Dr Leonard Tan
Singaporean musician Leonard Tan is a prolific conductor with a strong presence in the Singapore arts scene.
Since his appointment in 2008 as Music Director, he has led the Philharmonic Winds to numerous successes and broke new ground through acclaimed performances of works such as John Corigliano’s Symphony No. 3, Karel Husa’s Music for Prague, and numerous new commissions. He also champions the works of Singaporean composers.
With the restructuring of the Philharmonic Winds and Philharmonic Youth Winds, he continues providing artistic leadership for the Philharmonic Winds Group as its Music Director.
He earned his doctoral degree from the world-famous Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he studied orchestral conducting with David Effron, Arthur Fagen and Murray Sidlin, and wind conducting with Stephen Pratt. He also participated in seminars by Leonard Slatkin, Cliff Colnot and William Jon Gray, and conducted the Indiana University Symphony Orchestra, Concert Orchestra, University Orchestra, Conductor’s Orchestra, and Summer Concert Band.
Prior to his doctoral studies, he studied orchestral conducting through masterclasses with Leif Segerstam and Alexander Polischuk in Russia, where he worked with the St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic, and with Johannes Schlaefli, where he worked with Academic Orchestra Zurich. He also worked with leading wind conductors such as Eugene Corporon, Jack Stamp, and Craig Kirchhoff.
He has conducted numerous leading ensembles, including Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Singapore National Youth Orchestra (Principal Conductor), Ensemble de la Belle Musique (Principal Conductor), The Philharmonic Winds (Music Director), and Indiana University orchestras.
Performances under Maestro Tan’s direction have been lauded by local and international critics. Singapore’s The Straits Times described his performance of Corigliano’s Symphony No. 3 as “masterfully helmed,” while the American press lauded his “artful conducting.” He served “with distinction” as Principal Conductor of the Singapore National Youth Orchestra, where he was praised by the press for his performance of “rare blazing intensity.”
Leonard Tan is currently an Associate Professor of Music, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.