Tan Li Chuang attained her Bachelor of Music Education in Melbourne University, The Conservatoire of Music in 1992. She completed her Primary Training with the Australia Suzuki Music Association. What attracted her to the Suzuki philosophy was the infectious energy amongst the teachers, parents, and students.

From 1992-2004 in Singapore, Li Chuang experimented and adapted the Suzuki pedagogy to the local context. Keen for her students to contribute to the community, they looked for avenues and gave performances to the kids in MINDS. In Nairobi, Kenya from 2004-2015, Li Chuang taught in International Schools; gaining experience relating to cross cultural students of all ages. Given the challenge to raise the standard of violin playing, she had seen her students attained music scholarships in UK, gaining excellent results in ABRSM examinations, and actively raised funds for schools and orphanages in the slums in Nairobi through performing.

Back in Singapore from 2016 Li Chuang continued her passion and path in teaching the violin. The most rewarding time ironically was the two and half years of the pandemic. Many teachers and musicians reach out to one another globally online. That benefitted all musicians, teachers and students who are willing to learn and evolve. It now truly takes a global village to raise a musical child.

“I believe that this is the kind of synergy that makes music learning and teaching more enriching and exciting. All children can learn how to play, have fun, and enjoy the violin. If learning is associated with love and respect; progress is measured by small incremental abilities and personal break throughs, besides the occasional exams. Ensemble activities nurtures children’s musical growth, character building and leadership potential.”

Joelle Chiam’s childhood was spent in a dynamic environment that brought her to events around the globe in pursuit of a deeper understanding of her music, gymnastic, and figure skating studies. For as long as she can remember, her violin has followed her to every overseas destination, whether for a sports competition or a stay at a beach resort. It comes as not much of a surprise, then, that she decided at 9 years old that she was going to embark on a classical music career.

A graduate of the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, Joelle has had the privilege of having been under the tutelage of Ng Yu Ying and Ang Chek Meng, 1st and 2nd violinists of the T’ang Quartet respectively. Her early admission to the Conservatory at the age of 17 was made possible by her teachers Chua Lik Wuk, Tan Wee-Hsin and Lillian Wang. Joelle credits her early foundation of musical understanding and appreciation to her piano teacher, Julie Tan. Joelle attended the Meadowmount School of Music during the summer of 2016 where she received instruction from Gerardo Ribeiro, and is grateful to have also studied with Almita Vamos, Ilya Kaler, Kam Ning, Gil Shaham, Igor Yuzefovich, Régis Pasquier and Stefan Milenkovich, among others.

An avid performer, Joelle’s most recent engagements include performing a selection of Mozart’s sonatas in the Tang Tee Khoon Homegrown Series, and Vivaldi’s Four Seasons as soloist in Candlelight concerts. Joelle’s musical journey has brought her to various places spanning various cities in Asia and the United States.

As an active orchestral instrumentalist, Joelle has served as Concertmaster for the Singapore National Youth Orchestra and Texas Festival Orchestra, and held leading roles in the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory Orchestra. She also performs with the Metropolitan Festival Orchestra, and has qualified as a freelance violinist with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. Joelle was selected to represent the SNYO and Singapore at the 34th Toyota Youth Orchestra Camp in Japan in March 2018, and led Round Top Festival Institute Orchestra in 2019. She has performed a wide repertoire of orchestral works under the baton of conductors including Jonas Alber, Christian Arming, Christoph Campestrini, Martin Fischer-Dieskau, Andres Franco, Masahiro Izaki, Jason Lai, Linus Lerner, Andrew Litton, Peter Stark, Joshua Tan, Leonard Tan, Kachun Wong and Benjamin Zander.

Aside from being a performer of conventional classical music, Joelle has performed with contemporary music ensemble SEIRA since 2018 in live productions of pop music as well as in studio recordings of film and game music. Her other interests include dogs, spicy food, photography, and travel.

Joelle sees learning a musical instrument to be the perfect opportunity for children to develop the complex connections between mind, body, and emotion. She aims to help her students cultivate a healthy discipline that can be meaningfully applied to all other aspects of their lives.

Singaporean cellist Ryan Sim is a Master’s Degree graduate of the Robert Schumann Hochschule Dusseldorf in Germany and the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music in Singapore.

An avid musician and teacher, Ryan often performs and freelances with local ensembles such as the Metropolitan Festival Orchestra, the Philharmonic Orchestra Singapore and the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. Ryan is also a founding member of Singapore’s premier cello quartet Bossa Celli.

Recent notable perfoming engagements include the 2024 run of Dear Evan Hansen by the Pangdemonium Theatre company, the 2024 Wildrice production of Don’t Call Him Mr Mari Kita with Julian Wong, and the 2024 production Our Singapore Songbook performed by the Metropolitan Festival Orchestra for lower secondary school students.

Through his years of experience as a teacher and student, Ryan believes foremost in developing good listening qualities in his students through listening in playing, as well as developing good basics and technique that will aid the student well in their music making.

James Ng Wen Liang is one of the founding members of Singapore's premier cello quartet, Bossa Celli. James graduated from the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, National University of Singapore under the tutelage of Qin Li-Wei, Head of Cello Studies. Prior to that, he was one of the original members of the Malaysian Philharmonic Youth Orchestra having served as Principal Cello since its inception in 2006.

James originally started learning the piano at age of 5 and later began cello at the age of 7. Prior coming to Singapore, he studied with Chan Ling Chee, Laurentiu Gherman, Simon Cobcroft and Csaba Koros. He performed in masterclasses by Louise Hopkins, Alban Gerhardt, Ralph Kirshbaum, Shmuel Magen and Wen Sinn Yang. In 2007, James was granted a bursary to Oxford Cello School in the Advanced Cello Performance course performing in master classes with Phillip Shephard and Alexander Boyarsky. In 2011, he attended Aspen Music Festival and School with a full tuition scholarship studying with Darrett Adkins followed by an exchange semester with the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University under the tutelage of Alison Wells.

James is also well sought after as a freelance musician and has since performed with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, New Opera Singapore, Metropolitan Festival Orchestra, Singapore Lyric Opera, Orchestra of Music Makers (OMM), The Philharmonic Orchestra and Ensemble Virama. As a soloist, he has performed the Brahms Double Concerto with his brother, Andrew on the violin with the Penang Philharmonic Orchestra in 2019 and Joe Hisaishi's Departures with the OMM-Sota Orchestra in 2016 and OMM in 2021.

James believes that music education should be joyful, fun and relatable. He believes that musical expression is unique to each individual and students should seek to find their own musical soul and sound.

A highly sought-after violinist and educator in Singapore, Christina Zhou is the Founder of 12Petals. Acclaimed by The Straits Times for displaying “a full rein of her virtuoso abilities” and “a testament to true musicianship and fortitude,” Christina blends artistic excellence with a deep commitment to education.

At the age of 20, Christina earned a Bachelor’s Degree with Distinction Honors, where she studied under the late Zvi Zeitlin at the Eastman School of Music in the U.S. She then went on to complete her Graduate Diploma under Zuo Jun at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory in Singapore. Her previous teachers in her early years included Philip Tng, Sui Yue Long and Zhang Zhen Shan. Her accolades include First Prize in Eastman’s Concerto Competition and Third Prize in Singapore’s National Violin Competition (Junior Category).

Christina's performance career spans solo, chamber music, orchestral collaborations, and experimental ensembles. She has worked closely with renowned conductors and artists across the U.S. and Singapore and has been awarded full scholarships to attend prestigious festivals such as Music Academy of the West, the Texas Music Festival, Bowdoin International Music Festival, and Creative Strings Workshop.

She was a founding member of the Sophron Quartet (2014–2016), and served as violinist (2012–2018) and Assistant Music Director (2014–2018) of the fusion band TO ensemble, which performed original music internationally and contributed to commercial recordings, including for Toyota. Christina has recorded with OSSIA Ensemble (New World Records) and performed with SETTS Ensemble in contemporary music settings.

In Singapore, Christina freelances in the Metropolitan Festival Orchestra, Orchestra for the Music Makers (OMM), re:Sound Collective among others. As a soloist, she has performed in Singapore Symphony Orchestra’s Organ Series, with ADDO Chamber Orchestra, and on tour with the PSPA International Ensemble in Malaysia. A versatile sessionist, she also plays in pop, jazz, film, and commercial projects. She is the founding member of Y String Quartet 四琴化一, a genre-bending quartet for all occasions- performing in school shows, outreach programmes, corporate and private events.

Christina's love and foray into musical theatre began in 2023, when she served as the sole violinist in a 9-piece band for Pangdemonium!’s critically acclaimed production of Into the Woods, which ran for 19 sold-out performances. She also appeared in Dream Academy’s Crazy Christmas: Ball of the Belles. Christina is also a sessionist for award-winning composer Ricky Ho, contributing to movie soundtracks and demos.

A passionate educator, Christina is currently the Principal and Director of Coronation Music School. She leads a team of 13 instrumental and vocal teachers, overseeing all facets of school operations.

Her pedagogy emphasizes growth mindset, Socratic questioning, first-principles thinking, and a metacognitive approach—anchored in the belief that cognition is deeply shaped by the body. She views music learning as a transformative tool for cognitive development and lifelong enrichment, guiding learners from childhood discovery to adult inspiration. Through embodied rituals, sensory engagement, and movement-informed reflection, she cultivates a learning environment where emotional insight, physical awareness, and intellectual rigor converge. Students are encouraged not only to learn, but to understand how they learn—developing self-awareness, strategic thinking, and reflective habits that support artistic growth and personal agency.

"My goal as a teacher/mentor is to ensure that my students not only enjoy their music learning process, but to be aware and able to apply the skills, mental process of learning music to other aspects of their lives as well. Learning, appreciating and sharing music has the power to shape one's cognitive abilities and character that will benefit anyone at any stage in life - be it a child simply having fun learning and discovering music or a working adult seeking a new hobby or new inspiration. "

She is an alumnus of altMBA, Seth Godin’s global leadership program for change-makers, and has served as mentor and speaker for the Singapore National Youth Sinfonia, OMM Camp, NAFA Career Forum, and the Southeast Asia Music Academy Online Teachers’ Conference. She is a recurring external examiner at NAFA.

Christina is also a certified Wolf Trap Teaching Artist (under SRT), specializing in professional development for early childhood educators. She partners with classroom teachers and teaches children’s learning and curricular goals through customized, active performing arts-integrated strategies tailored to each classroom's unique needs.

Christina owns and actively plays two remarkable violins. Closest to her heart is a 2007 John Young copy of the 1734 Guarneri del Gesù “du Diable”—a deeply personal violin originally commissioned and played by her late mentor, Zvi Zeitlin. She also plays on Nikolay Stasov’s 1998 “Opera,” an internationally acclaimed instrument lauded for its superior sound and crafted by the winner of the violin-making competition held within the P.I. Tchaikovsky framework.