One of these, also named the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, was formed in 1945 by the Scottish composer Erik Chisholm in his capacity as ENSA Music Director for South East Asia.

[3] Some of its members were from the British army or air force bands, and though it was short-lived, it gave over fifty concerts and played with soloists such as the violinist Szymon Goldberg.

[4] In 1973, at the opening ceremony of the Japanese Garden in Jurong, the then-defence minister Dr. Goh Keng Swee described the absence of a professional symphony orchestra in Singapore as "a minor scandal".

[6] The orchestra would be supported by public funds, and was intended to serve as a flagship arts company for the enrichment of the local culture scene.

On 1 October 1980, the Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall became home to the orchestra and was officially opening ceremony by Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Kuan Yew.

Later, in 1985, the SSO made its first European tour, visiting ten cities within Scandinavia, and also performed at the Singapore Botanic Gardens for the first time, conducted by Lim Yau.

From 1986 to 1991 (and briefly in 2001), the SSO also created a series of concerts entitled New Music Forum which focused on highlighting Singaporean composers.

[19][20] The orchestra has toured around the world; notable concerts include performances at the Berlin Philharmonie, New York's Avery Fisher Hall, Beijing's Poly Theatre, and The Proms in London.

5 (soloist Ong Lip Tat),[10] Charles Ives' The Unanswered Question, and the Chinese orchestral piece Dance of the Yao People.

[26] Starting in 2023, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) began collaborating with the label PENTATONE, releasing albums such as Vivaldi: Four Seasons & Locatelli: Harmonic Labyrinth (2023) and Butterfly Lovers & Paganini (2024) featuring violinist Chloe Chua, along with Kozłowski: Requiem performed with the Singapore Symphony Chorus & Youth Choir, and a quartet of outstanding soloists.