A Heart For The Arts

Kris Foundation director Kris Tan is one of a growing number of philanthropists committed to the long-term nurturing of young talent in the arts sector. Along with other dedicated donors and industry veterans, she tells Grace Ma what sustainable arts giving entails

- Grace Ma

A COMMITMENT TO GROW the arts sector can only be fuelled by a personal passion. Kris Tan loved music so much growing up that she not only encouraged her two sons and daughter to be music lovers and accomplished musicians like herself, the director of Kris Foundation has also actively supported the local classical music scene through her foundation, and as a member of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) Ladies’ League.

Set up in 2011, the Kris Foundation’s mission is to provide young classical musicians with opportunities to develop their skills, expand their knowledge and enrich their potential talent. It organises a few concerts a year to showcase promising young musicians, highlight lesser-known instruments such as the viola, and give musicians experience in solo public performances. At a recent concert in December last year, students from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts not only performed classic pieces by Austrian composer Franz Schubert, but also two musical compositions titled Sommerlied and Flower Visages by Tan’s 24-year-old daughter, Lim Kang Ning.

“I think Singapore needs to have a lot more of our own music compositions; pieces that can be recognisable as Singaporean,” says Tan. “I’m always thinking of how I’m going to help the younger generation, such as providing a conducive space for practice and performance, opportunities for both performance and self-expression, and also resources to do research. I also hope to build up a strong library of music research by perhaps extending an arts residency to young musicians as well as composers.”