Help Fund Jocelyn’s Postgraduate Studies in Music

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SUMMARY

Hello! My name is Jocelyn, and I am a traditional musician, composer and educator from sunny Singapore! I've recently been accepted into Goldsmiths, University Of London, to study for an MA Music (Audiovisual Cultures). Despite working for years since graduating with a BA (Hons) Music (Composition) from the LASALLE College Of The Arts, Singapore in 2016, circumstances have rendered me unable to fully pay for the sum of my postgraduate tuition and estimated living costs. Hence, I am seeking support to achieve my longstanding dream of pursuing a Masters in Music, through which I then intend to help people engage with the unique musical cultures of Singapore.


MY GOAL

  • Tuition fees (one-year): £17,760
  • Accommodation costs (one-year): £9600

I will be aiming to support all rolling, living expenses by part-timing through school, as well with my current savings.


ABOUT ME

I am a Singaporean musician who plays the piano and sheng, a traditional Chinese instrument with bamboo reeds. I used to play for the Singapore National Youth Chinese Orchestra, where I was a recipient of two Good Performance Awards (2011, 2012) and appointed as the sheng principal player for 2013. The collaborative element in ensemble playing has always been something I've enjoyed immensely. Ever since, I’ve performed with various orchestras and ensembles, representing my country in various festivals across Asia - some of the more notable ones include the 2015 ASEAN Traditional Music Festival held in Thanh Hoa, Vietnam; the 2016 Hyderabad Literary Festival in Hyderabad, India (where I played gamelan); the 2017 and 2020 ASEAN Youth Ensemble project in Bangkok, Thailand.

In 2016, I obtained my honours degree in music composition at the LASALLE College of the Arts, where I received the Future Leader Scholarship. As a first-generation university student, it was an opportunity that I was immensely grateful for, and I did my best to prove myself worthy of the trust vested in me. Some of my compositions include Staticity (2013), a piece for four-hand piano which was selected for world premiere at the 32nd Asian Composers’ League Festival (2014) held in Yokohama, Japan, as well as Yuan (2014), a piece for fusion Chinese orchestra which was premiered at a benefit concert, “The New Tomorrow” (2015). My commissions include scoring for “Round”, an animation film by Samatha Seah for “Utter: Head Trips” (2015) - a Singapore Writers’ Festival initiative supported by the National Arts Council - and Mood . Sketch (2017), a piece for the St. Andrew’s Junior College Chinese Orchestra’s participation in the Singapore Youth Festival. With local choreographer Neo Jialing, I co-created three performance pieces – this includes Jiak Kantang, which was produced during a residency at MOTUS Danza and premiered at the 2019 Move Off Festival in Italy. In 2018, I founded crossover ensemble PB&J, in hopes of establishing a unique soundworld inspired by a fascination with minimalist music, while showcasing my creative backbone in Chinese traditional music. In 2020, we produced two music videos, courtesy of the Digital Presentation Grant awarded by the Singapore National Arts Council.

As a Singaporean musician who plays the sheng, I have always been cognizant of my role as an ambassador of Chinese traditional music. In a young, multicultural country working to build its cultural heritage, educating people about traditional music cultures is a meaningful undertaking. Given this understanding, community-building and outreach have been cornerstones of my music journey; it thus was natural for me to turn to education as an extension of my work. Since graduation, I have taught in various capacities, including teaching Music and English Literature in primary and secondary schools. I have tutored needy students for no pay, bought children meals, writing materials and musical instruments with my own money, and spent countless hours helping each child become more confident through their efforts. Currently, I teach private music lessons; it always fills me with great joy to see a student learning more about themselves through music. Teaching is a meaningful vocation, and a role I plan to always play in one way or the other.


WHY SUPPORT ME, IN MY PURSUIT OF THIS PROGRAMME?

In a world where on-demand content is now de rigueur, audiovisual media is key to making traditional music more accessible and relevant to people who might not necessarily be predisposed to it. Through this Masters programme, I intend to study the impact of audiovisual mediums on the dissemination of traditional music. To put knowledge into practice, I intend to explore a topic of personal interest: the curation of national identity through audiovisual representation of traditional Singaporean music. By documenting this reality, I hope to challenge myself and others to rethink their perception of traditional arts.

I live with my single-parent dad, who is the humblest, most hard-working person I've ever met. Thanks to him, I have a roof over my head, hot meals to eat, and music lessons to attend as a child. I cannot emphasize enough how incredibly lucky I have been to have a whole slew of opportunities presented to me over the years; I have and always will be grateful for that. I have always been a firm believer in giving back to those who need a helping hand - and through teaching, I have always made it a case to help students who want to learn music, but for one reason or the other, are unable to. With this Masters under my belt, I really hope to be able to effect greater change and encourage more young Singaporeans to engage with their own culture.

By supporting me, you will not only be supporting a traditional arts practitioner in documenting Singapore's unique arts culture and heritage, but a first-gen undergraduate student - and now, potentially, a first-gen postgraduate student - in forging an unchartered path in traditional ethnic music education. Whether you choose to send a donation or share this campaign, I sincerely thank you from the bottom of my heart. Have a lovely day ahead!

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  • Jocelyn Tan
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