SAMUEL PANG EN
Singaporean Pianist, Piano Teacher of Music, Researcher
My Purpose-Driven Career
With the courage to create meaningful experiences that are deserved but lacking in the world, I aim to impact lives by empowering individuals to thrive and succeed in their musical journeys with the piano.
Biography
Samuel Pang En 彭恩 is the first Singaporean to receive a Full Graduate (Piano) Teaching Assistantship from the renowned piano pedagogy program at the University of Oklahoma to pursue a M.M. in Piano Performance and Pedagogy, alongside the support of the Trailblazer Foundation in Singapore. He was awarded the Music Activities Scholarship (Spring 2025), Robberson Research Grant (Spring 2025), and the Marjorie Martin Caylor Memorial Scholarship for Fall 2024 and Spring 2025.Before arriving in the States, Samuel earned 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.Samuel studies piano with Dr. Jeongwon Ham, and piano pedagogy with Dr. Sara M. Ernst. He counts himself a beneficiary of his teachers, whom he has worked closely with, including Dr. Kim Bo Kyung, Rena Phua, Dr. Nellie Seng, and John Chua Gheng Hong for piano, Dr. Rebecca Kan and Prof. Miranda Francis in research. He also received coaching in piano with Hwaen Ch'uqi (Eastman School of Music, NY), Penelope Roskell (Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, London), Richard Uttley (Royal College of Music, London), and Loo Bang Hean (UCSI University, Malaysia). Additionally, he studied piano pedagogy with Julie Tan privately and at YST Conservatory—NUS.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).
Professional Service
Publicity Coordinator
MTNA Collegiate Chapter @ OU
As a Piano Teacher of Music
Samuel advocates for the holistic development of the musician-pianist, and empowers students to be self-sufficient learners, independent musical thinkers, and technically-abled pianists!
Collegiate Teaching
Applied Piano Instructor of Record,
School of Music | University of Oklahoma
PIAN 4000 - Music Major, F24-S26
MUNM 3100 - Non Music Major, F24-S26
MUNM 1100 - Non Music Major, F25Group Piano Instructor of Record,
School of Music | University of Oklahoma
MUTE 1311 - Level 1 - Music Major, F25
MUTE 1321 - Level 2 - Music Major, S26
MUTE 2311 - Level 3 - Music Major, F24-S26
MUTE 2321 - Level 4 - Music Major, F24-S26Practice Hour Graduate Teaching Assistant,
School of Music | University of Oklahoma
F24, S25, F25, S26
"I thoroughly enjoyed taking this course! Samuel was not only friendly and attentive, but also knew how to instruct me whenever I was struggling with a specific skill/piece of repertoire." - Anonymous Secondary Applied Piano (PIAN 4000), Fall 2025 evaluation at the University of Oklahoma
"As someone who started playing piano in college through the group piano classes, I felt like I had a very sparse knowledge of playing technique going into my second year. Samuel gave me a lot of useful practice tips that helped me fill in that space. As a music education major, I appreciate his ability to teach both the basics and intricacies of piano with the same level of detail." - Sam Arcayna (University of Oklahoma, Group Piano Level 3 and 4 Student)
"Samuel Pang is not only a fantastic performer, but an inspirational educator. His incorporation of differing techniques while teaching helped each student learn the best of their abilities. I feel that my skills improved drastically and I finally found the meaning and purpose behind the instrument as a music student at OU!" - Molly Mercer (University of Oklahoma, Group Piano Level 4 Student)
"Samuel did a great job teaching this course; he always had everyone participate in class discussion, which held everyone accountable.""Samuel was nice and always made us feel like we could ask him for help! The class was structured well, and we never got too off track."
"Samuel as a teacher is just an amazing guy. Very joyous and always has a smile on his face. He makes it easy to go to class, to have fun and to learn.""The additional musical instruction about phrasing and pedal use from Mr. Pang was very useful.""Samuel has always hosted a supportive environment in his classes.""Samuel is super compassionate, we love him."- Anonymous Group Piano Class (Level 3 and 4), Spring 2025 and Fall 2025, evaluations by students at the University of Oklahoma
Pre-college Teaching
Applied Piano Instructor
Piano Pedagogy Area | University of Oklahoma
Beginning Piano - F25-S26Co-Instructor of Group Class
Piano Pedagogy Area | University of Oklahoma
Beginning Piano - F25-S26Piano Teacher | StudioEN, Singapore
Beginner-Intermediate Piano - 2023-2024Specialist Instructor | Music School in Singapore
Beginner-Early-Advanced Piano - 2021-2023
"Thank you Sam for being our teacher. lan really had a different experience with you. You are a lot more patient and you know lan's weakness and find creative ways around it. Thank you so much! " - Candace, Parent of lan (Pre-college Studio Student)"Sam is a great teacher! Very enjoyable lessons and an enriching experience!" - Kalpita (Adult Studio Student)"Truly enjoying my lessons as an adult beginner at this studio. From the first trial lesson with Sam, I already felt it was the perfect fit. He is skilled, knowledgeable, patient, and approachable all in one. Education is taken seriously despite me being an adult beginner and not taking exams, which was a worry of mine that I' glad didn't become an issue. Overall, I am very satisfied." - Ken (Adult Studio Student)
As a Researcher
Samuel is an advocate of empirical and practitioner-based research to advance (piano+music) education in the field:
Journals/Periodicals
Pang, S.E. (2025). Intersections: Piano Variations and Practice Know-How as Teaching Strategies for Piano Technique Development. MTNA e-Journal, 16(4), 24-25. MTNA e-Journal.Pang, S.E. and 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/Presentations
Pang, S.E. (2025). A Glimpse Into Piano Education in Singapore: Perspectives of Piano Studio Teachers. Poster Presentation: NCKP 2025: The Piano Conference. Virtual. June.
Kalhammer, K., Hurst. L., and Pang, S.E. (2025). Designing Interactive Piano Events for the Community: Observations from Two Approaches. Presentation. Collegiate Connections. NCKP 2025: The Piano Conference. Virtual. June.
Pang. S.E. (2025). Aural Abilities in Sight-reading: A Literature Review. Poster Presentation: 2025 Oklahoma Music Teachers Association State Conference, Stillwater, Oklahoma. May. ResearchGate.
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.
Kalhammer, K., Hurst. L., and Pang, S.E. (2025). Designing Interactive Piano Events for the Community: Observations from Two Approaches. Presentation. National Collegiate Connections: The Frances Clark Center. 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.
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.
As a 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 received mentorship by You Xi (Central Conservatory of Music, Beijing). In 2022, he clinched the Gold Award at the Nanyang International Piano Academy Competition under the Open category. He has also performed in other masterclasses by 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).