Esplanade launched a brand-new festival for children and their families — March On — from 10 – 14 Mar 2021. Placing kids under 12 squarely at the centre of the creative process, March On is also committed to artistic collaborations and thought leadership through panel discussions on interdisciplinary performances for young audiences. The festival consisted primarily of live experiences at Esplanade, both ticketed and non-ticketed, staged with safe management measures in place.

Highlights of the inaugural edition of the festival included The Feelings Farm in the Theatre. The work was directed by Edith Podesta, written by Amanda Chong and composed by Julian Wong. Children from various Social Service Associations participated in six workshops conducted by the artists and contributed to the creation of the work. The festival also commissioned a giant puppet performance that took place in the Forecourt Garden, created by Danny Yeo, Phang Kok Jun and Oliver Chong. We continued to engage with our international counterparts through a blended programme Robot House Party by internationally acclaimed DJ Kid Koala; and Polyglot Theatre from Australia in a seven-week long-distance collaborative creation process.

The festival also formed Esplanade’s first children’s panel, SEEDLINGS, where artist-facilitators Chong Gua Khee and Faye Lim led a group of eight children through workshops, performances and artist chats to harness their thoughts and reflections that will be valuable to future festival planning and programmes for children.

To add more life to the centre, develop artist capabilities and support tenants at the Esplanade Mall, lunchtime concerts in a new format — Munch! Lunchtime Concert Series, an amalgamation of "music" and "lunch" — was launched. The monthly Munch! chamber music lunchtime concerts in Esplanade Concert Hall kicked off in November 2020 with Reminiscence by Singapore-based piano duo, duodentity. Audience members receive a $10 Esplanade Mall voucher with every ticket purchased.

“Before you play great music, you have to be given the opportunity to play great music— eternally grateful to Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay for the chance to get to share Bach with a lovely audience. Thank you all for attending.” — LIN JUAN CELLIST

For the 16th edition of Moonfest – A Mid-Autumn Celebration, we held an interactive Virtual Lantern Walk where audiences were invited to take a “stroll” along the Esplanade Waterfront and enjoy the scenic view of the Marina Bay and Singapore skyline via their computers and mobile devices. A series of live-streamed artist chats on traditional art forms such as folk songs and Chinese opera was also curated for the festival. The festival’s popular lantern riddles activity went online, with fellow riddle solvers pitting their wits against each other on Facebook Live.

Beautiful Sunday was launched in 2003 at the height of the SARS crisis. Held once a month on a Sunday, it offers a series of free community concerts and the opportunity for all to enjoy performances in the Esplanade Concert Hall. In the same spirit, the online edition of the series Beautiful Sunday Online — a monthly three-episode infotainment series comprising performances and behind-the-scenes insights filmed in Esplanade’s acoustically pristine Concert Hall — was launched in September 2020. The first episode featured vocal group The Opera People and R&B crooner Nick Zavior. Episode two featured Bossa Celli and A Flutey Affair, and episode three featured organist Phoon Yu, trumpeter Lau Wen Rong and Pipe Organ Master at Esplanade — Dr Evelyn Lim.

In August 2020, the Esplanade Academy was launched, consolidating the centre’s training programmes and work attachments in areas including technical theatre, venue management, operations and community engagement. As the national performing arts centre, it was timely for us to do more for the industry to further develop capabilities that we have built over the last 18 years. We are able to provide a conducive setting for both pre- and post-employment learning of professional and technical skills relevant in performing arts. Over the year, we have introduced new programmes like the Sing Out Loud! Trainer Programme (Basic), Train the Trainer and Lighting Design courses to develop these skills for arts practitioners.

Our Sing Out Loud! Trainer Programme (Basic) is designed to equip and empower participants with the skills and knowledge to run meaningful and quality singing sessions with persons with dementia. Six participants joined the pilot three-day programme where they learnt how to put together an effective basic singing programme. This training is part of capability-building to support our Sing Out Loud! programme for persons with dementia.

“As a choral musician and performer for many years of my life, it is important for me to ensure that music-making is meaningful and impactful. The trainer, Angie, was experienced and... held space for us to find our own voice in delivering the sessions through hands-on activities, assignments and constructive feedback. I am so glad that the Esplanade Academy organised this programme as it supports and equips community workers with the necessary skill sets in order to further impact the wider society.” — ESTELLE MEMBER OF COMMUNITY CHOIR VOX CAMERATA

Songwriting for Hope at Bowen Secondary School concluded with an intimate graduation showcase in the school to celebrate the efforts and perseverance of the youths for completing their songs, even though COVID-19 caused some sessions to be moved online. With the support of President’s Challenge, we were able to bring the project for the first time into a school setting that engaged a mixed-gender group of youth participants.

“Writing this song allow(ed) me to openly say how I feel through music. There are some things that I don't dare to tell other people and would keep them to myself. I hope that I would look back to this song after a few years and remember what I went through in my teenage years. It might be hard from time to time but I should never give up and continue to grow.” — PARTICIPANT OF SONGWRITING FOR HOPE BOWEN SECONDARY SCHOOL

The programme, which was also run at Singapore Girls’ Home, was featured on Facebook Minister Desmond Lee (Minister for National Development and Minister-in-charge of Social Services Integration), who said that “community collaborations such as this play an important part in strengthening families”.

We piloted theatre for YOUth, a new applied theatre programme for a mixed-gender group of youths from Bowen Secondary School. Facilitated by theatre practitioner Oniatta Effendi and supported by social workers from SHINE Children and Youth Services – Hougang, this interdisciplinary programme encouraged youths to share their friendship experiences and navigate positive and negative feelings.

“The theatre for YOUth programme not only touches my heart, but it also touches the inner feelings and soul of my students... they were allowed to express their own feelings and opinions with their own words without feeling judged. They could be truthful in their natural state and yet, be mentored in a subtle way. At the end of the programme, the students came out stronger, affirmed in the right way and more confident.” — NORMALA CHANG HEAD, NORMAL COURSE, BOWEN SECONDARY SCHOOL

“Drama allows me and my friends to express (our) personal problems and experiences through actions... Hearing these stories from my friends helped me to understand them more... I feel proud of myself for being in this programme because not only (do) I know how to be more open and (better) in communicating with others, it also helps me in being closer to people, and be more understand(ing).” — SHARIFAH STUDENT, BOWEN SECONDARY SCHOOL

Esplanade On The Go is a new mobile initiative to bring arts experiences safely via a truck to beneficiaries in welfare homes and eldercare facilities. Aimed at uplifting the beneficiaries’ spirits during this challenging period, small group live music sessions with safe management measures in place engaged over 350 participants from five homes.

“Due to the COVID-19 preventive lock-down of homes in Singapore, we have observed many of our elderly residents are somewhat depressed, stressed and restless... it (the programme) brought lots of joy, cheer and peace to all the attending residents. Thank you for the music, delivered to our doorsteps!” — ANDY LEE OPERATIONS EXECUTIVE, ST. JOHN'S HOME FOR ELDERLY PERSONS

“We are lost for words, the Esplanade On The Go programme was awesome! Our heartfelt thanks to the team from the Esplanade and the logistics crew members for putting together this wonderful programme for our elderly residents and staff. All the performers sang very well and they were very obliging to our elderly's requests to sing their favourite songs, which made them very happy. The elderly and staff loved listening to the songs as they clapped, smiled and moved with the music. We really hope that this will not be the first and last programme we have at our Home! We are looking forward to having more of Esplanade On The Go programmes for our elderly again. Do continue with your good work and share the happiness and joy to more people with this fantastic programme!” — WILMA NG MANAGER - OPERATIONS & VOLUNTEER MANAGEMENT, ST. JOHN'S HOME FOR ELDERLY PERSONS

This year, we also launched the Esplanade Virtual Tour on our website, offering a 360° experience of the centre’s venues. Visitors are able to explore Esplanade’s magnificent Theatre and Concert Hall as well as other venues on their screen.

In August 2020, as part of Esplanade’s membership programme Esplanade&Me, we introduced a new membership badge called U26 specially for youths from 17 to 26 years old. With U26, we aim to build a community of youths who are passionate about the arts and create opportunities for them to connect with other like-minded youths. They would also be able to access special perks and invitations, like the Baybeats Backstage Experience in November 2020. From PIP’s Club for families with young children to U26 for the youths and JOYears for those 55 and above, we continue to strengthen our engagement with key audience segments.

We worked with the National Arts Council (NAC) on the WeCare Arts Experiences, where 45 seniors from various senior activity centres were invited to watch Teochew Opera Classics over three online sessions. There was an introduction to the performance by the Esplanade Programming team, and the seniors also participated in a Q&A session after the show. WeCare Arts Experiences is a collaboration between the NAC and the five Community Development Councils to provide beneficiaries from less privileged backgrounds access to arts and cultural experiences curated by the NAC and local cultural institutions.