Samuel Tan Hsien Chih

Samuel Tan Hsien Chih

  • Senior Lecturer
Department of Film and Performing Arts
Google Scholar
SDGs Focus
Quality Education
Sustainable Cities and Communities
Partnership for the Goals

Biography

Samuel Tan is a collaborative pianist, ethnomusicologist, and music educator. He graduated with First Class Honours from the University of Malaya, and earned a Master's and Advanced Postgraduate Diploma with distinction from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. His research interests include music and culture, music education, and music preservation through arranging. Samuel also serves as an accredited examiner for the Trinity College London examination board, and he is completing his PhD thesis on Malaysian Chinese art song. 

Academic & Professional Qualifications

  • Advanced Postgraduate Diploma in Professional Performance, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, UK (2011)
  • Master of Music, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, UK (2010)
  • Bachelor of Performing Arts (Music), University of Malaya, Malaysia (2009)

Research Interests

  • Ethnomusicology
  • Music Education
  • Music Preservation

Teaching Areas

  • Collaborative Piano
  • Musicology
  • Music performance

Courses Taught

  • Chamber Music
  • Creative Project
  • Music Theory and Musicianship
  • Principal Study

Notable Publications

  1. Tan, S. H. C. (2023, Dec 4–9). Malaysian Chinese Art Song Competitions: An Invented Tradition Bridging Past and Future [Paper presentation]. Twelfth Symposium of the ICTMD Study Group on Music and Minorities, University of Kelaniya, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
  2. Tan, S. H. C. (2022, June 21–24). The Malaysian Chinese Art Song: Musicking, Sino-Soundscapes, and Cultural Identity [Paper presentation]. Twelfth International Doctoral Workshop in Ethnomusicology, University of Hildesheim, Germany.
  3. Tan, S. H. C. (2021, July 29–August 5). Singing Malaysian Chineseness: Poetic Sino-Soundscapes of the Malaysian Chinese Art Song [Paper presentation]. 2021 Symposium of the ICTM Study Group on Performing Arts of Southeast Asia (PASEA), Tainan National University of the Arts, Taiwan.
  4. Phang, K. C. & Tan, S. H. C. (2019). Selected Art Songs by Malaysian Chinese Composers [Album recording]. Universiti Teknologi MARA.
  5. Tan, S. H. C. (2018, November 13–15). Singing the Past in the Present: Decoding the Origins of Malaysian Chinese Art Song [Paper presentation]. International Music and Performing Arts Conference 2018, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Malaysia. 

Achievements & Accolades

  • Winner of the Burke Trophy for Piano - Playing at Birmingham Conservatoire, UK (2011)
  • Winner of the Advanced Postgraduate Diploma Course Prize, UK (2011)
  • First Prize in the John Ireland Piano and Chamber Prize, UK (2011)
  • First Prize in the Delia Hall Accompanist Prize for Pianists, UK (2010)

Professional Associations

  • Music Examiner, Trinity College London
  • Music Arranger, Permata Seni Koir
  • Member, International Council for Traditions of Music and Dance (ICTMD) 

Media

Preview image for the staff video "The Malaysian Art Song Series".
Preview image for the staff video "Choral Works of Samuel Tan".