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.
A highly sought-after violinist and educator in Singapore, Christina Zhou is the Founder of 12Petals, a global and multi-disciplinary mentorship program. She has been praised for exhibiting a “full rein of her virtuoso abilities” in concert and for presenting performances that are “a testament to true musicianship and fortitude” (The Straits Times).
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 include Philip Tng, Sui Yue Long and Zhang Zhen Shan. Christina has won the First Prize of the Concerto Competition at Eastman and Third Prize in the Junior Category of the National Violin Competition in Singapore.
Christina has performed extensively in chamber groups and orchestras, working closely with world renowned conductors and musicians both in the States and Singapore. In past summers, she has attended Bowdoin International Music Festival, Creative Strings Workshop and awarded full scholarships for Music Academy of the West and the Texas Music Festival.
She was a founding member of the Sophron Quartet (2013-2015). She was also the violinist (2012- 2018) and the Assistant Music Director (2014-1018) of the fusion band, TO ensemble. The ensemble has performed original music extensively in Singapore and festivals abroad, as well as recorded in commercials by Toyota among others. Christina was the violinist of the contemporary SETTS Ensemble. She has recorded with the contemporary OSSIA ensemble under New World Records at Eastman.
In Singapore, Christina freelances in the Metropolitan Festival Orchestra, re:Sound Collective among others. She has also performed and recorded with leading jazz, musical theatre musicians and artists. She has been featured as a soloist with the ADDO Chamber Orchestra, as well as toured with the PSPA International Ensemble in Malaysia.
Christina coaches students in chamber and orchestral works, as well as giving educational workshops from pre-school to pre-college level. She was also invited to speak at the Career Forum at NAFA, as well as the Southeast Asia Music Academy Online Music Teachers’ Conference to share her experience and expertise with over 100 teachers in the region.
A passionate educator, Christina is currently the Principal and Director of Coronation Music School. Her teaching philosophy is based upon developing a growth mindset and is guided by the Socratic method and questioning, as well as first- principles thinking.
"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 and appreciating 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. " Christina plays a 1998 violin, "Opera" made by the Russian violin maker Nikolai Stasov.
Christina is also a member and alumni of the altMBA, Seth Godin’s flagship leadership program for selected global leaders and change makers.
Christina’s personal lifelong mission is to bring people one step closer to curiosity, truth, self and one another. To empower and uplift others through music, education, and personal stories. This drives her work and life in all aspects, leading to the founding of 12Petals.
Singaporean cellist Ryan Sim is a graduate of the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, having studied under full scholarship with Ng Pei-Sian, Principal Cellist of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, before going on to further his master’s in Germany at the Robert Schumann Hochschule Dusseldorf, graduating with top marks under the guidance of Professor Claus Reichardt.
Ryan has performed in many international music festivals such as the Adelaide International Cello Festival and the Asian Youth Orchestra, and has also played in masterclasses with cellists such as Wang Jian, Gregor Horsch and Wolfgang Boettcher. An active chamber musician, Ryan plays regularly with local ensembles such as the Re: Sound Collective, the Metropolitan Festival Orchestra and The Singapore Lyric Opera Orchestra. He was also principal cello at the recent Singapore production of Les Miserables at the Esplanade Theatre and presented a solo cello recital 'Celloabend' back in september 2016 at The Arts House. Ryan is also the leader and a founding member of Singapore’s premier cello quartet Bossa Celli.
Apart from his performance engagements, Ryan also enjoys teaching children and adults alike more about the cello. Students as young as 4 get to experience the sound of the cello, which appeals to people who like a warm and mellow sound, similar to the sound of the human voice. Its broad register range also makes the cello the most versatile instrument in the string family, whether it be to play the bass line in an ensemble or to play the melodic line as a solo instrument.
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.