Christel Hon’s appreciation for singing extends to many aspects of her role as a Senior Producer at the Esplanade – Theatres by the Bay, where she has worked since 2005. She led Voices – A Festival of Song from 2013 to 2018 and continues to present some of the best local, regional and international choral artists including The Swingles, The Sixteen, The Philippine Madrigal Singers, Opus Jam and the Estonian National Male Choir. She also presents budding choirs and bands from local schools in the Limelight series.  

Christel also oversees Esplanade’s classical music programmes including Classics, Beautiful Sunday, Spectrum, Munch Lunchtime Concerts and Cool Classics.  Ensembles that she has presented include the Royal Concertgebouw, Orchestre des Champs Elysees and Staatskapelle Dresden, the Colin Currie Group and London Sinfonietta. She is also responsible for the calibration of the Esplanade Concert Hall’s acoustics for a broad spectrum of performances. 

During the pandemic, Christel continued to find new ways to present singing despite the restrictions on the art form. These included a special edition of Beautiful Sunday online, live performances of Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings for Voices, Morimur: Bach’s Secret Epitaph and A Feather on the Breath of God: Parallels in Medieval Mysticism and Sufism, for A Tapestry of Sacred Music.  

In her spare time, she sits on the assessment panels of National Arts Council major grants and scholarships, currently co-lectures the Music Programming and Production module at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, National University of Singapore, adjudicates at competitions such as the A Cappella Championships and sits on the board of Red Dot Baroque. 

Christel graduated from the University of New South Wales (Sydney) with a double degree of Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Philosophy as well as a Masters in Music. She plays the piano, fortepiano and clarinet.