MAJORS
Piano
The intensive training programme offered by YST’s Piano area attracts outstanding applicants from Asia, Europe, USA, Canada and Australasia. The Piano intake each year is small and highly selective, so that our faculty members can attend to the individual needs and personal development of every pianist in our highly specialised training programmes.
Performance opportunities at the Conservatory are numerous and offer our pianists an ongoing array of public appearances, requiring each student to maintain an active portfolio of solo, ensemble and concerto repertoire. There are also opportunities to perform off-campus in many of Singapore’s most beautiful and sought-after venues, including the Esplanade Recital Studio, Victoria Concert Hall, Asian Civilisations Museum, and National Gallery. In addition, opportunities to perform for visiting artists in our ongoing piano masterclass series place our pianists in close working relationships with some of the leading pianists of our time, many of whom perform regularly with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra.
Our piano graduates have earned an impressive number of scholarships for further study at renowned schools and conservatories such as Juilliard, Yale, Indiana, Rice, Boston, Eastman, Michigan, New England, Royal Academy and Royal College.
Even while studying with us, our pianists are also selected for study at prestigious festivals around the world, including the Verbier, Aspen, Engadin, Orford, Banff, Bowdoin, Brasov, Pan Pacific, Yellow Barn, Chethams, Kirishima, Mannes, Ecole Normale, Semaine, Gold Country and Fondation Bell’ Arte summer music programmes. Our students have also participated regularly in competitions worldwide such as the Sydney, Hamamatsu, Hong Kong, Bachauer, Geneva, Leeds, Krainev, Viardo, Waring, Seoul and New York International Piano Competitions.
YST pianists have been invited to perform internationally with orchestras such as the London Soloists Chamber Orchestra, Lamont Symphony, Kaunas Symphony, Dnipropetrovsk Philharmonic, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Philippines Philharmonic, Rochester Philharmonic, Queensland Symphony, KLPAC Orchestra, Christchurch Symphony, Silesian Philharmonic, Guizhan Orchestra and the Vietnam National Orchestra.
When considered together with our generous financial support and state-of-the-art practice and concert facilities (second to none in this part of the world), it is easy to understand why so many professionally-minded young pianists consider the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music as the premier choice for piano study.
Programme Structure
In addition to individual weekly lessons with their major study teacher, Piano majors focus on collaborative piano studies, accompanying, and piano ensemble (study and performance of piano four hands and two piano works) – all areas which support and feature prominently in our performance-oriented curriculum. Our fleet of Yamaha Stagea Electones also opens up unique opportunities for YST pianists to perform symphonic repertoire in concert. Pianists also take an array of academic courses which supplement their knowledge of theoretical and historical aspects of repertoire from the early 18th century to the present.
These studies are accompanied by regular performance opportunities, including junior and senior recitals, as well as involvement in the YST’s vibrant calendar of events within and beyond the Conservatory. In addition, students develop as well-rounded musicians and explore personal interests and strengths through a wider network of music studies and elective courses.
Entry Requirements
At YST, our student selection criteria evaluates a range of factors in an application portfolio, including the candidate’s intellectual aptitude, curiosity, energy, artistic drive, relationship with people, linguistic proficiency and personal qualities that will contribute value to the cohort.
In addition to seeking the best emerging musical talents locally and in the region, our audition process is tailored to discover aspiring applicants with potential for developing a viable future professional and artistic identity.
Beyond evident current capacity in the applicant’s Major field, we explore how our programme resonates with them.
Click the following button for our admissions requirements.
AUDITION REQUIREMENTS
Live auditions in Singapore and some overseas locations take place from the immediately-preceding December to February period. View our admissions and academic timeline here.
Candidates are required to perform one selection from each of the following five groups:
One virtuoso etude by Chopin, Liszt, Rachmaninov, Debussy, Scriabin, Bartok, Stravinsky, Moszkowski, Prokofiev, Ligeti, or Bolcom
Any Prelude & Fugue chosen from the Well-Tempered Clavier by J.S. Bach
A complete sonata by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, or Clementi (all movements)
A major work from the Romantic period*
A representative work from the 20th century to the present*
(*See FAQs on Piano Audition Guidelines for further specifications on these categories.)
Piano candidates must first submit a pre-screening video to be reviewed by the piano faculty. The repertoire required for the pre-screening video and the live audition must be the same. Shortlisted candidates will then be invited to the live audition in Singapore, which will include 2 rounds:
Round 1 includes an audition featuring works selected from the candidate’s repertoire list by the audition panel, followed by a 5-minute interview and a short English oral test (for overseas candidates not exempted from the Qualifying English Test).
Candidates who are in a competitive position for an offer of admission will be invited to Round 2, where they will be required to perform further works selected from the audition programme, sight reading of a short piano piece and complete a 1-hour listening and general musical aptitude test. Each finalist will also receive a one-to-one trial lesson with a major teacher.
NOTE:
All audition repertoires must be performed from memory.
No exceptions or substitutions will be permitted for the above requirements.
No concerti or transcriptions are permitted.
Each candidate must also submit a Repertoire Validation List of works that he/she has studied within the last three years as part of the application process.
For the pre-screening video, each piece must be uploaded as a separate file and labelled to indicate the composer, title and movement e.g. the Prelude & Fugue and each sonata movement should be recorded as a separate file. For consistency, each piece must be an unedited, high quality recording performed in one sitting on a grand piano with the same room conditions. Recordings should be uploaded onto Google Drive, DropBox or other available accessible platforms online.
Any remaining questions regarding repertoire can be addressed to Conservatory Head of Keyboard Studies, Prof Thomas Hecht.
Gallery
YST CONSERVATORY
National University of Singapore
3 Conservatory Drive
Singapore 117376
