LOGINMarinela Balagtas
Field(s) of study: Violin, Violin Group Born: The Philippines Degrees: Associate Diploma in Violin from Trinity College London Biography: Ms Marinela started learning the violin at the age of 11 and attained her Diploma in Violin from Trinity College of London. Her performance repertoire includes overseas stints in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines accompanying internationally acclaimed artistes such as Kit Chan and Anita Abishiganaden. Ms Marinela has also performed for the late President Ong Teng Cheong for charity and former President Tony Tan at the Singapore Parliament. She also had the opportunity to perform for the late Prime Minister Lee Kwan Yew on two separate occasions and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Ms Marinela has been actively teaching in Mandeville Conservatory of Music from 2003 till present. With her experience, she is able to teach students as young as 3 years old onwards. Ms Marinela enjoys working with different age groups as it is always an enriching learning experience with the different demographics. She will tweak and adjust her teaching style to adjust to the learning capabilities of her student as she understands that every student is different. Under her guidance, her students achieved mostly merits and distinctions for their music exams. Ms Marinela’s love for performing translates to her encouraging and engaging her students to performing, and not just playing for exams. Ms Marinela is part of the teaching faculty who trains the Violin Stars, a performance violin group. In Violin Stars, students are focused in training for performances which helps them build their confidence and in turn, they enjoy the music that they play. The Violin Stars have performed extensively in various countries like Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam and playing for the diplomats in Jakarta, Indonesia during the Bulgarian National Day. They have also performed in Vienna, Austria in December 2016 together with the Vienna Boys Choir and also in Taiwan in December 2017 for the BoAi Music Festival. Ms Marinela is also a member of the Suzuki Association under Suzuki Violin Teacher Training and has participated in Suzuki Early Childhood Education (SECE). Faculty: Faculty since 2002