How We Got Started

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Music Singapore International Piano & Violin Competition was founded by Singapore-based Vivian Gao in 2020. When the COVID-19 pandemic swept through Singapore and the world that year, events large and small were forced to cease abruptly. Singapore and many parts of the world literally came to a standstill. Businesses and schools had to shut temporarily, classes could not resume for months. The Olympics had to be postponed for the first time in history. Music competitions around the world were not spared either.

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However, Vivian, a seasoned music educator, was undeterred. In fact, she felt that the crisis proved to be an excellent opportunity for music competitions to modernise and she decided to bring the competition online. Leveraging on her strong connections in the music industry, Vivian was able to form an organising committee to plan and execute one of the very first music competitions in Singapore to be held virtually. Response towards the first edition of Music Singapore was overwhelming and the number of participants competing from around the world surpassed expectations. The organising committee was able to garner partnership from leaders from the music industry such as Henle Verlag, the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) and Asia Music Bookstore.

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In the second and third edition of Music Singapore, the organising committee has decided to retain the physical format but also include a virtual format for participants who are not able to compete physically in Singapore. Music Singapore aims to provide opportunities for extraordinary performances and a meet and greet with all prominent people in the music industry through its Gala Concert and Awarding ceremony which was held for the first time on its third edition. 

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Music Singapore hopes to expand its presence as a premier music competition in this part of the world. As part of its expansion and growth, this 4th edition, the organizers change its name to Music Singapore International Competition in supporting and promoting various musicians all over the world, including but not limited to piano, violin, jazz and pop, ensemble (duet, strings and choir). With all this addition, Music Singapore believes to discover and develop talents of the current and future generations all over the world.

 

The organisers hope to uncover young music talents by providing an accessible platform for them to showcase their musicianship. By bringing these young talents from around the world together each year, Music Singapore believes it can bridge a strong bond between music talents from Singapore and the rest of the world, bringing the music community closer together.