Tang Tee Khoon Is Taking Innovative Steps To Nurture A Love Of Classical Music

A violin virtuoso, chamber music advocate and passionate arts educator, Tang Tee Khoon is taking innovative steps to nurture a love of classical music among Singaporeans.

- Zara Zhuang

When Covid struck and life was upended, Tang Tee Khoon didn’t sit around waiting for the storm to pass. After the concert series she planned for April 2020 had to be cancelled, the violinist turned her thoughts to the pandemic’s impact on the livelihood of musicians and artists.

“I started to think, if the pandemic lasts six to nine months, what are artists going to do?” recalls the 37-year-old founder and artistic director of Chamber Music and Arts Singapore (CMAS). “So let’s maybe bring our audiences online and connect with them – even though we can’t meet face to face – and bring quality arts to them through electronic means.”

That was how The Glasshouse was born. To bring the virtual creative sphere to life, Tee Khoon put together a team, including illustrators and an art therapist, to create content, and launched the platform in August 2020.

That speedy pivot turned out to be opportune: The Glasshouse’s four programmes caught the attention of Singapore’s Ministry of Education and National Institute of Education, the French Embassy and Norwegian Cultural Centre in Singapore, and a music conservatory in China. Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC booked it for engagement sessions as part of its mental wellness series for residents. And Singapore Teachers Academy for the Arts invited CMAS to run a workshop for teacher-leaders, on creating learning and teaching materials using music and arts for personal development for youths.