Lydia began her music journey at the age of 4 at Yamaha Music School under Suzuki teacher, the late Mr. Kang Choon Sim. She came away with the second prize in the junior category in the Singapore National Piano and Violin competition in 1989 and passed her Advanced Certificate in Violin and Grade 8 piano at age 14. She also spent 6 years playing in the Singapore Youth Orchestra, travelling with them to the Kumamoto Music Festival in Japan.
Her violin teaching began when she was studying at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, from which she graduated with her Bachelors degree in Communication Studies (Hons). After spending 7 years in the media industry, her passion for music playing and teaching proved too strong to ignore. She then continued her violin studies with SSO violinist-violist, Marietta Ku, and further at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music in Australia under the tuteleg of Professor Goetz Richter. She has since graduated with a Masters of Music Studies (Pedagogy) in 2011 and has been teaching part-time for 3 years and full-time for 15 years.
In 2012 and 2016, she attended and performed at the Savonlinna Music Academy Chamber Music Masterclass in Finland, and was fortunate to learn from Mark Gothoni of the Orpheus Quartet, Cellist Marko Ylönen and renowned Violist Paul Coletti.
She now teaches full-time in Singapore, both privately and also in local public and international schools and has played with various orchestras, including local chamber groups, re: mix, ADDO Chamber Orchestra, the Hallelujah Oratoria Society, Celebration Chorus, New Heart Ministries and The Philharmonic Orchestra. She also serves in her church’s music ministry and is constantly learning new things, music-related or otherwise. She is now training to be a luthier.
Parlo anche un po’ di italiano 😉
But with everyone’s busy schedules, it is not easy to come together and plan for one, much less secure a venue and then produce one that runs smoothly and yet is fun for everyone.
This concert could not have happened without the courage and intensity of my colleagues, Mr. Sum Yuan Liang (Violin), Ms. Persis Chong (Violin/Viola) and Ms. Shernise Khor (Cello), and the commitment of our students and their parents. Thank you for believing in your child, yourself and also in us.
We were all encouraged by the spirit and positivity everyone brought to the project and were so happy to see everyone having fun and making friends. In that, we feel that we have indeed accomplished what we had set out to do in this concert – to communicate. Not just with the audience, but also with one another. Through music.
Lydia Wong | Violin & Music 