Wukong’s 72 Transformations

Founded in 1996, the Singapore Chinese Orchestra (SCO) is Singapore’s only full-time professional Chinese orchestra. Led by Principal Conductor Quek Ling Kiong since 2023, it is known for its excellence in traditional Chinese music and unique Singapore flavour. 

The SCO makes its home at the Singapore Conference Hall, and has toured major cities in Asia and Europe, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Gwangju and Berlin. The orchestra made history when Butterfly Lovers, recorded with award-winning violinist Joshua Bell, broke into the Top 20 in Britain’s classical music charts in 2023. As part of its mission to spread the love of Chinese music to the wider community, the SCO also conducts regular outreach programmes at schools, hospitals, and other venues.

Benjamin Ho Kah Wai is a Singaporean director, playwright, puppeteer, and educator. He is the founder and Artistic Director of Paper Monkey Theatre, established in 2008 to create bilingual puppet theatre for young audiences. His works, such as Journey West: The Crimson Boy (2023), Romance of Mistakes (2019), and My Cloud (2024), blend traditional Asian puppet forms with contemporary storytelling, often drawing from myths and folktales to engage modern audiences. Beyond directing and playwriting, Benjamin is committed to preserving and innovating puppetry in Singapore. Through workshops, outreach programmes, and inventive staging, he continues to nurture the next generation while keeping the art form vibrant and relevant.

Benjamin Lim Yi is a Singaporean stage and film composer based in Beijing.

He writes across a wide spectrum of media, including soundtracks for numerous film, television and documentary series, and multiple stage productions for dance and theatre. In 2021 his soundtrack for the theatre production 7 Sages of the Bamboo Grove (Huayi 2020, Toy Factory) was awarded 2nd prize in the International Film Music Competition. His soundtracks for film have accompanied and won multiple awards at notable international film festivals, including the Busan Film Festival, Asian Film Festival Berlin, Shanghai Film Festival, Cairo Film Festival, Osaka Asian Film Festival, Jakarta Film Festival, Shargah Biennial Festival, Bangkok Film Festival and the Singapore Film Festival.

Presentations of his works in concert halls include performances by the National Center for Performing Arts (NCPA) China, China Film Orchestra, Xi’an Philharmonic Orchestra, Guiyang Symphony Orchestra, Central Ballet Academy of China, Beijing Dance Academy, the Beijing Chinese Orchestra, Shanghai Chinese Orchestra, Central Conservatory of Music Orchestra, China Ethnic Song and Dance Ensemble, Macau Chinese Orchestra, sheng virtuoso Wu Tong (from The Silk Road Ensemble), Classical Guitar virtuoso Xuefei Yang, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and Choruses, Singapore Chinese Orchestra, and Singapore Lyric Opera Children’s Choir. His music has been performed and showcased in Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Tokyo, Seoul, London, Boston, and toured many cities across China including Shanghai and Beijing. In 2023 he was awarded “Top Local Instrumental Contemporary” by the Composers and Authors Society of Singapore (COMPASS). 

Benjamin graduated from the Central Conservatory of Music, Beijing, with a Masters of Music in Composition under the tutelage of Professor Jianping Tang, and was a recipient of the Singapore National Arts Council (Postgraduate) and Central Chinese Government scholarships.