About Me

Even when we want to be timid and play it safe, we should pause for a moment to imagine what we might be missing.

~ Paul Arden, in Whatever You Think, Think The Opposite

Teaching Experience

I have been teaching the violin part-time since 1997 at EduStrings to students of various ages, ranging from kids to teenagers. I started taking private adult students from 2005, and have on occasions relief taught Montfort Junior School’s string ensemble. Currently, as a full-time private violin teacher, I teach students above 10 years old to adults. Find out more about my teaching.

Performing Experience

I performed and travelled with the NUS Symphony Orchestra between 2004-2009, and currently play in re: mix. I also perform with various musicians for weddings, events and functions. Most recently, 4 of us, having performed for a dance musical “Butterfly Dreams”, decided to form a string quartet – Resonance Quartet – to offer live string music performances. Also see my performing page for more information.

More stuff

Unwittingly at 9 years old, I started on the violin in my primary school’s string ensemble, culminating in a nervous debut solo (not very grand, actually) at 12 for the Singapore Youth Festival Competition.

Private lessons then ensued till I obtained the ABRSM (Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, UK) Grade 8 in Violin in 1997. It was also at this time I started part-time violin teaching, while playing the erhu and managing my junior college Chinese Orchestra.

In between pursuing studies and running a startup in the National University of Singapore (NUS), I performed with the NUS Symphony Orchestra (NUSSO) both locally and overseas as a first violinist. In the 2005 Aberdeen International Youth Festival (AIYF) held in Aberdeen, Scotland, I performed with the NUSSO, AIYF Orchestra, and participated in the chamber music competition as a string quartet, while backpacking across Scotland.

I then joined the corporate world while retaining my part-time teaching interest. Discovering a greater sense of fulfilment from teaching, I embarked on a full-time violin teaching career from August 2008, while (re-)learning under the guidance of Mr Foo Say Ming, first violinist from the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO).

More recently, I perform in re: mix, a local string ensemble directed by Mr Foo. April saw us performing alongside Taiwanese super band Mayday 五月天 for their DNA MAYDAY 2010 World Tour concert at the National Stadium, Singapore. In between teaching, I have also been collaborating with other musicians to perform for engagements. I’m currently violinist and manager of Resonance Quartet, a string quartet based in Singapore that provides live string music for weddings, functions and events.

August 2010 saw myself travel to Vienna for the Euro Music Festival where I greatly benefited from lessons with Mr. Isaac Malkin, a faculty member of the Manhattan School of Music, and solo travelling across Austria.

On a totally unrelated note, my friends and I started doob bean bags, a company that sells chic, uber-comfy bean bags at affordable prices.