Singapore, 10 April 2007 - Singapore Press Holdings, a premier partner of the Singapore Arts Festival, is sponsoring a symphonic extravaganza featuring award-winning music from popular blockbuster video games. PLAY! A Video Game Symphony comes to Asia for the first time after its sell-out success in US and Europe. Below are details of the concert.

PLAY! A Video Game Symphony (Asian Premiere)
by Singapore Festival Orchestra conducted by Arnie Roth (USA/Singapore)
Date: 15 and 16 June 2007
Time: 7.30pm
Venue: Esplanade Concert Hall
Ticket prices: $70, $60, $40, $30, $20 (excluding SISTIC charges)

Thrilling video game music written for a full orchestra, choir and pipe organ will be accompanied by outstanding game images played on large screens above the orchestra. Music from approximately 20 popular video game titles such as Final Fantasy, World of Warcraft, The Elder Scrolls, Sonic The Hedgehog and Super Mario Bros by well-known video game composers including Nobuo Uematsu, Yuzo Koshiro, Jason Hayes and a special performance by famous composer Takenobu Mitsuyoshi will leave you asking for more.

Arnie Roth, the Principal Conductor and Music Director of PLAY! will conduct the Singapore Festival Orchestra in this heart-thumping treat for all music and cyber-game lovers. He is a Grammy award-winning artist known for his work with performers like Diana Ross, Charlotte Church, Peter Cetera and Art Garfunkel.

This performance will specially inaugurate the Singapore Festival Orchestra which comprises the best of Singapore´s professional musicians. Joining the orchestra in delivering an unforgettable punch is Vocal Consort, an award-winning choir.

Ms Ginney Lim, SPH’s Executive Vice President, Legal and Corporate Communications, says: "SPH has been a premier partner of the Singapore Arts Festival for the past few years. This year, we have chosen to sponsor PLAY! as it reaches out to both music lovers and gamers who are fans of anime and game music. It is also in line with SPH’s venture into the world of new media. We hope Singaporeans will enjoy this unique blockbuster concert."

SPH has sponsored key productions which were highlights of previous Singapore Arts Festivals, such as the opening gala production of last year’s festival, Quest, which was the first ever collaboration of the Singapore Dance Theatre and Singapore Chinese Orchestra. The Singapore Press Holdings Foundation also sponsored the immensely popular Swan Lake by the Royal Ballet from UK in 2004.

SPH is recognised as a strong supporter of Singapore’s arts and heritage. For its continuous support to Singapore’s arts scene, SPH has received the Distinguished Patron of the Arts, the highest award attainable for arts sponsors, every year since 1993. SPH was also awarded the Friend of Heritage award at the inaugural Patron of Heritage award ceremony held earlier this month.

In 2005, SPH launched the SPH Gift of Music (GOM) series of free outdoor concerts to bring music to the people of Singapore. The GOM performances by Singapore Symphony Orchestra and Singapore Chinese Orchestra have been staged in the HDB heartlands, hospitals and, most recently, in campuses to reach out to youths.

Issued by Singapore Press Holdings Limited
Co. Regn. No: 198402868E

For more information, please contact:

Francis Mah
Manager
Corporate Communications Division
Singapore Press Holdings Ltd
DID: 6319 1028
Email: mahys@sph.com.sg

Adrian Cheong
Assistant Manager
Corporate Communications Division
Singapore Press Holdings Ltd
DID: 6319 2261
Email: cheongcy@sph.com.sg

Chen Jingwen (Ms)
Assistant Manager
Corporate Communications Division
Singapore Press Holdings Ltd
DID: 6319 1226
Email: chenj@sph.com.sg

About Singapore Press Holdings Limited

Newspapers and Magazines
Main board-listed Singapore Press Holdings Ltd (SPH) is the leading media company in Singapore, delivering news and information through print, Internet and broadcasting platforms. In Singapore, it publishes 14 newspapers in four languages. Every day, 2.7 million individuals or 83 percent of people above 15 years old, read one of SPH’s news publications. SPH also publishes over 90 magazine titles in Singapore and the region, covering a broad range of interests from lifestyle to information technology.

Internet and Mobile
Beyond print, the Internet editions of SPH newspapers enjoy over 100 million pageviews with 6 million unique visitors every month. SPH’s online and new media initiatives include a revolutionary mobile advertising and information service, ZapCode; recruitment and job search service, ST701; and STOMP (Straits Times Online Mobile Print), a portal that connects, engages and interacts with readers on the Web and via mobile phone messaging.

Broadcasting
SPH has a 20 percent stake in MediaCorp TV Holdings Pte Ltd, which operates free-to-air channels 5, 8, U and TV Mobile, and a 40 percent stake in MediaCorp Press Pte Ltd, which publishes the free newspaper, Today. In the radio business, SPH has a 80 percent stake in SPH UnionWorks Pte Ltd, which operates entertainment stations Radio 100.3 in Mandarin and Radio 91.3 in English.

Outdoor Advertising
In addition, SPH has ventured into outdoor advertising through its wholly-owned subsidiary, SPH MediaBoxOffice Pte Ltd, Singapore´s largest outdoor motion display advertising network media company, and a 35 percent stake in TOM Outdoor Media Group, a leading outdoor advertising company in China.

Properties
SPH owns and manages Paragon, the prime retail and office complex in the heart of Orchard Road, Singapore’s main shopping belt. SPH’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Times Development Pte Ltd, is also developing a 43-storey upmarket residential condominium, Sky@eleven, at Thomson Road.

For more information, please visit the SPH website: www.sph.com.sg