Performing Arts-Based Learning

Jointly developed and funded by the Ministry of Education (MOE) and National Arts Council (NAC), Performing Arts-Based Learning (PABL) is a core learning experience in the lower secondary Music curriculum, providing every student with the opportunity to experience a bespoke live music performance in a professional arts and cultural venue. PABL will be progressively rolled out to all secondary schools from 2024 to 2027.

2.PABL aims to:

1. Deepen students' appreciation for live music performances;
2. Cultivate a sense of curiosity and pride in students towards local music, musicians, and performance venues; and
3. Strengthen students' ability to make connections between classroom music learning and authentic music experiences beyond the school.

3.Through PABL, students will be exposed to Singaporean artists/arts group and/or local works, including those by Cultural Medallion and Young Artist Award recipients, develop an appreciation of the connections between classroom learning and Singapore's professional arts scene, and forge a deeper sense of identity, community, and connection with Singapore's arts and cultural heritage.

4.This year, MOE and NAC have partnered the following cultural institutions and performing arts groups to bring bespoke live music performances to our students:

• Our Singapore Songbook by Metropolitan Festival Orchestra. This programme takes students on a guided listening journey to deepen awareness of what it means to have a common multi-cultural core that resonates with Singaporeans, while making space to celebrate differences that enrich and strengthen our community.
• SCOTIFYby Singapore Chinese Orchestra. Inspired by the popular streaming platform "Spotify", this programme introduces students to the different instrument families of the Chinese Orchestra and allows students to curate their own unique concert playlist of songs from diverse music genres.
• Expression Avenueby Singapore Symphony Orchestra. This programme explores how composers far and near, past and present, draw influences from the environment around them to create colourful masterpieces unique to them so they continue to inspire for generations.
• Songsmith: Singapore Songs and Songwritingby The Esplanade Co. Ltd. and Inch Chua with Metronome Collective. This programme aims to provide students with a fresh perspective and a deeper understanding of Singaporean music, the art of music-making, and the power of storytelling.

5.By the end of 2024, more than 12,000 students from 48 schools would have attended a bespoke live music concert as part of PABL.