Our Team

Karen Yap, Principal

She is professional cellist graduated from the Sydney Conservatory of Music (University of Sydney). A protégé of Professors Susan Blake, Barbara Woolley and Georg Pederson, Karen was awarded prizes in the local Eisteddfod Music Competitions (Open and Chamber categories) and scored distinctions in her concerto recitals as an undergraduate. She has received training exposure from renowned cellists & violinists – like Lin Cho-Liang, Kiril Rodin, Laslo Vaagar, Steven Isserlis and Eleonore Schoenfeld, musicians from the Chillingirian Quartet. She won several awards including the Sir David Martin Memorial Award, through her active participation in chamber music groups and Master Classes.

Karen worked with the East-West Philharmonic Orchestra before returning to Singapore. A firm believer that performing should be a necessary part of all musicians , she has given many private and public cello performances locally , including invitations from private organizations , the SSO Music Education Department and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs , having also performed for the President , the late Mr. Ong Teng Cheong at the Command House . She had worked with chamber groups like the Prism, Singapore Lyric Opera and is a freelance SSO cellist to-date.

Karen started the Tanglewood Music School in 2000, the ONLY cello school in Singapore, inculcating performing as a necessary part of her music curriculum. In January 2003, the school expanded to include the Violin and Viola.

In 2005, Karen led the first group of Singaporean players to Varna, Bulgaria for the children’s festival in June. And in 2007, she was appointed Honorary Teacher at the National Music School of Sofia.

A dental surgeon and the managing director of Team GPA, group of dental clinics, Dr Wilson Goh is also an avid instrument collector. His love for music began when he was a kid and he learnt the violin at aged 9 and completed Grade 8 when he was 14 years old.

Between 1990 and 1994, Wilson was the Concert Master of the National University of Singapore Orchestra. He was also a finalist in the National Violin Competition in 1989.

Dr. Goh is currently in the National Arts Council’s Advisory Committee, Violin Loan Scheme.

Ivan Peev, having been a Violin Professor of Bulgarian Conservatorium of Music since 1983 and a Concert Master of the Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra . Ivan has claimed valuable experiences, working with former Russian legends – composer Dmitri Shostakovich and Violinist David Oistrakh. Hailing from the Balkans, Ivan had also led the All’ Accademia Musicale Chigana di Sienna for an 18 year stint.

Ivan has had wide performing experiences with many famous musicians, singers and conductors. Among his awards, Ivan was winner of the Bulgarian National Competition for Musicians and Singers. He has also won the most prestigious national award in arts ‘The Golden Lyre’ for exceptional achievements in musical performance. His professional experiences included conducting Master Classes in Bulgaria, which he held annually and traveling extensively overseas, conduction Master Classes in Italy & South Korea. Ivan has over 20 live performances yearly with the Bulgarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra in all countries in Europe as well as in the United States, South America and Asia.

Janice Tsai graduated with a Master in Viola Performance from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. She has several degrees in both the violin and viola to her credit from the Australian Institute of Music, The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. Janice participated widely in Master Classes from 1994 to 2002 with acclaimed Violin and Cello masters, Ruggiero Ricci, Cho-Liang Lin, William Percell, Sylvia Roseenber, Malcolm Bilson, James Dunham, Yo-Yo Ma and Lynn Harrel.

She has been actively involved in orchestras, chamber music, recitals and concerts over the last ten years. Her professional experiences saw her performing with the St. Martin in the Fields, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Hong Kong Academy Symphony Orchestra; Violin and Viola Recitals in Shanghai, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Australia. She also attended music festivals at the Carinthia Summer Festival in Austria – conducted by Christoph Campestrini with Academy Chamber Orchestra, Festival Pablo Casals in Prades, France and various orchestra tours in Italy, England, Spain and South-East Asia.

Nguyen Huong Ly is a Vietnamese cellist, who graduated from the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, the National University of Singapore, in 2007. She studied under tutelage of Nella Hunkins. Huong Ly has made her engagement as a full-time cello instructor at Tanglewood Music School since.

Along with her passion in music, she has been an active chamber and orchestral musician. Her experiences range from performances in Piano quartet, Piano trio, Strings quartet to Cello choir. She has participated in Cellissimo with Qin Li-Wei, chamber masterclass with Michael Kannen and the T'ang Quartet.

Before coming to Singapore, Huong Ly studied and completed her Bachelor of Music at the Hanoi National Conservatory of Music. In addition, she was a member of the Hanoi Philharmonic Orchestra from 1998 to 2003. She has performed with the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra and the Vietnam Opera and Ballet Orchestra.

Having been doing well in all her cello exams, Cassandra has been mentoring students at Tanglewood Music School. In March 2007, she passed the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) Grade 8 cello examination with high distinction. As a high scorer, she was also awarded the privilege to perform in the ABRSM High Scorers’ Concert in 2005 and 2006.

Cassandra began learning the piano at the age of four. Since then, she has completed the Senior Piano Course in 2003 and passed the ABRSM Grade 8 piano in 2006 with distinction. She scored high marks in the ABRSM Grade 8 Theory examination, and was awarded the Hedy King Robinson Prize ABRSM Theory of Music Grade 6 (Distinction) in 2006.

In April 2007, Cassandra won the first prize in the Open Category for the 1st Tanglewood String Competition. Currently pursuing her Diploma in cello performance under the tutelage of Ms. Karen Yap, she has attended cello masterclasses in Sofia, Bulgaria, with the Principle Cellist of Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra, Prof. Bogomil Karakonov and Mrs. Kalina Peeva, former cellist of Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra.

Cassandra is presently involved in a semi-professional chamber group conducted by Mr. Eric Lee, and enjoys playing solo, orchestral and chamber works.

Carolyn Lo is an assistant accompanist with Tanglewood Music School. Having completed her Grade 8 theory examination, Carolyn has also achieved Grade 8 distinctions in both the violin and piano. She has also completed a senior piano course and attended the third Singapore Piano Pedagogy Symposium in 2007.

Carolyn has accompanied many violin, viola and cello students for their examinations and concerts.

As a performer, Carolyn was first runner-up in the Open category for Tanglewood Music School’s first string competition held in April 2007. Most recently, Carolyn and her sister Cassandra, were invited to perform with the Chiang Rai Youth Orchestra in February 2008, to commemorate the life of Thailand’s late Princess Galyani Vadhana.

Gevorg “George” Sargsyan is a winner of the Sir Georg Solti Foundation grant-award in 2006 and is a renowned Armenian conductor. At 18 years of age, after graduating from the Orchestral Conducting Department of the Yerevan State Conservatory under Professor Yuri Davtyan, he was appointed to the position of assistant conductor of the Yerevan State Conservatory’s Symphonic Orchestra.

In 2002, he rose to become artistic director and conductor of Yerevan Youth Chamber Orchestra. Three years later, in 2005, George was appointed assistant director and conductor of the Armenian National Academic Opera & Ballet Theatre.

George’s musical career started with the cello. Besides conducting, George has extensive experience in performing and teaching the cello.

George is a “Masterclass” labeled artiste under the Armenian Music Center. Recordings of classical masterpieces made by George are an inherent part of Armenian Music Center’s productions.

In January 2007, George was included in the web-directory of the ‘1000 Armenian Famous Persons’, having been performing across Europe, particularly in countries like Armenia and Russia.

With Tanglewood Music School, George hopes to cultivate and nurture young talents in the area of conducting.

Chye Yen started learning piano in secondary school and was awarded the highly sought-after Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) diploma examination. Thereafter, she studied at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts where she emerged as the best pianist in her class’s 2003 graduation recital. Under the prestigious Lee Foundation scholarship, she furthered her studies and obtained a Bachelor’s degree under University of Wales, England in 2004.

Over the next two years, Chye Yen did her masters degree (postgraduate studies) in Hamburg, Germany, at the Johannes Brahms Music Konservatory, under renowned Russian pianist Irina Kolesnikova. Her study in Hamburg proved to be a great success, with two acclaimed recitals, where she obtained a distinction in her graduation assessment.

Besides being a seasoned performer, Chye Yen currently dedicates her music knowledge to her successful teaching career in Singapore. Chye Yen has been tutored by renowned musicians including Ms. Hau Ping Ping in Johor Bahru, renowned pianist Mr. Ong Lip Tat in Singapore and Professors Irina Kolesnikova and Manfred Fock in Germany. In addition, she has also had masterclasses with renowned American pianist Professor Ruth Slencynsky.