable international collaborations include performances with Tan Dun, Lang Lang, Kitaro, Paul Anka, Il Divo, Stefanie Sun, JJ Lin, and the Korea National Opera. The MFO is also the pioneer in bringing the immersive movie-concert format to Asian audiences, presenting the Asian and Southeast Asian premieres of the movie-concerts of the Lord of the Rings and the Harry Potter film franchises. Other global cultural franchises that the MFO is associated with include Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts and Disney on Classic.
Through partnerships with the Walt Disney Company, National Arts Council, Esplanade Theatres on the Bay and the RICE Company, the MFO also supports the development of local music talents across both classical and pop domains.
The MFO is also a regional leader in applying the dynamics of the orchestra as a high performance organisation to senior executive leadership training, through its partnerships with INSEAD - The Business School for the World (Asia Campus), the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and Deloitte University Asia Pacific.
