Samuel E. Pang / Samuel Pang En / Singapore

Samuel Pang En

Purpose-driven

Samuel E. Pang's determination to improve Piano Education in Singapore was a direct response to his formative years as a learner and observations of teaching and learning; this disdain fuelled his commitment to improving current standards.

About

Samuel E. Pang has distinguished himself as the first Singaporean awarded a Full Graduate Teaching Assistantship from the renowned piano pedagogy program at the University of Oklahoma. He is pursuing a Master of Music in Piano Performance and Pedagogy, supported by the Trailblazer Foundation, Singapore.Before this, Samuel received a Bachelor of Education (Piano Pedagogy), 1st class honors from the Royal College of Music, London on the NAFA Scholarship and Shariff-Vaidhya Arts Scholarship at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, where he was subsequently conferred the Best Graduate Award (BEd) and was the first-ever recipient of The NAFA President Award (Degree) in 2024.He counts himself a beneficiary of his principal teachers whom he has worked closely with, including Jeongwon Ham (piano), Sara M. Ernst (pedagogy and research), Julie Tan (pedagogy), Rebecca Kan (research), Miranda Francis (research), Kim Bo Kyung (piano), Rena Phua (piano), and Nellie Seng (piano). He has received coaching in piano with Hwaen Ch'uqi, Penelope Roskell, Richard Uttley, and Loo Bang Hean.He holds memberships in The Gordon Institute for Music Learning (US), Music Teachers National Association (US), OU MTNA Collegiate Chapter, and The Singapore Music Teachers' Association (SMTA).

Research Outputs

Samuel is involved in both empirical and practitioner-based research:

Peer-reviewed Article^{Pang, S.E. & Kan, R.Y.P. (2024). Nuances of an In-between Space of Learning Through Auditory Approaches in Early Piano Instruction. Behavioral Sciences, 14(12), 1128. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs14121128.}

Conferences
^{Pang. S.E. (2025). A Glimpse Into Piano Education in Singapore: Perspectives of Piano Studio Teachers. Poster Presentation: The 14th International Conference for Research in Music Education (RiME), Virtual, April.}

^{Pang. S.E. (2025). Intersections: Piano Variations and Practice Know-How as Teaching Strategies for Piano Technique Development. Poster Presentation: The 14th MTNA Collegiate Chapter Symposium, Norman, Oklahoma, January. ResearchGate.}

^{Pang. S.E. (2023). Playing the Classical Period Repertoires: How Historical Context & Musical Contents informs the applications of Technique & Touch. Lecture Recital: The 3rd UCSI Piano Pedagogy Conference, Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, November.}

Educator-Pedagogue

Samuel values the holistic development of the musician-pianist. He believes that empowering students to be self-sufficient learners is important hence, he provides and equips them with the necessary skills, abilities, and knowledge needed to be independent musical thinking and technically-abled pianists!

Testimonials

Taught Courses

Applied Graduate Teaching Assistant, School of Music | University of Oklahoma
PIAN 4000 - Secondary Applied Piano
MUNM 3100 - Secondary Applied PianoGroup Piano Graduate Teaching Assistant, School of Music | University of Oklahoma
MUTE 2311 - Group Piano Class - Level 3
MUTE 2321 - Group Piano Class - Level 4Practice Hour Graduate Teaching Assistant, School of Music | University of Oklahoma
Fall 2024
Spring 2025

Pianist

Samuel was selected by Ursula Oppens (Distinguished Professor at Mannes School of Music and CUNY Graduate Center in New York City) to receive mentorship after his performance at the Nanyang International Music Competition 2019. Similarly, at the Nanyang International Piano Academy Competition 2019, he was deemed one of the top scorers that year and accepted an invitation to perform for You Xi (Central Conservatory of Music, Beijing). He clinched the Gold Award at the Nanyang International Piano Academy Competition 2022 under the Open category.He has performed in other masterclasses by renowned pianists and pedagogues– Lilya Zilberstein (University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna), Claudius Tanski (Mozarteum, Salzburg), Andrjez Pikul (Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music in Krakow, Poland), Melody Quah (Penn State University, USA), and Louis Schwizgebel (Leeds International Piano Competition).

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