GUADAGNINI VIOLIN SHOP

“Dear Chunyee,
My heartfelt gratitude for your honesty & expert advice over the years!
God bless!”
—Wee-Hsin Tan
Viola, Singapore Symphony Orchestra 

 

Biography of Wee-Hsin Tan

Wee-Hsin TAN began viola studies under former Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) violist Lim Tze Chian when he joined the Singapore National Youth Orchestra in 1991. In 1997, Tan was awarded a SSO/MOE scholarship to study with George Taylor at the renowned Eastman School of Music where he graduated with Highest Distiction in 2001. He also holds a Master of Music (2006) in Performance and Pedagogy from Northwestern University, and served as Teaching Assistant to Roland Vamos, Professor of Viola and Violin. In June 2008, Tan was conferred the Doctor of Music eighteen months after he embarked on the course, an achievement unprecedented in the history of Northwestern University.

Besides his full time professional work with the SSO since 2001, Tan's orchestral experience includes performances and recordings with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He has also substituted frequently with the Rochester and Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestras. Chamber recitals include those with the Eastman Virtuosi and Grammy Award winning Ying Quartet in New York, a live broadcast performance over NHK Radio in Japan, the SSO Chamber Series, PRISM at the 1st Singapore Chamber Music Festival and others in Chicago, Beijing, Seoul, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur. As soloist, Tan has performed with the Singapore Chamber Players and Braddell Heights Symphony Orchestra. In 2009, he performed the Asian premier of Witches' Soiree by Lazar Trachtenberg at the Esplanade Recital Studio with violinist Yang Shu Xiang. Tan has also premiered several solo and chamber works by local composer Tan Chan Boon.

An active participant of festivals and pedagogy workshops, Tan attended Kent/Blossom, Indiana University String Academy, Nice Academy, Heidelberg Festival, ASEAN Youth Music Workshop, Asian Youth Orchestra, ASEAN-Japan Symphony Orchestra and the Kumamoto Music Festival. Tan has performed in masterclasses led by James Dunham, John Graham, Atar Arad, Mimi Zweig, Jerzy Kosmala and the Medici, Miami and Kumho Asiana String Quartets; additional viola studies were taken with Abraham Skernick, Wayne Crouse, Eugene Becker and Luigi Bianchi.