Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music

Last updated
Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music
杨秀桃音乐学院
YST building exterior.jpg
Former name
Singapore Conservatory of Music
TypeSchool
Established2003
Parent institution
National University of Singapore
Dean Professor Peter Tornquist
Undergraduates 220
Address
3 Conservatory Drive
, ,
117376
Website http://www.ystmusic.nus.edu.sg/

The Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music (YST Conservatory), a school of the National University of Singapore, is Singapore's first conservatory of music located at Conservatory Drive off Kent Ridge Crescent. Primarily an undergraduate institution, it offers full-time studies in 20 majors leading to a Bachelor of Music (Honours) Degree, as well as programmes for NUS students, graduate students, continuing education adult learners and young artists. The YST Conservatory maintains an undergraduate cohort of 220 Bachelor of Music students, all of whom receive full financial support through government grants, the Yong Loo Lin Trust and other donors. It also hosts a performance calendar of around 200 concerts annually. [1]

Contents

History

In 1999, Dr Tony Tan, Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore, proposed the establishment of a conservatory in Singapore within a university. An agreement was then signed in 2001 between the NUS and the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University to develop what was to be known as the Singapore Conservatory of Music. Dr Steven Baxter, former Dean at the Peabody Institute, was appointed Founding Director, [2] and Goh Yew Lin was appointed the founding Chairman of its Governing Board.

In 2003, the conservatory was renamed the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music in recognition of a S$25 million gift by the Yong Loo Lin Trust, to honour Yong Siew Toh. It also welcomed its inaugural class of 72 students comprising majors in orchestral instruments, piano and composition. 2006 and 2007 saw the official opening of the current YST Conservatory building, and the inaugural class of graduates respectively. The Yong Loo Lin Trust subsequently made another contribution of S$25 million in 2008, endowing the YST Conservatory with a total gift of S$50 million, which was matched by funding from the Ministry of Education, Singapore.

In 2008, Professor Bernard Lanskey, former Associate Director of Music at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, was appointed Director and subsequently Dean of the Conservatory. All 220 steady-state student positions were filled. With the support of the National Arts Council Singapore, the Young Artist Programme was established. Developments in academic programmes followed over the next few years, with the Recording Arts & Sciences major introduced in 2010, the Joint Degree Programme established with the Peabody Institute as well as the Voice major introduced in 2011, the Master in Music programme with a further major in Conducting offered in 2014, and two new majors in Music & Society and Music, Collaboration & Production introduced in 2018. Robert Tomlin, Vice-Chairman of Lepercq de Neuflize Asia Pte Ltd assumed the role of Governing Board Chairman from November 2018. [3]

In November 2020, Chong Siak Ching, CEO of the National Gallery Singapore, was appointed Chair of the YST Governing Board. [4] Professor Peter Tornquist, Norwegian composer and research as well as former Principal of the Norwegian Academy of Music, assumed the role of Dean from February 2022. [5]

Bachelor of Music (Honours) Degree

The Bachelor of Music (Honours) degree programme is a four-year, full-time programme which builds out from a focus on one of 20 music majors in instrumental performance, Composition, Voice, Audio Arts and Sciences, Music & Society and Music, Collaboration & Production. Students undertake core classes in the major, electives of their choice with a possibility for a Second Major in another area, academic music studies, collaborative music-making, professional integration, alongside University General Education requirements.

Students receive access to attend and participate in the Conservatory's year-round concert calendar; support to go for student exchanges as well as overseas festivals, competitions and platforms; and pathways into the community and industry through professional integration and community engagement opportunities. [6]

Young Artist Programme

Established in 2008, the Young Artist Programme is offered to 15-18 year olds who demonstrate outstanding performance abilities, till they become eligible for placement in the Bachelor of Music programme. Students receive professional performance training and academic study, and are expected to be concurrently enrolled in Singapore schools. [7]

Access for National University of Singapore students

The YST Conservatory offers several levels of musical engagement for National University of Singapore students. Every academic year, a number of Conservatory modules are open to NUS students from all faculties. Students can further extend their exposure by taking the Minor in Music Studies as a capstone. Students can also initiate intensive major study through Access to Major, where they receive major study access for one academic year and are expected to take first-year Conservatory modules in their respective major fields. Upon satisfactory completion, they are then eligible to be considered for the Second Major, where they can take modules for second-year students and higher. [8]

Graduate and continuing education programmes

The Conservatory offers the Master of Music (MMus) as well as Master of Music Leadership (MMusL) programmes.

A two-year full-time programme, the MMus seeks to promote higher-level music study in the individual’s major area, alongside broader ensemble, pedagogical and professional capabilities. [9]

The MMusL programme focuses on entrepreneurship and innovation, equipping graduates to navigate and lead a changing industry landscape. [10]

In addition, adult learners can take part in a range of continuing education course offerings across areas such as composition, production, conducting, pedagogy, contextual studies and community engagement. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National University of Singapore</span> Public research university in Singapore

The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national public collegiate and research university in Singapore. Founded in 1905 as the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States Government Medical School, NUS is the oldest autonomous university in Singapore. It offers degree programmes in disciplines at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels, including in the sciences, medicine and dentistry, design and environment, law, arts and social sciences, engineering, business, computing, and music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National University Hospital</span> Hospital in Singapore , Singapore

The National University Hospital (NUH) is a tertiary referral hospital and academic medical centre in Singapore, located in Kent Ridge. It is a 1,160-bed tertiary hospital serving more than 670,000 outpatients and 49,000 inpatients and serves as a clinical training centre and research centre for the medical and dental faculties of the National University of Singapore (NUS).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National University of Singapore Faculty of Law</span> Law school in Singapore

The National University of Singapore Faculty of Law is Singapore's oldest law school. NUS Law was initially established in 1956 as the Department of Law in the University of Malaya. After its establishment, NUS Law was Singapore's only law school for half a century, until the subsequent establishment of the SMU School of Law in 2007 and the SUSS School of Law in 2017. NUS Law is currently located at the NUS Bukit Timah Campus. The current dean of NUS Law is Andrew Simester. Internationally, NUS Law has been ranked twelfth by the QS World University Rankings by Subject in 2023 and eleventh by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings by Subject in 2024.

The Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) is a think-tank that studies and generates public policy ideas in Singapore. Established in 1988, IPS became an autonomous research centre of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore in 2008. A centre for social indicators research, Social Lab, was set up by IPS in November 2013. The board of directors at the institute includes high ranking Singapore government officials, diplomats, directors of multinational businesses, and leaders of academic institutions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yong Pung How</span> Singaporean judge (1926–2020)

Yong Pung How was a Malayan-born Singaporean judge who served as the second chief justice of Singapore between 1990 and 2006.

Abigail Sin Si Ern is a Singaporean concert pianist. She was hailed by Time Asia magazine as a bona fide prodigy and one of Asia's "Small Wonders" when she was ten years old.

Gulnara Mashurova was born in Almaty, Kazakhstan. She started piano studies at the age of 6 and by age 9 was chosen to study harp at the Pre Moscow Conservatory with Natalia Sibor. From 1991 to 1993 she studied with Vera Dulova at the Moscow Conservatory. ashurova received a bachelor's and master's degree in harp performance from the Juilliard School as a Jerome Green full scholarship recipient studying under Nancy Allen, Principal Harpist of the New York Philharmonic. She received her second Masters in Orchestra Performance with a full scholarship from the Manhattan School of Music studying under Deborah Hoffman, Principal Harpist of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra.

Eleanor Wong Siew Yin is a Singaporean playwright, poet, lawyer and legal academic. She is an associate professor of law at the National University of Singapore, where she is vice dean of student affairs and director of the legal skills programme. She is also a member of the Remaking Singapore Committee.

Alan Bennett is an American lyric tenor known mostly for his performances in concert and oratorio work. He is particularly admired for his interpretations of the works of Bach, George Frideric Handel, and Mozart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National University Health System</span>

The National University Health System (NUHS) is a group of healthcare institutions in Singapore. The group was formed in 2008 and operates several hospitals, national specialty centres, and polyclinics. The National University Hospital is the largest hospital in the group and serves as the flagship hospital for the cluster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duke–NUS Medical School</span>

The Duke–NUS Medical School (Duke–NUS) is a graduate medical school in Singapore. The school was set up in April 2005 as the Duke–NUS Graduate Medical School, Singapore's second medical school, after the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, and before the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine. It is a collaboration between Duke University in the United States and the National University of Singapore in Singapore. Duke-NUS follows the American model of post-baccalaureate medical education, in which students begin their medical studies after earning a bachelor's degree. Students are awarded degrees from both Duke University and the National University of Singapore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tan Tai Yong</span> Singaporean politician

Tan Tai Yong is a Singaporean academic who is the current President of Singapore University of Social Sciences. He served as the President of Yale-NUS College from 2017 to 2022. He is also Chairman of the Management Board of the Institute of South Asian Studies, an autonomous university-level research institute in NUS. He was a former Nominated Member of Parliament and served from 2014 to 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yale-NUS College</span> Liberal arts college in Singapore

Yale-NUS College is a liberal arts college in Singapore. Established in 2011 as a collaboration between Yale University and the National University of Singapore, it is the first liberal arts college in Singapore and one of the first few in Asia. With an average acceptance rate of 5.2%, it is among the most selective institutions in the world. Yale-NUS was the first institution outside New Haven, Connecticut that Yale University had developed in its 300-year history, making Yale one of the first American Ivy League schools to establish a college bearing its name in Asia.

The Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, established in 1905, is the first institution of higher learning in Singapore and the genesis of the National University of Singapore. The School is one of many who offer medical programmes in the Asia Pacific region. The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2019 by subject and Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings by Subject 2019 list NUS Medicine as the leading medical school in Asia. Its distinguished alumni include cabinet ministers of Singapore, well-known doctors and a Prime Minister of Malaysia and father of the president-elect of Singapore.

Thomas Hecht is an American pianist, composer and professor of piano, based at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, National University of Singapore where he was appointed founding head of piano studies in 2003.

The Lorong Boys are a Singaporean instrumental band, consisting of flautist Rit Xu, pianist-guitarist Jonathan Shin, violinist David Loke, percussionist Joachim Lim, and bassist Eugene Chew. They rose to fame after performing inside MRT trains in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Singapore International Violin Competition</span>

The Singapore International Violin Competition (SIVC) is a triennial violin competition for violinists up to the age of 30. The contest is hosted by the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music and has been held in Singapore since 2015. The competition promotes the continued growth and strength of classical music in the region, and showcases young violinists from around the world.

The Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine (LKCMedicine) is the medical school of the Nanyang Technological University (NTU). The school was established in 2010 as Singapore's third medical school, after the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and the Duke–NUS Medical School. It started as a joint degree collaboration between Nanyang Technological University and Imperial College London which is scheduled to end in 2028, following which students will receive an NTU degree.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lim Wee Kiak</span> Singaporean politician (born 1968)

Lim Wee Kiak is a Singaporean politician and ophthalmologist. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Canberra division of Sembawang GRC since 2006.

The University of the Arts Singapore (UAS) is Singapore's first public-funded private university of the arts. It was formally announced in 2021, as an alliance between LASALLE College of the Arts (LASALLE) and Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA). Under this arrangement, the two institutions operate as distinct entities yet allows students to access opportunities from both schools.

References

  1. "Identity". YST CONSERVATORY. Retrieved 2018-10-26.
  2. Robert Markow (September 2005). "Failure is not an Option". The Strad. Archived from the original on 2015-12-22.
  3. "Robert Tomlin appointed as new Chairman of Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music Governing Board". NUS News. Retrieved 2018-11-14.
  4. hermesauto (2020-10-30). "Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music appoints new governing board chairman". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2020-11-23.
  5. Toh, Wen Li (2021-11-15). "Norwegian composer is new dean of Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
  6. "Bachelor of Music". YST CONSERVATORY. Retrieved 2018-10-26.
  7. "Young Artist Programme". YST CONSERVATORY. Retrieved 2018-10-26.
  8. "Access for NUS Students". YST CONSERVATORY. Retrieved 2018-10-26.
  9. "Master of Music". YST CONSERVATORY. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
  10. "Master of Music Leadership". YST CONSERVATORY. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
  11. "Continuing Education & Training". YST Conservatory. Retrieved 2021-11-15.

1°18′09″N103°46′20″E / 1.3024576°N 103.7721201°E / 1.3024576; 103.7721201