Leonard Tan
Encyclopedia
Leonard Tan was the renowned music director
of many well-established bands in Singapore
. Leonard Tan has distinguished himself as one of the most promising young conductors of his generation.
He has worked with musicians across all age groups, from all walks of life, and led many to achieve outstanding awards in local and international festivals. He is also music director and resident conductor of several other ensembles, including St. Margaret’s Secondary School Symphonic Band
, CHIJ Concert Band, Catholic High Symphony Band, the National University of Singapore
Wind Symphony, Victoria Junior College
Symphonic Band, Nanyang Polytechnic
Symphonic Band, and Singapore Polytechnic
Symphonic Band. In January 2007, Mr. Tan was appointed conductor of the Singapore National Youth Sinfonia, a member orchestra of the Singapore National Youth Orchestra
, a National Project of Excellence.
where he was taught by Ms. Constance Wong, he obtained a Bachelor of Arts
with First Class Honors in Music, University of Wales
, Licentiate of the Royal Schools of Music
in orchestral tuba (LRSM) and Licentiate of Trinity College London
in musical theory
, criticism and literature (LMusTCL). Prior to his current teaching and conducting career, he was an active tuba player, performing with such ensembles as the Singapore Symphony Orchestra
, Singapore Opera Orchestra, Singapore Armed Forces
Central Band, Desford Colliery Band and Singapore Stompers (Dixieland Jazz).
Professional conducting studies include working with St Petersburg
Chamber Philharmonic under the tutelage of Maestro Leif Segerstam
(Chief Conductor of the Helsinki Philharmonic) and Maestro Alexander Polischuk (Distinguished Faculty, St Petersburg Conservatory
), the Academic Orchestra Zurich under the mentorship of Maestro Johannes Schlaefli (Professor, Musikhochschule Zurich), the University of Minnesota Symposium Wind Orchestra under the tutelage of Professor Craig Kirchhoff, and the University of North Texas
Wind Symphony under the guidance of Professor Eugene Corporon.
Leonard Tan was recently awarded the NIE Music Scholarship. He is currently a doctoral student in music education at Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music
.
In addition, other appointments including conductor of the Singapore National Youth Symphonia (formerly the Singapore National Youth Training Orchestra), music director and resident conductor of National University of Singapore Wind Symphony, music director of Philharmonic Winds
, resident conductor of Victoria Junior College, Serangoon Junior College and Singapore Polytechnic Symphonic Bands, Nanyang Polytechnic Symphony Orchestra, and band conductor of Catholic High School and CHIJ Bands.
On top of his conducting engagements, Mr. Tan has served as music teacher at the NUS High School of Math and Science, where he taught music theory and history, music theory teacher at the Singapore Armed Forces Bands, lecturer in conducting at the LASALLE College of the Arts and lecturer in band training and direction at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. He holds memberships in College Band Director’s National Association, World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles, Music Educator’s National Conference, and The Conductor’s Guild.
Highlights of Tan's multi-faceted career include conducting Singapore Symphony Orchestra musicians in a Singapore-Japan Composers Exchange Concert, Singapore National Youth Orchestra musicians in the prestigious “Ong Teng Cheong Concert,” as well as several performances with the Philharmonic Winds, one of Singapore’s premier wind orchestras. His repertoire ranges from early classics to such twentieth-century works as Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale, and music by Singaporean composers Leong Yoon Pin, Goh Toh Chai, and Kelly Tang. In a production of Puccini’s opera Madama Butterfly, he worked with an international cast, choir and orchestra.
An accomplished tuba player, Mr. Tan has performed with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Singapore Opera Orchestra, Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, Desford Colliery Band (UK), Singapore Stompers (Dixieland Jazz), Singapore Armed Forces Tuba Quartet and Regal Brass Quintet. As soloist, he has performed concertos by Ralph Vaughan Williams
, Edward Gregson
, Derek Bourgeois
, and music for tuba and electronic tape by Walter Ross
. He conducts clinics on brass and tuba playing and coaches the Singapore National Youth Orchestra Brass Ensemble.
Training Grant, Lee Foundation
Scholarship, Raffles Junior College Creative Arts Award, Kripalani Arts Challenge Trophy, and Royal Schools of Music High Scorer’s Award, St Margaret’s Partner-In-Education Teaching Award, CHIJ Certificate of Commendation, and WASBE Conducting Scholarship to study at the University of Minnesota, USA.
Artistic accolades include the National Arts Council Geogerette Chen Arts Scholarship, Rotary Club Training Grant Lee, Lee Foundation Scholarship, Raffles Junior College Creative Arts Award, Kripalani Arts Challenge Trophy, Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music
High Scorer’s Award, and World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles Conducting Scholarship. He led VJC Symphonic Band to a Gold with Honours Award at the 2007 SYF and a Gold award at the Pacific Basin Music Festival in Honolulu, Hawaii
in 2006, the St Margaret’s Symphonic Band to a Gold award at the 2005 SYF, the CHIJ Concert Band to a Gold award at the 2007 SYF, as well as a Gold with Distinction award at the 21st Century International Band Competition.
Music director
A music director may be the director of an orchestra, the director of music for a film, the director of music at a radio station, the head of the music department in a school, the co-ordinator of the musical ensembles in a university or college , the head bandmaster of a military band, the head...
of many well-established bands in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. Leonard Tan has distinguished himself as one of the most promising young conductors of his generation.
He has worked with musicians across all age groups, from all walks of life, and led many to achieve outstanding awards in local and international festivals. He is also music director and resident conductor of several other ensembles, including St. Margaret’s Secondary School Symphonic Band
Concert band
A concert band, also called wind band, symphonic band, symphonic winds, wind orchestra, wind symphony, wind ensemble, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of several members of the woodwind instrument family, brass instrument family, and percussion instrument family.A...
, CHIJ Concert Band, Catholic High Symphony Band, the National University of Singapore
National University of Singapore
The National University of Singapore is Singapore's oldest university. It is the largest university in the country in terms of student enrollment and curriculum offered....
Wind Symphony, Victoria Junior College
Victoria Junior College
Victoria Junior College is a Pre-University co-educational institution in Singapore. It was established to replace the Pre-University classes of Victoria School in 1984. It stands on Marine Vista, about 5-minute walk to the East Coast Park. It in the East Region of Singapore...
Symphonic Band, Nanyang Polytechnic
Nanyang Polytechnic
Nanyang Polytechnic is a Singaporean polytechnic located in Ang Mo Kio next to Yio Chu Kang MRT Station, Singapore.-History:*Established 1 April 1992...
Symphonic Band, and Singapore Polytechnic
Singapore Polytechnic
Singapore Polytechnic , the first polytechnic established in Singapore, was founded in 1954. The former campus was originally located at Prince Edward Road...
Symphonic Band. In January 2007, Mr. Tan was appointed conductor of the Singapore National Youth Sinfonia, a member orchestra of the Singapore National Youth Orchestra
National Youth Orchestra
The National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain is an orchestra of 163 young musicians from the United Kingdom. The members of the orchestra are all aged between 13 and 19 years. The players are selected by auditions which take place in the autumn each year at various locations in the country...
, a National Project of Excellence.
Biography
Leonard Tan spent his formative musical years playing the violin and tuba, and studied harmony with well-known local composer Leong Yoon Pin. Following music studies at Raffles Junior CollegeRaffles Junior College
Raffles Institution offers the Raffles Programme at Year 5 and 6 . It is located in Bishan beside the Year 1-4 school campus of Raffles Institution. The Principal is Mrs Lim Lai Cheng...
where he was taught by Ms. Constance Wong, he obtained a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
with First Class Honors in Music, University of Wales
University of Wales
The University of Wales was a confederal university founded in 1893. It had accredited institutions throughout Wales, and formerly accredited courses in Britain and abroad, with over 100,000 students, but in October 2011, after a number of scandals, it withdrew all accreditation, and it was...
, Licentiate of the Royal Schools of Music
Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music
ABRSM is an internationally recognised educational body and charity that provides examinations in music The organisation, based in London, UK, runs exams in centres all over the world...
in orchestral tuba (LRSM) and Licentiate of Trinity College London
Trinity College London
Trinity College London is an international examinations board based in London, England. TCL offers qualifications across a range of disciplines in the performing arts and arts education and English language learning and teaching...
in musical theory
Music theory
Music theory is the study of how music works. It examines the language and notation of music. It seeks to identify patterns and structures in composers' techniques across or within genres, styles, or historical periods...
, criticism and literature (LMusTCL). Prior to his current teaching and conducting career, he was an active tuba player, performing with such ensembles as the Singapore Symphony Orchestra
Singapore Symphony Orchestra
The Singapore Symphony Orchestra is a 96 members professional symphony orchestra. Its main performing venue is the Esplanade Concert Hall in Singapore although it has also toured widely in Asia, Europe and the United States...
, Singapore Opera Orchestra, Singapore Armed Forces
Singapore Armed Forces
The Singapore Armed Forces is the military arm of the Total Defence of the Republic of Singapore; as well as the military component of the Ministry of Defence. The SAF comprises three branches: the Singapore Army, the Republic of Singapore Air Force and the Republic of Singapore Navy...
Central Band, Desford Colliery Band and Singapore Stompers (Dixieland Jazz).
Professional conducting studies include working with St Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
Chamber Philharmonic under the tutelage of Maestro Leif Segerstam
Leif Segerstam
Leif Segerstam is a Finnish conductor and composer.He studied violin, piano and conducting at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki and conducting at the Juilliard School in New York with Jean Morel....
(Chief Conductor of the Helsinki Philharmonic) and Maestro Alexander Polischuk (Distinguished Faculty, St Petersburg Conservatory
Saint Petersburg Conservatory
The N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg State Conservatory is a music school in Saint Petersburg. In 2004, the conservatory had around 275 faculty members and 1,400 students.-History:...
), the Academic Orchestra Zurich under the mentorship of Maestro Johannes Schlaefli (Professor, Musikhochschule Zurich), the University of Minnesota Symposium Wind Orchestra under the tutelage of Professor Craig Kirchhoff, and the University of North Texas
North Texas
North Texas is a distinct cultural and geographic area forming the central-northeastern section of the U.S. state of Texas. North Texas is generally considered to include the area south of Oklahoma, east of Abilene, and north of Waco...
Wind Symphony under the guidance of Professor Eugene Corporon.
Leonard Tan was recently awarded the NIE Music Scholarship. He is currently a doctoral student in music education at Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music
Jacobs School of Music
The Jacobs School of Music of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, is a music conservatory established in 1921. Until 2005, it was known as the Indiana University School of Music...
.
Career
Leonard Tan’s career took off in 1999 when he was appointed Resident Conductor of St. Margaret’s Secondary School Military Band, now known as St. Margaret’s Symphonic Band. He watched the band grew from strength of 20-odd members to a full-sized band. After garnering several awards both local and international, his career grew slowly as he took over many bands as Resident Conductor. He is also the conductor of secondary bands such as Chestnut Drive Secondary School, Catholic High and CHIJ Toa Payoh.In addition, other appointments including conductor of the Singapore National Youth Symphonia (formerly the Singapore National Youth Training Orchestra), music director and resident conductor of National University of Singapore Wind Symphony, music director of Philharmonic Winds
The Philharmonic Winds
The Philharmonic Winds is a Singaporean wind orchestra. Formed in 2000, The Philharmonic Winds has grown from strength to strength, and currently has more than 70 dedicated members....
, resident conductor of Victoria Junior College, Serangoon Junior College and Singapore Polytechnic Symphonic Bands, Nanyang Polytechnic Symphony Orchestra, and band conductor of Catholic High School and CHIJ Bands.
On top of his conducting engagements, Mr. Tan has served as music teacher at the NUS High School of Math and Science, where he taught music theory and history, music theory teacher at the Singapore Armed Forces Bands, lecturer in conducting at the LASALLE College of the Arts and lecturer in band training and direction at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. He holds memberships in College Band Director’s National Association, World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles, Music Educator’s National Conference, and The Conductor’s Guild.
Highlights of Tan's multi-faceted career include conducting Singapore Symphony Orchestra musicians in a Singapore-Japan Composers Exchange Concert, Singapore National Youth Orchestra musicians in the prestigious “Ong Teng Cheong Concert,” as well as several performances with the Philharmonic Winds, one of Singapore’s premier wind orchestras. His repertoire ranges from early classics to such twentieth-century works as Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale, and music by Singaporean composers Leong Yoon Pin, Goh Toh Chai, and Kelly Tang. In a production of Puccini’s opera Madama Butterfly, he worked with an international cast, choir and orchestra.
An accomplished tuba player, Mr. Tan has performed with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Singapore Opera Orchestra, Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, Desford Colliery Band (UK), Singapore Stompers (Dixieland Jazz), Singapore Armed Forces Tuba Quartet and Regal Brass Quintet. As soloist, he has performed concertos by Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...
, Edward Gregson
Edward Gregson
Edward Gregson is an English composer of international standing, whose music has been performed, broadcast, and recorded worldwide. He was born in Sunderland, England, in 1945. He studied composition and piano at the Royal Academy of Music from 1963-7, winning five prizes for composition...
, Derek Bourgeois
Derek Bourgeois
Derek Bourgeois is an English composer. Educated at Cambridge University , he spent two years at the Royal College of Music studying composition with Herbert Howells and conducting with Sir Adrian Boult.From 1970 to 1984 he was a lecturer in music at Bristol University, and then Director of the...
, and music for tuba and electronic tape by Walter Ross
Walter Ross
Walter Ross was a Canadian businessman and political figure who represented Prince Edward in the Canadian House of Commons as a Liberal member from 1867-1878....
. He conducts clinics on brass and tuba playing and coaches the Singapore National Youth Orchestra Brass Ensemble.
Achievements
Leonard Tan has acclaimed artistic accolades which include the National Arts Council Geogerette Chen Arts Scholarship, Rotary ClubRotary International
Rotary International is an organization of service clubs known as Rotary Clubs located all over the world. The stated purpose of the organization is to bring together business and professional leaders to provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help...
Training Grant, Lee Foundation
Lee Foundation
Lee Foundation is a charitable foundation in Singapore created to aid "the advancement of education, medicine and cultural activities; helping the poor; and assisting victims of fire, flood and famine", It also funded other philanthropic work...
Scholarship, Raffles Junior College Creative Arts Award, Kripalani Arts Challenge Trophy, and Royal Schools of Music High Scorer’s Award, St Margaret’s Partner-In-Education Teaching Award, CHIJ Certificate of Commendation, and WASBE Conducting Scholarship to study at the University of Minnesota, USA.
Artistic accolades include the National Arts Council Geogerette Chen Arts Scholarship, Rotary Club Training Grant Lee, Lee Foundation Scholarship, Raffles Junior College Creative Arts Award, Kripalani Arts Challenge Trophy, Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music
Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music
ABRSM is an internationally recognised educational body and charity that provides examinations in music The organisation, based in London, UK, runs exams in centres all over the world...
High Scorer’s Award, and World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles Conducting Scholarship. He led VJC Symphonic Band to a Gold with Honours Award at the 2007 SYF and a Gold award at the Pacific Basin Music Festival in Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...
in 2006, the St Margaret’s Symphonic Band to a Gold award at the 2005 SYF, the CHIJ Concert Band to a Gold award at the 2007 SYF, as well as a Gold with Distinction award at the 21st Century International Band Competition.