Archives: Faculty Members

Field(s) of study : Piano and Theory

Born : Malaysia

Degrees : Bachelor of music, University Science Malaysia, Penang

Biography : An interest in playing the piano at a young age blossomed into a full-fledged tertiary education in music – Ms. Ivy obtained her Bachelor Degree (Hons) in Music Pedagogy and Performance from the University of Science Malaysia, Penang under the tutelage of Dr. Yumi Yoshioka in 2009. She also attained her Associateship diploma from Trinity College of London (ATCL) with distinction while studying in high school.

During the course of her studies, she has participated in the Jazz Band as a violinist. She was part of the strings members of Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in Penang State (PESSOC). She has performed extensively for various types of instrumental and vocal performance, recital, charity, and examination.

In the year 2015, she has attained Suzuki Piano Teacher Training Certification with Suzuki Association of the Americas (SAA) in Memphis and Columbus under the tutelage of Caroline Fraser and Mary Craig Powell.

As a music lover, she creates elaborate music arrangements for kids, bands, and choirs for ensemble performances.

Ms. Ivy has been a music instructor of piano, aural and theory since 2008 and has extensive experience working with students of all ages from 3-55, in both Malaysia and in Singapore. She has prepared students for music exams in ABRSM and has consistently produced good results for her students scoring mainly distinctions and merits. She enjoys working with all age groups. She has also worked as a volunteer in MINDS Organisations with special needs children in music enrichment programmes.

Ms. Ivy’s teaching approach encapsulates the Suzuki Philosophy in its entirety that every child can learn. She also firmly believes that music is a form of language that everyone can be taught to be fluent in. Therefore, by utilizing different methods and effective teaching, she is committed in bringing out the best from every student, inspire them and to help them blossom into well-rounded individuals.

She cultivates students’ curiosity and interest in learning by showing commitment to student learning as she believes that it can be an important factor in motivating students.

With such great dedication and love for music teaching, her biggest motivation and goal as a teacher is to enable students to realize a level of proficiency that will allow them to learn music independently, leading to lifelong appreciation and enjoyment in music-making.

Faculty : Faculty since August 2012

Field(s) of study: Piano

Degrees: Doctor of Musical Arts, Arizona State University; Master of Music, University of Wyoming; Bachelor of Music, National Taipei University of Education

Biography: Ms Fanny received her Doctor of Musical Arts in piano performance from Arizona State University. She also holds a Master’s degree in piano performance from the University of Wyoming, and a Bachelor’s degree in piano performance from National Taipei University of Education.

Ms Fanny has gained invaluable experience as both a teacher and performer during her studies at school. While studying at UW, she received a full scholarship and served as a graduate assistant, working with wind symphony, orchestra, string ensembles, and soloists. She continued working as a collaborative pianist at the same school after graduation. During her studies at ASU, Ms Fanny was a teaching assistant offering class piano for beginners and music majors. She also worked as a piano instructor at TakeLessons.com. Her doctoral dissertation, titled ‘Four Piano Works of Ming-Hsiu Yen,’ serves as an accessible reference for pianists interested in Yen’s compositions and the repertoire of contemporary Taiwanese piano music. The paper was published in ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global.

As a pianist, Ms Fanny has had the privilege of performing at prestigious music festivals, concerts, and competitions in the USA, Europe, and Taiwan. She was the winner of the MTNA Wyoming State Piano Competition (USA) and the YAMAHA National Piano Competition (Taiwan). Additionally, she was selected to perform at the Honor Convocation at the UW recital hall and was invited to participate in the ASU exchange program with the Conservatoire National de Grenoble. Her journey has also involved performances in masterclasses with renowned pianists such as Yekwon Sunwoo, Ching-Yun Hu, Neil Rutman, France Clidat, Read Gainsford, and Fernando Puchol.

In recent years, Ms Fanny has had several students who achieved distinction in their ABRSM or Trinity piano examinations. One of her students was the winner of the 2022 New York Golden Classical Music Awards International Competition and was invited to perform at Carnegie Hall. Her commitment to teaching excellence has been recognized through teacher certificates of recognition from SRIMF Competition, Music Singapore International Piano and Violin Competition, and New York Golden Classical Music Awards International Competition.

Faculty : Faculty since July 2023

Field(s) of study : Piano

Born : Taiwan

Degrees : Doctorate degree of Music in Piano performance, Conservatorio di Musica Luca Marenzio di Brescia, Italy

Biography : Chia-Hui Su is a Taiwanese pianist who has many teaching and performing experiences all over Asia and Europe. She has a bachelor’s degree in science and music. She won the first prize in the Japan Classical Music Competition in 2011, the third prize in the Taiwan music competition in 2012, and the last round qualifier of the Tainan government music competition in 2014. During 2013 – 2015, she continued studying for her Master degree in Music at National Chiayi University, and was a Teaching Assistant of the musical solfeggio course during her study; she was also a Teaching Assistant and piano accompanist in the course “Voice of Music Training” at the National Chiayi University.

She received her Diploma Accademia di Musica di Secondo Livello (equivalent to Doctorate degree) in Piano Performance from Conservatorio di Musica “Luca Marenzio” di Brescia in Italy, under many great pianists’ guidance: Ruggero Ruocco, Daniela Piovani, Umberto Benedetti Michelangeli and Giampaolo Stuani. At the same time, she studied the accompaniment practice and choral conducting with Prof. Marco Ghiglione.

During her study in Italy, she had participated in numerous concerts: Concert review of the students of the Conservatory, 2016 Milano Piano City, 2017 “Mille Miglia” in Brescia at the Auditorium San Barnaba, “2017 Marenzio Plays” in the Musical Academy-Mind Literary Café, 2017 and 2018 Brescia Music Festival at Piazza Benedetti Michelangeli, both as a solo pianist and accompanist.

She completed her doctoral thesis in November 2018, “Debussy between Impressionism and Symbolism: Suite Bergamasque in Formal, Thematic and Harmonic Analysis”, conducted by the Italian pianist and composer, Prof. Alessandro Lucchetti, and graduated with a high score to receive the Highest Piano Performance Diploma.

She was invited by NTUE to open an online lecture, “Science x Music: Open your International Date Line / Multidisciplinary learning experience sharing”, to share and exchange ideas with college students in May 2020. In the same year, she also participated in the edx Course, “Beethoven’s 9th Symphony and the 19th Century Orchestra”, held by Harvard University, under Prof. Thomas Forrest Kelly. And she was honored to be invited to participate in the 2020 Taiwan National Day activities hosted by the Taipei Representative Office in Singapore and Taipei Business Association In Singapore. Lately she finished the edX Course, “Artistic Research in Music”, held by KU LEUVEN University & Orpheus Institute in October 2021.

Her performance and teaching experience is all over Asia and Europe: Taipei, Tainan, Chiayi, Singapore, Milan, Brescia, Paris, etc.

Faculty : August 2022