baroque violin / artistic director

Goh Soon Tioe Artistic Director’s Chair

Singaporean violinist Alan Choo has established himself on the global stage as a leading soloist, chamber musician and historical specialist. He is Concertmaster and Assistant Artistic Director of Apollo’s Fire, the Grammy Award-winning baroque orchestra in the United States, and made his solo debut with them at the Tanglewood and Ravinia Music Festivals in 2017. He is also Founder and Artistic Director of Red Dot Baroque, Singapore’s first professional period ensemble and Ensemble-in-Residence at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music. His solo album of the complete Mystery Sonatas by Heinrich Biber with Apollo’s Fire was released on AVIE Records in March 2024 and debuted at #2 on the Billboard Classical chart, earning a double 5-star review from BBC Music Magazine, and receiving rave reviews from multiple publications such as The Strad (UK) and Classica Magazine (France).

Alan has appeared as a soloist with Apollo’s Fire at prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall (NY), the Tanglewood Music Festival (MA), Ravinia Music Festival (IL) and St. Martin in the Fields (London, UK), and also with the FVG Orchestra (Italy), the St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra (Russia), Tafelmusik Winter Institute Orchestra (Canada), Shanghai Camerata, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Singapore Chinese Orchestra, Orchestra of the Music Makers (Singapore), and more.

In 2024, Alan was conferred the Young Artist Award by the National Arts Council Singapore – Singapore’s highest accolade for outstanding young artists. He was also the recipient of the Early Music Award 2016 from Peabody Conservatory, the Paul Abisheganaden Grant for Artistic Excellence 2015, the Goh Soon Tioe Centenary Award 2014, the Grace Clagett Ranney Prize in Chamber Music 2014 and 1st prize in the Singapore National Piano and Violin Competition 2011, Artist Category. He has also given masterclasses and lectures in violin performance, performance practice and stage presence to college students at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Michigan State University, Baldwin-Wallace College, Bowling Green State University, Yong Siew Toh Conservatory and Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. 

Alan holds a Doctorate in Historical Performance Practice at Case Western Reserve University, as well as degrees from the Peabody Conservatory and the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory. His teachers include Julie Andrijeski, Risa Browder, Victor Danchenko and Alexander Souptel.

baroque violin

Singaporean violinist Gabriel Lee’s career spans multiple dimensions, from captivating performances across diverse musical genres with both baroque and modern violins to pioneering new horizons in the Southeast Asian music scene as an educator and entrepreneur. His playing has been described as having a “breathtaking intensity, grabbing listeners by the lapels without letting go,” and “a passion and concentration that was hard to surpass” (The Straits Times).

Gabriel’s solo recitals have resonated across the United States, Singapore, Malaysia, and Myanmar, while his collaborations as a soloist include esteemed ensembles such as the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Red Dot Baroque, APEC21 Ensemble, Baltimore Baroque Band, Resound Collective, Asian Cultural Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of the Music Makers, Malaysia Bach Festival, Jakarta Festival Orchestra, PSPA International Ensemble, Braddell Heights Symphony Orchestra, and the Peabody Conductor’s Orchestra.

As a baroque violinist, Gabriel has performed solo with Enrico Onofri and the Resound Collective, Baltimore Baroque Band, Red Dot Baroque, Malaysia Bach Festival and the Jakarta Festival Orchestra. He has also performed in the Wilmington Bach Festival, Amherst Early Music Festival, Music at St. Bartholomew’s series, and collaborated with UMBC’s Camerata Chamber Choir. He studied with Risa Browder and played in masterclasses with Lucy van Dael, Ryo Terakado, Julie Andrijeski and Emlyn Ngai.

A passionate educator, Gabriel is the Managing Director of the SEA Music Academy Online, teaches chamber music at the YST Conservatory of Music, and serves as violin faculty at the School of the Arts (SOTA). In addition, he coaches the violin sections of the NUS Symphony Orchestra and the Tanjong Katong Girls School String Ensemble. His students have won prizes in international competitions and gained admission to prestigious conservatories around the world.

Gabriel has conducted masterclasses and coached ensembles across Singapore, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar, and Cambodia. He has served as an adjudicator for competitions such as the Alessandro Giuliani Violin Competition, Euroasia Strings Competition, NAFA Concerto Competition, Music Singapore International Competition, Singapore International Music Competition, Asia Arts Festival, and NAFA strings exams. He is also a member of the ABRSM Music Education Advisory Committee and the Forte Product Council.

Gabriel’s scholarly work reflects his dedication to artistic research. He has published and presented research at renowned conferences and journals, including the Australian and New Zealand Viola Society Journal, Australian Strings Association’s Stringendo Magazine, Juilliard Symposium, ABRSM Music Teacher Conference, Princess Galyani Vadhana International Symposium, and The Performer’s Present International Artistic Research Symposium.

Recognition for Gabriel’s achievements includes awards and scholarships such as the JC Van Hulsteyn Award in Violin and the Paul Abisheganaden Grant for Artistic Excellence. He graduated with two Master of Music degrees in Violin Performance and Baroque Violin Performance from the Peabody Conservatory, and a Bachelor of Music (Hons) degree from YSTCM as Valedictorian of his cohort.

baroque violin

Baroque and modern violinist Brenda Koh has performed in numerous chamber and orchestra ensembles in Singapore, Europe, and the United States. Brenda has taken up principal positions in orchestras including the Orchestra of the Music Makers and the Peabody Symphony Orchestra, and was invited to play with the Australian World Orchestra in their 2016 season as an Academy Player. She has also appeared as soloist and leader with the Baltimore Baroque Band at the Peabody Institute, and has performed with Tempesta di Mare, the Philadelphia Baroque Orchestra, the Washington Bach Consort, and the American Bach Soloist Academy. Brenda is a founding member of Singapore’s premier early music ensemble, Red Dot Baroque.

With a passionate interest in developing arts education within her community, Brenda has been actively involved in community engagement activities that aim to share the joy of music-making with the public. She has led the Community Engagement Team at the Orchestra of Music Makers, and programmed outreach concerts and workshops in Singapore and Taiwan.

Brenda earned her Joint Degree Bachelor of Music Degree from the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory and the Peabody Institute, and graduated with Master of Music Degrees in both Violin Performance and Historical Performance at the Peabody Institute, studying under Keng-Yuen Tseng and Risa Browder. Currently based in Singapore as a freelance musician and educator, Brenda serves as adjunct faculty at the NAFA School of Young Talents, School of the Arts, Singapore (SOTA) and the Tanglin Trust School.

baroque violin / viola

Singaporean violinist, Placida Ho, is equally at home on both the modern and baroque violin. She has played in numerous solo recitals in the Netherlands, Singapore and the US. Her passion for chamber and orchestral music has also led her to play in diverse ensembles, from chamber recitals with her string quartet in the Hague, to orchestras such as the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century and the Nationaal Jeugd Orkest. She has performed in many international festivals, such as the Utrecht Early Music Festival, Holland Festival where she was part of a Stockhausen opera, Beethoven Festival of the Hague and the Gergiev Festival in Rotterdam. In Singapore, she is a member of Red Dot Baroque, Singapore’s premier baroque ensemble.

She finished her Bachelor of Early Music on Baroque violin at the Royal Conservatoire of the Hague, the Netherlands. She studied with Ryo Terakado and modern violin with Liesbeth Ackermans. She studied with Alexander Souptel and Igor Yuzefovich for her Bachelor of Music with Honours (Violin Performance) in Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, Singapore. She also did a minor study on the violone with Maggie Uruqhart in the Hague for 2 years. For her modern chamber music training in the Hague, her quartet auditioned and was chosen to take part in lessons with the Casals Quartet for a year.

Throughout her studies she has been deeply interested in training herself as a teacher. She studied violin didactics with Liesbeth Ackermans for 2 years, attended numerous Kodaly workshops conducted by teachers from the Liszt Academy Kodaly Institute and taught in and observed the Pi music program for young children in the Conservatoire.

baroque viola

Chen Zhangyi's music has been described by BBC Radio 3 as “music from a voice of the future” and “a breath of fresh air on our musical landscape” by The Straits Times. In his compositions ranging from chamber operas to orchestral works, Zhangyi explores the themes of nature and the musical representation of Singaporean (and Pan-Asian) culture. Zhangyi read music at YST (Bmus), and Peabody Institute (MM, DMA), and currently teaches Analysis and Composition at Yong Siew Toh Conservatory (YST).

Zhangyi often conducts his own music and has worked with Singapore Lyric Opera, L'arietta, Ensemble Ripieno PH, Tokyo Philharmonic, among other ensembles. At YST, Zhangyi had led the new music ensemble OpusNovus (2016-2018) in performances of modern repertoire, including contemporary works by international and regional composers.

As a string player, Zhangyi has performed on baroque violin and viola with Charm City Baroque, Baltimore Baroque Band (at Peabody Institute), where he has appeared as soloist alongside Wynne Fung in a performance of JS Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 in 2015. Zhangyi is currently a member of Red Dot Baroque.

baroque viola

Erlene Koh has a Masters of Music degree in Viola performance and a Eurhythmics minor at the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM). She studied with Lynne Ramsey, Assistant Principal Viola of The Cleveland Orchestra.

Since returning to Singapore, she has recently attained a freelance Viola section position with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. She is also a member of the Red Dot Baroque, Ensemble-in-Residence at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, National University of Singapore. Erlene enjoys photography as a hobby, and does headshots for her musician friends.