The Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music

On August 4, 2003, the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music (YSTCM) of the National University of Singapore opened its doors to an inaugural class of music and composition students. The Dean of the YSTCM (and former Dean of the Peabody Conservatory), Dr. Steven Baxter, along with his international music faculty and staff as well as members of the Peabody community, welcomed 72 freshmen from a dozen countries into brand-new and soundproofed temporary facilities. The YSTCM enjoyed a successful inaugural year as it established a positive presence in the international music marketplace, ensured its financial footing via the largest gift ever received by the National University of Singapore, recruited a robust ongoing student intake, and solidified its relationship with Peabody.

Students from Peabody joined their counterparts in Singapore in conjunction with a Peabody String Fellowship that enables groups of Peabody students to spend 2-3 week sessions in residence in order to study, practice, and perform with the orchestra of the YSTCM as well as with the professional Singapore Symphony. Several members of the Peabody faculty have also traveled to Singapore over the course of the year to conduct master classes and private lessons for the YSTCM students. Other members of the Peabody community have traveled to Singapore in order to lend their expertise on topics ranging from acoustical design for the conservatory’s new facility to enrollment management in the admissions office.

The signing of an agreement between the National University of Singapore and the Johns Hopkins University on November 26, 2001 created the first collaboration of its kind between a top American conservatory of music and a leading university in the Asia Pacific region. The Peabody Institute embraced the opportunity to provide artistic advice and conservatory expertise in the development of a new conservatory in Singapore—the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music. This synergistic collaboration brings a fresh infusion of international dialog on Peabody’s Baltimore campus as its musicians, scholars, and administrators lend the wisdom of the Institute’s accumulated knowledge to the development of the YSTCM. Combining Singapore’s vision with Peabody’s know-how, the YSTCM will be created to measure favorably against any international benchmark for excellence in music scholarship and performance. The Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, an integral part of the National University of Singapore, offers a 4-year undergraduate music degree program comparable to programs at major conservatories of music around the world.

On November 27, 2007 the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University hosted a ceremony to celebrate the renewal of their agreement with the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music of the National University of Singapore (NUS). Peabody and the NUS joined forces in 2001 to establish the first conservatory of music in the republic of Singapore, and the two institutions have continued to foster close ties with student and faculty exchanges. The ceremony featured remarks by William Brody, president of the Johns Hopkins University, Chan Heng Chee, ambassador of Singapore, and representatives from the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory. A performance by Peabody and Yong Siew Toh students of a work composed by former Peabody faculty member Chen Yi followed the signing.

Pictured above (l-r): William R. Brody, President of the Johns Hopkins University; Tan Chorh Chuan, Senior Deputy President of the National University of Singapore; Jeffrey Sharkey, Director of the Peabody Institute.